dbt vs Hevo Data
dbt and Hevo Data are both data integration & ETL tools. dbt is aimed at developers, while Hevo Data is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. dbt costs less, from $100/mo versus $299/mo for Hevo Data. Both have a free plan.
Transform data in the warehouse with SQL
No-code ELT pipelines that load SaaS and database data to warehouses
| Pricing | Freemium · $100 | Freemium · $299 |
| Starting price | $100/mo | $299/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| Built for | Developers | Small businesses, Enterprise, Developers |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | US · 2016 | US · 2017 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose dbt if
Data teams with a warehouse who want tested, documented, version-controlled transformations.
- Industry standard with huge community
- Brings software engineering practices to analytics
- Free open-source core
Look elsewhere if: Organizations without a warehouse or with only spreadsheet-scale data.
Choose Hevo Data if
SMB and mid-size data teams that want managed, no-code pipelines into a cloud warehouse with predictable event-based pricing.
- Fast no-code setup for common SaaS and database sources
- Event-based pricing that is easier to forecast than MAR billing
- Free tier and 14-day trial without a card
Look elsewhere if: Teams needing the widest connector catalog or a self-hosted open-source pipeline (Fivetran or Airbyte).
dbt vs Hevo Data pricing
dbt
- Developer$01 seat, 3,000 models built/mo, 1 project
- Starter$100/user/mo5 seats, 15,000 models built/mo, 1 project
- EnterpriseCustomBilled annually; 100,000 models built/mo, 30 projects
- Enterprise+CustomUnlimited projects
Hevo Data
- Free$0Up to 1M events/mo, 5 users, limited connectors, hourly syncs
- Starter$299/mo$265/mo billed annually; 5M events, up to 10 users
- Professional$849/mo$750/mo billed annually; 20M events, unlimited users
- Business CriticalCustomCustom volumes, advanced security and support
dbt · Key features
- SQL models with ref() dependencies and DAG
- Tests, documentation and lineage graphs
- Incremental models, snapshots and seeds
- dbt Cloud IDE, scheduler and CI/CD
- Semantic Layer for consistent metrics
- dbt Mesh for cross-team projects
Cons
- Cloud pricing per developer seat adds up
- Jinja templating can get complex
- Long-running DAGs need orchestration tuning
Hevo Data · Key features
- 170+ prebuilt connectors for SaaS apps, databases and files
- Change data capture for near real-time database replication
- Loads to Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift and other warehouses
- Automatic schema mapping and handling of schema changes
- dbt, SQL and Hevo Transformer jobs for in-warehouse modeling
- Monitoring, alerts and a reliability engine for failed loads
Cons
- Smaller connector catalog than Fivetran
- Free plan has limited connectors and only hourly syncs
- Overages are billed on demand above plan quotas
dbt vs Hevo Data: FAQ
Which is cheaper, dbt or Hevo Data?
dbt starts at $100/mo and Hevo Data at $299/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do dbt and Hevo Data have a free plan?
Yes, both dbt and Hevo Data have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.
Which is better for small businesses, dbt or Hevo Data?
Hevo Data lists small businesses as a core audience, while dbt is aimed more at developers.