Happy Valley

Fivetran vs Windmill

Fivetran and Windmill are both data integration & ETL tools. Fivetran is aimed at enterprise and small businesses, while Windmill is aimed at developers. Both have a free plan.

Fivetran

Automated data pipelines to your warehouse

Windmill

Open-source developer platform for scripts, flows and apps

PricingFreemiumOpen source · $10
Starting priceNot published$10/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial14 days—
Built forEnterprise, Small businessesDevelopers
Platformswebweb
CountryUS · 2012FR · 2022
Rating——

Choose Fivetran if

Data teams who value reliability over cost control.

  • Set and forget reliability
  • Broad, well-maintained connectors
  • Excellent for lean data teams

Look elsewhere if: Budget-conscious teams with engineering capacity (Airbyte).

Choose Windmill if

Developers wanting code-first automation.

  • Very fast engine
  • Code-first
  • Open source

Look elsewhere if: No-code users.

Fivetran vs Windmill pricing

Fivetran

  • Free$0500,000 MAR, 5,000 model runs/mo
  • StandardUsage-basedPer-MAR spend rate; $5 base charge per connection
  • EnterpriseUsage-basedHigher spend rate, enterprise features
  • Business CriticalUsage-basedHighest security tier

Windmill

  • Community Edition$0Self-hosted, unlimited executions, max 10 users with SSO
  • Cloud Team$10/seat/moManaged cloud; per seat (from page structured data)
  • Enterprise (self-hosted)from $120/mo$20/dev/mo + $50/worker/mo compute; audit logs, SAML
  • Enterprise (cloud)CustomBased on seats and compute units

Fivetran · Key features

  • 700+ managed connectors
  • Automatic schema migration and incremental sync
  • Database replication with CDC
  • dbt transformations and orchestration
  • Data lake destinations and governance
  • Private networking and compliance options

Cons

  • MAR pricing can spike
  • Less control than open-source tools
  • Costs grow with data volume

Windmill · Key features

  • Scripts to workflows
  • Schedules and triggers
  • Auto-generated UIs
  • App builder
  • Multi-language
  • Self-hosting

Cons

  • Developer-oriented
  • Smaller community
  • Learning curve

Fivetran vs Windmill: FAQ

Do Fivetran and Windmill have a free plan?

Yes, both Fivetran and Windmill have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Which is better for small businesses, Fivetran or Windmill?

Fivetran lists small businesses as a core audience, while Windmill is aimed more at developers.

Not sure yet?