Fivetran Review 2026: Do You Really Need a Data Warehouse to See What's Working?

Fivetran is the go-to tool for moving data into warehouses. Thousands of companies use it to centralize data from SaaS apps, databases, and APIs into Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift.

But here's what most marketers discover too late: building Fivetran → Snowflake → dbt → Looker just to see which campaigns drive pipeline takes months and costs thousands per month.

If your goal is simply "I want to see which campaigns are driving deals in my CRM," you don't need a data warehouse. You need a tool that connects your ads to your CRM directly.

What Is Fivetran?

Fivetran is an automated ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) platform. It moves data from source systems into data warehouses—handling schema changes, API rate limits, and sync management without engineering maintenance.

With 700+ connectors—including Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Meta Ads, Salesforce, and HubSpot—Fivetran is the default choice for data teams building centralized analytics infrastructure.

Who Actually Needs Fivetran

• Data engineering teams

  building company-wide analytics

• Analytics engineers

  who need all business data in one warehouse

• Companies combining marketing + finance + product data

  for unified reporting

Who Probably Doesn't Need Fivetran

• Marketers who want to see campaign performance in their CRM

• Teams without data engineers

  to build and maintain the stack

• Anyone who needs answers in days, not months

The Problem: You Want Answers, Fivetran Gives You Infrastructure

Let's be honest about what happens when a marketer says "I want to see which Google Ads campaigns are driving our Salesforce pipeline."

The Fivetran approach:

1. Sign up for Fivetran ($100-2,000/mo)

2. Set up a data warehouse like Snowflake ($100-3,000/mo)

3. Configure connectors for Google Ads, Salesforce, website data

4. Hire or allocate a data engineer to model the data

5. Build transformation layers with dbt

6. Figure out how to connect anonymous website visitors to CRM contacts

7. Create dashboards in Looker or Tableau ($100-2,000/mo)

8. Maintain everything as sources change

Timeline: 3-6 months Cost: $1,000-25,000/month (tools + engineering)

What you get: A data platform you now have to maintain

What you actually wanted: To see which campaigns drive pipeline.

Fivetran's Real Costs for Marketing Data

The Tool Costs

Building a marketing data stack requires multiple paid tools:

• Fivetran

  — Marketing data is high-volume (ad-level, keyword-level data), pushing costs toward the higher end of their pricing tiers

• Data warehouse

  (Snowflake/BigQuery/Redshift) — Storage and compute costs scale with data volume

• Transformation layer

  (dbt Cloud) — Optional but common for modeling

• BI tool

  (Looker/Tableau/Metabase) — Required to actually see dashboards

For current pricing, check each vendor's website directly: Fivetran Pricing, Snowflake Pricing, Looker Pricing.

The Hidden Cost: Engineering Time

Beyond tool costs, the data stack requires ongoing engineering:

• Pipeline maintenance

  — Handling schema changes, sync failures, API updates

• Data modeling

  — Building the tables and transformations you actually need

• Identity resolution

  — Connecting anonymous visitors to CRM contacts (the hard part)

• Dashboard development

  — Building and maintaining the reports you want

This often requires 60-120+ engineering hours per month—a significant ongoing investment.

Total Cost of Ownership

When you add tool costs plus engineering time, building a marketing data stack can cost significantly more than purpose-built solutions—and takes 3-6 months before you see any results.

See what users say about Fivetran costs on G2 and Capterra.

The March 2025 Pricing Change Made It Worse

Fivetran now calculates MAR (Monthly Active Rows) per connector instead of workspace-wide. This increased costs 40-70% for multi-connector setups.

Marketing data is particularly expensive because:

• Ad data is high-volume

  — Keyword and ad-level data generates millions of rows

• Multiple platforms

  — Google + Meta + LinkedIn = 3x the charges

• Frequent updates

  — Daily syncs mean constant row activity

Users report that marketing data:with its high row counts from ad-level and keyword-level granularity—can drive significantly higher costs under this new model. See user discussions on G2 for real-world pricing experiences.

The Harder Problem: Connecting Visitors to CRM Contacts

Here's what Fivetran doesn't do: identity resolution.

Your Google Ads data shows clicks. Your Salesforce data shows deals. But how do you connect them?

Fivetran moves data exactly as it exists. It doesn't:

• Connect anonymous website visitors to CRM contacts

• Track which companies visited your site before becoming leads

• Stitch the journey from ad click → website visit → form fill → deal

You need to build all of this yourself. That's the 20-40 hours/month of engineering time in the table above.

When You Actually Need Fivetran

Fivetran makes sense when:

✅ You're building company-wide analytics (marketing + finance + product + ops)

✅ You have data engineers to build and maintain the stack

✅ You need complete customization over your data models

✅ You're already invested in a warehouse and BI stack

✅ Marketing data is just one piece of a larger analytics platform

When You Don't Need Fivetran

You probably don't need Fivetran when:

❌ Your main question is "which campaigns drive pipeline"

❌ You don't have (or want) a data warehouse

❌ You don't have data engineering resources

❌ You need answers in days, not months

❌ You want to see campaign performance in your CRM—that's it

Top 5 Fivetran Alternatives in 2026

1. Spectacle — See Which Campaigns Drive Your CRM Pipeline

If you just want to know what's working—which campaigns, keywords, and ads are actually driving deals in your CRM—you don't need to build a data stack. Spectacle connects your ads to your CRM directly and shows you what's driving pipeline.

What Spectacle Actually Does

Connects your ad platforms to your CRM:

• Google Ads

  → See which campaigns, keywords, and ads drive Salesforce/HubSpot pipeline

• LinkedIn Ads

  → See which campaigns drive deals, including impressions (not just clicks)

• Meta Ads

  → Connect Facebook/Instagram campaigns to CRM opportunities

• Microsoft Ads

  → Track search ads through to closed deals

Shows campaign performance where it matters—in revenue:

• Connect to

  Stripe, Chargebee, or Recurly

  to see actual subscription revenue, not just "conversions"

• See which campaigns drive real paying customers, not just form fills

Identifies companies on your site:

• Lens

  reveals which companies are browsing your site—even before they fill out a form

• See when target accounts from your ad campaigns visit your pricing page

Works with your CRM:

• Native

  HubSpot

  and

  Salesforce

  integration

• See campaign data alongside your deals and pipeline

Why Marketers Choose Spectacle Over Building a Data Stack

What Spectacle Doesn't Do

Let's be clear about what Spectacle isn't:

• Not a general data warehouse

  — If you need marketing + finance + product data combined, you need Fivetran

• Not for e-commerce

  — Built for B2B, PLG,SLG and B2C with longer sales cycles and could leverage CRM-based sales

• Not 600+ connectors

  — Focused integrations that go deep, not broad

When to Choose Spectacle

Choose Spectacle if:

• You want to see which campaigns drive CRM pipeline

• You don't have (or don't want) a data warehouse

• You need answers in days, not months

• You want to connect ads to revenue without building infrastructure

Choose Fivetran if:

• You're building company-wide analytics beyond marketing

• You have data engineers to build and maintain

• You need complete customization

• Marketing is one piece of a larger data platform

See how Spectacle works — connect your ads and CRM in minutes, not months.

2. Airbyte — Open-Source Data Pipelines

If you genuinely need data pipelines but want more control than Fivetran, Airbyte is the leading open-source alternative.

What Airbyte Does Well

• Open-source

  — Run free on your own infrastructure

• 400+ connectors

  — Covers most SaaS apps and databases

• Predictable pricing

  — Capacity-based, not MAR

• Full control

  — No vendor lock-in

The Trade-off

• 20-40 hours/month maintenance

  — You're trading cost for engineering time

• Still just data movement

  — You still need to build everything on top

• Connector quality varies

  — Community connectors may be less reliable

Pricing

Airbyte offers a free self-hosted option, with cloud pricing based on data volume. See Airbyte Pricing for current rates.

When to Choose Airbyte

Airbyte makes sense if you need general data pipelines, have engineering resources, and want to reduce costs vs. Fivetran. But for seeing campaign performance in your CRM, you still need to build everything on top.

3. Funnel.io — Marketing Data Aggregation

Funnel.io is a marketing data hub that aggregates data from 600+ ad platforms, analytics tools, and CRMs.

What Funnel.io Does Well

• 600+ marketing connectors

  — Deepest coverage in the space

• Data normalization

  — Harmonizes metrics across platforms automatically

• No-code modeling

  — Clean data without SQL

• Flexible exports

  — Send to warehouses or BI tools

The Trade-off

• Flexpoint pricing can be confusing

  — Users report needing to monitor usage carefully. See

  Funnel.io reviews on G2

  for user experiences

• Still need BI tools

  — Funnel aggregates data; you build reports on top

• No CRM connection

  — Doesn't connect campaigns to pipeline/revenue

• No free tier

  — Minimum commitment required

Pricing

Funnel.io uses a flexpoint-based pricing model. See Funnel.io Pricing for current rates.

When to Choose Funnel.io

Funnel.io is right for agencies managing 50+ client data sources who need normalized exports. For seeing campaign performance in your CRM, it's only part of the solution.

4. Hightouch — Reverse ETL

Hightouch solves the opposite problem: getting data out of your warehouse and into tools like ad platforms and CRMs.

What Hightouch Does Well

• Reverse ETL leader

  — Sync data from warehouse to 250+ destinations

• Audience activation

  — Push segments to Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Salesforce

• Fast setup

  — 20 minutes to first sync

The Trade-off

• Assumes you have a warehouse

  — You need Fivetran (or similar) first

• Doesn't analyze data

  — Moves it, doesn't tell you what's working

Pricing

Hightouch offers a free tier with paid plans for additional features. See Hightouch Pricing for current rates.

When to Choose Hightouch

Hightouch is right if you already have marketing data in a warehouse and want to activate it. It complements Fivetran rather than replacing it.

5. Stitch — Budget-Friendly Pipelines

Stitch is a simpler, lower-cost alternative to Fivetran for basic data integration.

What Stitch Does Well

• More affordable

  — Generally lower cost than Fivetran for similar use cases

• Simple setup

  — Less complex than Fivetran

• 100+ connectors

  — Covers major sources

The Trade-off

• Fewer connectors

  — May not have niche sources

• Less enterprise features

  — Limited governance and support

• Still just data movement

  — You build analytics on top

Pricing

Stitch offers volume-based pricing, typically lower than Fivetran for similar data volumes. See Stitch Pricing for current rates.

When to Choose Stitch

Stitch is right for smaller teams who need basic pipelines at lower cost. But like Fivetran, it's infrastructure—not insights.

The Real Question: Do You Need a Data Platform or an Answer?

If you're building a data platform — combining marketing, finance, product, and operations data for company-wide analytics — then yes, consider Fivetran. Budget 3-6 months and significant ongoing costs for tools and engineering.

If you just want to see which campaigns drive your CRM pipeline — you don't need a data platform. You need a tool that connects your ads to your CRM and shows you what's working.

That's what Spectacle does. No warehouse. No data engineers. No months of setup.

Just connect your ad platforms and CRM, and see which campaigns actually drive pipeline and revenue.

Try Spectacle free or book a demo to see the difference.

FAQs

Do I need a data warehouse to see which campaigns drive pipeline? No. Tools like Spectacle connect your ad platforms directly to your CRM and show you campaign performance without requiring a warehouse, BI tool, or data engineering resources.

How much does Fivetran cost for marketing data? Marketing data can be expensive in Fivetran due to high row volumes from ad-level and keyword-level data. Add warehouse costs, BI tools, and engineering time, and the total cost of ownership can be significant. See Fivetran Pricing and user experiences on G2 for real-world perspectives.

What's the fastest way to see ad performance in my CRM? Spectacle connects in minutes and shows you which campaigns drive HubSpot or Salesforce pipeline. No warehouse setup, no data modeling, no months of implementation.

Can I connect Google Ads to Salesforce without Fivetran? Yes. Spectacle connects Google Ads (and LinkedIn, Meta, Microsoft) directly to Salesforce and HubSpot, showing you which campaigns, keywords, and ads drive deals—without building a data stack.

Is Fivetran worth it for marketing analytics? Fivetran is worth it if you're building company-wide analytics infrastructure and have data engineering resources. For marketers who just want to see campaign performance in their CRM, purpose-built tools are faster and more cost-effective.

Sources

• Fivetran Pricing

• Fivetran Pricing Guide 2026 - Mammoth Analytics

• Fivetran MAR Pricing Model

• Airbyte vs Fivetran - Airbyte

• Spectacle Integrations