One meter, not three
Fivetran prices connections, transformations and activations separately, each on its own cost curve per connection. Polytomic pools your volume into a single bucket.
Polytomic vs Fivetran
Since acquiring Census, Fivetran moves data both ways. It still meters connections, transformations and activations as three separate products. Polytomic is one platform, one volume bucket, one bill.
vs.
Why teams move from Fivetran to Polytomic
Reverse ETL without a second bill
Polytomic prices reverse ETL per destination with unlimited volume, so activating warehouse data does not open a second variable meter.
Missing connectors get built
Polytomic builds the connector you need on request, at no extra cost, rather than pointing you at an SDK to build and maintain it yourself.
Two directions, or two products?
Fivetran can now move data out to business tools as well as in. What changed is the capability, not the commercial model: each direction is metered on its own.
With Fivetran
Three meters on one platform
Connections bill on monthly active rows, transformations bill per model run, and activations bill on a separate row curve of their own.
- Connections metered on monthly active rows
- Each connection on its own cost curve
- Transformations billed per successful model run
- Activations metered separately again
With Polytomic
One platform, one bucket
Bulk syncs load the warehouse and model syncs push data back out, sharing connections and schedules. Volume pools company wide rather than resetting per connection.
- One volume bucket with a decay curve
- Reverse ETL priced per destination, unlimited volume
- App to app syncs with no warehouse in between
- One contract, one invoice
Feature by feature
Nine capabilities, from direction of travel and change data capture through to deployment, agents and support.
Direction of data movement
Polytomic
ETL and reverse ETLOne platform loads the warehouse and writes modeled data back out to SaaS applications, ad platforms and custom APIs. App to app syncs run with no warehouse in between.
polytomic.com/integrationsFivetran
Both, sold separatelyFivetran added reverse ETL by acquiring Census in 2025. Ingestion is sold as Connections and activation as Activations, each on its own pricing curve.
fivetran.com/pricingDatabase change data capture
Polytomic
8 databasesLog based capture on the major relational databases, MongoDB and AWS managed NoSQL. Capture runs on its own schedule, so it keeps pace even when a sync stalls, and deletes propagate.
docs.polytomic.com · incremental syncingFivetran
SupportedCDC with soft delete, live and history sync modes, the last keeping every version of a source row in the destination.
fivetran.com/docs · sync modesSync frequency
Polytomic
Every 5 minutesContinuous scheduling runs a sync at most every 5 minutes, on every plan. Hourly, daily, weekly, custom and manual schedules are also available.
docs.polytomic.com · sync scheduleFivetran
1 minute on EnterpriseStandard runs 15 minute syncs. One minute syncs require the Enterprise plan, alongside custom roles and VPN tunnels.
fivetran.com/pricingConnector catalog and who maintains it
Polytomic
220+ connections220+ connection types, 200+ as a source and 90+ as a destination. Polytomic maintains all of them and builds new connectors on request. Nothing ships in beta.
polytomic.com/integrationsFivetran
700+ connectorsA far larger catalog, genuinely an advantage. Alongside it sit Lite connectors built for partial use case coverage, and a Python SDK for connectors you build and maintain yourself.
fivetran.com/docs · Lite connectorsDeployment and data residency
Polytomic
Self hosted or cloudRuns self contained in your own cloud on the Enterprise plan, with full feature parity. Nothing is held back on premises.
docs.polytomic.com · on premises setupFivetran
SaaS or hybridHybrid Deployment processes data inside your network, but orchestration and configuration still run in the Fivetran cloud rather than self contained.
fivetran.com/docs · deployment modelsInfrastructure as code
Polytomic
Published providerA Terraform provider on the public registry provisions connections, models and syncs. A workspace importer generates HCL for configuration built in the UI.
docs.polytomic.com · Terraform importFivetran
Published providerFivetran publishes a Terraform provider covering connectors, destinations and groups.
registry.terraform.io · fivetranMCP, API and embedded access
Polytomic
Full MCP serverA hosted MCP server lets an agent configure Polytomic, investigate sync errors and query every connected system from Claude, ChatGPT or Codex. Polytomic Connect gives partners an embedded, brandable auth flow.
apidocs.polytomic.com · MCP serverFivetran
Read only MCPAgent Context MCP runs read only SQL against your warehouse and, in Fivetran's words, cannot configure or operate Fivetran itself. It also requires building a Context Layer first.
fivetran.com/docs · Agent Context MCPPermissions and governance
Polytomic
Full RBAC and workspacesOut of the box roles plus a full RBAC engine, with custom roles scoped to individual models, connections and syncs. Isolated workspaces per team, audit logs, enterprise SSO and SAML.
docs.polytomic.com · custom rolesFivetran
Custom roles on EnterpriseCustom roles and VPN tunnels arrive on the Enterprise plan. Customer managed encryption keys require Business Critical.
fivetran.com/pricingSupport model
Polytomic
Real-time and technicalLive chat on Standard, where replies in under 60 seconds from an actual engineer are common. Enterprise adds a dedicated engineer and phone support.
polytomic.com/pricingFivetran
Varies by planSupport level and SLA are tied to the plan you are on, with the faster commitments sitting on the higher tiers.
fivetran.com/pricingPolytomic by the numbers
8
Databases with log based CDC
PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Azure SQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, DocumentDB and Keyspaces.
5 min
Shortest sync interval
Continuous scheduling, included on every plan rather than gated behind a tier.
220+
Connection types we maintain
All production ready, none community maintained, and missing ones built on request.
“Unmatched customer support and rock-solid reliability.”
Fardad Golshany
Head of Data, Scribe
How to migrate from Fivetran to Polytomic
Build your pipelines in Polytomic alongside the ones you already run, confirm the numbers match, then switch over. Nothing stops while you check.
Step 01
Send us your connector list
Share your Fivetran connections, destinations and sync frequencies. We tell you what maps across today and what we would need to build, before you commit.
Step 02
Run both in parallel
Rebuild your highest volume connections in Polytomic and write them to a separate schema while Fivetran keeps running. Compare row counts until they match.
Step 03
Switch over
Point your models at the Polytomic tables and wind Fivetran down at renewal. Most teams fold their activation syncs in at the same time.
When Fivetran is the better choice
Some teams should pick Fivetran. Better to know that now than three months into a contract.
You need the long tail of connectors
Fivetran lists more than 700 connectors to our 220+. If your stack depends on something obscure, the odds are better that they already have it.
You want to start free
Fivetran has a free tier covering 500,000 monthly active rows. Polytomic starts at $500 a month, so small pilots are cheaper to begin on Fivetran.
You need syncs faster than five minutes
Our shortest interval is 5 minutes. Fivetran Enterprise offers 1 minute syncs. If your use case lives in that gap, they move faster than we do.
Frequently asked questions
Compare it against your own pipelines
Bring your Fivetran source list to a 30 minute call and we will tell you what Polytomic supports today and what it would take to switch.