AWS Glue vs Fivetran

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

AWS Glue

AWS's serverless ETL service with a central data catalog and Spark-based jobs.

Paid

Visit AWS Glue AWS Glue profile

Fivetran

Managed ELT service that syncs SaaS apps and databases into your data warehouse.

Free plan + paid

Visit Fivetran Fivetran profile

The short answer

AWS Glue is a serverless Spark ETL service with a central Data Catalog, priced at $0.44 per DPU-hour and built for data platforms on AWS. Fivetran is a fully managed ELT service with 750+ connectors that keeps SaaS and database tables in sync with your warehouse. Pick Glue to write and run your own transformations inside AWS; pick Fivetran to pay for hands-off connectors from many business apps.

AWS Glue or Fivetran: our take

These tools overlap on moving data but approach it from opposite ends. Glue is a toolkit for data engineers: transformation jobs run on a managed Apache Spark engine or as Python shell jobs, written by hand, in notebooks, or built visually in Glue Studio, which generates editable code. Its Data Catalog stores table definitions that Athena, Redshift and EMR can query, crawlers fill it automatically, and it adds data quality rules, streaming ETL and connections to 70+ data sources. Fivetran is a managed service: you pick a source, authorise it, and it keeps tables in sync on a schedule, handling schema changes, retries and API quirks. Its 750+ connectors cover business apps, enterprise databases, ERPs including SAP, and files, loading into warehouses such as Snowflake, BigQuery or Databricks, with SQL transformations on top and reverse sync back to business tools.

Pricing reflects that split. Glue bills $0.44 per DPU-hour, per second with a 1-minute minimum on Glue 2.0 and later, and the Data Catalog has a free tier of 1M objects and 1M requests per month. Costs depend on how efficient your jobs are, and Spark jobs need tuning and can be slow to start. Fivetran charges by monthly active rows, with a free plan for small volumes, a 14-day trial per new connection and a $5 monthly base charge per standard connection; it is hands-off, but usage-based bills can get expensive at scale and are hard to predict.

Glue only makes sense if your data platform lives on AWS, and it has few ready-made SaaS connectors. Fivetran runs as a cloud service with no self-hosted edition, though hybrid deployment is a paid option for data that must stay in your network, and custom sources take extra work.

The two are often used together: Fivetran to pull data out of SaaS apps, Glue to catalog and transform it in an AWS lake. If you must choose one, pick Glue when engineers want control over transformations inside AWS, and Fivetran when the main job is reliable syncs from many business systems without maintaining pipelines.

Choose AWS Glue if…

Data engineers building Spark-based ETL and a data catalog for an AWS data lake or warehouse
Serverless Spark jobs with no cluster to run
Central Data Catalog shared by Athena, Redshift and EMR

Choose Fivetran if…

Data teams that want hands-off, reliable connectors into a cloud warehouse and can pay for volume
You want a free option (AWS Glue is paid only)
Large catalogue of fully managed connectors, including enterprise databases and SAP
Handles schema changes and retries without manual pipeline work

What is AWS Glue?

AWS Glue is Amazon's serverless data integration service for moving and reshaping data inside AWS. Its Data Catalog stores table definitions that Athena, Redshift and EMR can query, and crawlers can scan data in S3 and databases to fill that catalog automatically. Transformation jobs run on a managed Apache Spark engine or as small Python shell jobs; you write the code yourself, use notebooks with interactive sessions, or build pipelines visually in Glue Studio, which generates the script for you. It also offers data quality rules, streaming ETL, schedulers and triggers, and connections to more than 70 data sources. There are no servers or clusters to manage, and it fits data engineers whose warehouse or lake already lives on AWS. Billing is by Data Processing Unit hours, metered per second with a short minimum; the Data Catalog has a monthly free allowance for metadata storage and requests. The trade-offs are Spark tuning, slow job start-ups compared with always-on clusters, and limited use outside AWS. It is managed through the AWS console, CLI and APIs.

What is Fivetran?

Fivetran is a fully managed service for moving data out of business apps, databases, ERPs and files and loading it into a warehouse or data lake such as Snowflake, BigQuery or Databricks. You pick a source, authorise it, and Fivetran keeps the tables in sync on a schedule, handling schema changes and API quirks for you. It also runs SQL transformations on top of the loaded data and can push warehouse data back out to business tools. It suits data teams that would rather pay for reliable connectors than build and maintain their own pipelines. Pricing is usage-based, measured in monthly active rows, with a free plan for small volumes and a trial on every new connection. Costs can climb quickly at high volumes, which is the main reason teams look at open-source options. It runs as a cloud service, with a hybrid deployment option for companies that need data to stay in their own network.

Side by side

Attribute	AWS Glue	Fivetran
Pricing	Paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web	Web
Best for	Data engineers building Spark-based ETL and a data catalog for an AWS data lake or warehouse	Data teams that want hands-off, reliable connectors into a cloud warehouse and can pay for volume
Status	Active	Active