FME vs Fivetran comparison

Fivetran and Safe Software are both solutions in the Data Integration category. Fivetran is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.3, while Safe Software is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.0. Fivetran holds a 1.8% mindshare in DI, compared to Safe Software’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Fivetran users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Safe Software users who would recommend it.

Fivetran

Read 29 Fivetran reviews

4,548 Views
2,820 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

FME

Read 7 FME reviews

2,622 Views
2,019 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Fivetran

FME

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

FME and Fivetran are key players in the data integration market. FME is preferred for its ability to handle complex spatial data transformations, whereas Fivetran is favored for its ease of setup and automated capabilities in cloud environments.

Features: FME shines with its comprehensive geospatial analysis abilities, support for complex data types, and a wide array of connectors facilitating diverse system integration. Its graphical interface simplifies the debugging and optimization processes. Fivetran's strongest features include automated data pipeline management, easy integration with systems like DBT, and the ability to handle large data volumes with minimal manual intervention. The solution's change data capture capability ensures efficient data flow between platforms.

Room for Improvement: FME could enhance its cloud deployment options and streamline its setup process to reduce the initial complexity. Users also seek more intuitive interfaces for non-specialist users. Fivetran might improve by offering more detailed customization options for advanced users, expanding its native connector list to cover less common databases, and optimizing its pricing structure for smaller data loads.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FME excels in offering robust, customizable on-premise deployment solutions with extensive configuration options, catering to specific data needs. Conversely, Fivetran provides a quick, cloud-based deployment model that minimizes setup time and maintenance through its automated updates. While FME supports more detailed configurations, Fivetran simplifies deployment, backed by effective customer service.

Pricing and ROI: FME requires a higher upfront investment due to its feature-rich environment and customization potential, yielding a higher ROI in complex data transformation cases. Fivetran uses a subscription model with lower initial costs, delivering quicker ROI for fast-paced cloud integrations, especially beneficial for organizations looking to implement swiftly and scale efficiently.

To learn more, read our detailed FME vs. Fivetran Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

FME vs. Fivetran

January 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Fivetran

Ranking in Data Integration

13th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Replication (3rd), Cloud Data Integration (8th)

FME

Ranking in Data Integration

28th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of Fivetran is 1.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FME is 1.3%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fivetran	1.8%
FME	1.3%
Other	96.9%

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Hafiz Usman

Team Lead Data Engineer at Data Pilot

Has accelerated data integration workflows and supports seamless development of custom connectors

I've worked extensively with Fivetran, mainly used for extraction purposes, and I've worked with the transformation element in it as well. Fivetran not only has built-in connectors but also provides SDK connectors, allowing us to develop our own connectors in an easy manner. I don't have to write raw Python scripts or dumping scripts; it offers straightforward examples and guidelines, making it much simpler to develop custom connectors inside Fivetran. We've been able to develop many custom connectors as well, which is unique and beneficial for having everything centralized instead of having those connectors located elsewhere. One of the best features by Fivetran is its clean, simple, and intuitive UI. It includes a transformation section where I can deploy my DBT queries and scripts. It also supplies good tracking capabilities for billing estimates and user permissions, allowing for customization to the desired level. The number of connectors it has remains a standout feature, and within connectors, the options available are very helpful. Although it sometimes appears static due to its built-in nature, it offers good flexibility for data transformation and caching, which I appreciate because it saves us extensive script-writing time.

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Gert Booysen

Software Solutions Leader at GE Vernova

Extensive format support and reliable integration enhance data management while new pricing model requires reassessment

I haven't had any input or requirements from any customers that are not currently covered, so I don't have any additional needs that were identified or raised to me. Regarding pricing, with the model changes that they've implemented a while back, it actually made it more expensive to use, especially on the server side. They changed the licensing model, and that made customers think it is overpriced. Some customers were actually looking at alternatives. Pricing with the model changes was perceived negatively. I work primarily with enterprise customers, Vodacom, Eskom, so it's tier-one customers. For small customers, this solution is a bit too expensive. They don't really use it and just do direct integration on smaller implementations. This is basically used by tier-one customers. FME is still able to save time and money for clients. It's still a good investment. Regarding similar products to FME, GE developed a product called Data Fabric. That is a real-time operational integration platform, Data Fabric Network Connect, which is a GE Grid OS product. It is actually more expensive than FME, but the purpose is different as it's operational. The vendor in this case is GE, and it's a company that we bought that used to be called Greenbird. In current use scenarios, FME is still leading compared to Data Fabric. The GE product has a different application.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Fivetran so far is the data replication; the real-time data replication is what I see best in the market where it reduces the overhead of customers needing to maintain the pipeline."

"Fivetran can perform data migration incredibly fast, depending on the source and target."

"The product has some seamless connectors, which are readily available."

"The most important feature of the solution is its ability to build data pipelines in less time."

"The portal is very intuitive and easy to use."

"You can manage all of your connectors individually, which gives you a very good ability to trace which one of your ETL processes is running and when."

"The user interface is mostly UI-based, eliminating the need for a lot of coding."

"The ease of usability is the most valuable feature. It's very easy and quick to set up. It also has a central hub as opposed to GoldenGate which is one direct interface. For GoldenGate I would have needed three interfaces whereas with HVR I have a central interface that manages everything."

More Fivetran pros

"FME is spatially aware and understands how to deal with the conversion of spatial objects and their attributes."

"We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else."

"The most valuable feature of FME is the graphical user interface. There is nothing better. It is very easy to debug because you can see all steps where there are failures. Overall the software is easy to optimize a process."

"It has standard plug-ins available for different data sources."

"All spatial features are unrivaled, and the possibility to execute them based on a scheduled trigger, manual, e-mail, Websocket, tweet, file/directory change or virtually any trigger is most valuable."

"It has a very friendly user interface. You don't need to use a lot of code. For us that's the most important aspect about it. Also, it has a lot of connectors and few forms. It has a strong facial aspect. It can do a lot of facial analysis."

"From my reseller perspective, the best features in FME are the ease of operation and the fact that it works."

Cons

"Fivetran should add more connectors because its competitors, like Airbyte, have more connectors."

"I would like to see an improvement in the support offered by Fivetran."

"The documentation is decent, but it's hard to find information online about Fivetran. For example, if you try to search for an error code, you won't find much information about it in forums."

"The connections with SAP must be improved."

"We experience cost issues because Fivetran is charged on a usage basis. When you reach a certain level, the tool should focus on reducing the costs. The solution is expensive when you are moving gigabytes and petabytes of data. It should also focus more on REST APIs and webhooks."

"More connectors are needed for exotic, popular, and rising star portals."

"There is not a lot of options to customize the pipeline, and the cost is high."

"If Fivetran can build in more transformations, that would be really helpful in my opinion."

More Fivetran cons

"Improvements could be made to mapping presentations."

"FME's price needs improvement for the African market."

"FME can improve the geographical transformation. I've had some problems with the geographical transformations, but it's probably mostly because I'm not the most skilled geographer in-house. The solution requires some in-depth knowledge to perform some functions."

"To get a higher rating, it would have to improve the price and the associated scalability. These are the main issues."

"We are looking at the possibility of using Glue instead of FME, using the native AWS product."

"The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When you have a lot of workflows and complex use cases, pricing goes down as you use it more."

"In the first year, we were given a very good discount. It was approximately 20,000 Euros per year. In the third year, we purchased credit for two years and the price was 33,000 Euros per year."

"I don't have the exact information, but I know it is high, and it is on a yearly basis. There is no additional cost for what we're doing. We're always open to doing things cheaper, so we might potentially implement a different solution."

"I can't give exact amounts because that's based on usage, but it's more expensive than some of its competitors."

"I've heard that the license for HVR is a bit costly compared to its competitors, but since it's reliable and efficient, I think the customer shouldn't be bothered about the cost."

"I rate the pricing a six out of ten."

"The product is reasonably expensive"

"Fivetran is very expensive, and its database-driven pricing model is outdated."

More Fivetran pricing and cost advice

"We used the standard licensing for our use of FME. The cost was approximately €15,000 annually. We always welcome less expensive solutions, if the solution could be less expensive it would be helpful."

"FME Server used to cost £10,000; now it can cost over £100,000."

"The product's price is reasonable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Government

32%

Energy/Utilities Company

13%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	16

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What's the deal with the HVR software acquisition?

As a user of HVR Software I followed this deal closely. Fivetran is apparently trying to establish more in its sector and by buying an already established data replication software, they become som...

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Does HVR Software provide reliable insights?

I honestly can't think of another data replication software that can give you better statistics and insight than HVR Software. There's the feature for topology and statistics and both of them can ...

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How much traffic can HVR Software handle?

As someone who works at a company where a high volume of information is replicated and has tried several data replication softwares, I can tell you that you're looking at the right one. HVR Softwar...

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What needs improvement with FME?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for FME?

The use cases for FME are mainly integration to the GE Smallworld product. GE Smallworld is a GE product, and we are using it to integrate with other third-party products into GE Smallworld and ADM...

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What advice do you have for others considering FME?

The overall rating for FME is eight out of ten, and I prefer the feedback to be anonymous. My job title is Senior Solutions Architect.

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Compared 14% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

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Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs FME

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fivetran

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

FME

January 2026

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Overview

Fivetran, the global leader in data movement, is trusted by companies like OpenAI, LVMH, Pfizer, Verizon and Spotify to centralize data from SaaS applications, databases, files, and other sources into cloud destinations, including data lakes. With high-performance pipelines, seamless interoperability, and enterprise-grade security, Fivetran empowers organizations to modernize their data infrastructure, power analytics and AI, ensure compliance, and achieve transformative business outcomes. Learn more at Fivetran.com

Fivetran

FME is the data integration platform with the best support for spatial data. Run workflows on the desktop or deploy them in a server or cloud environment.

Safe Software

Sample Customers

Autodesk, Condé Nast, JetBlue, Morgan Stanley, OpenAI, LVMH, Pfizer, Verizon, SpotifyNational Australia Bank, Saks, Cemex, Okta, Dropbox, Pitney Bowes, World Fuel Services,Lufthansa, AutoZone, ASICS, ASOS, Coupa, Databricks, Hermes, New Relic, Intercom,Canva, Honeywell, Square, DocuSign, Nandos, Oldcastle Infrastructure

Shell, US Department of Commerce, PG&E, BC Hydro, City of Vancouver, Enel, Iowa DoT, San Antonio Water System

Buyer's Guide

FME vs. Fivetran

January 2026

Free Report: FME vs. Fivetran

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