Hightouch vs Fivetran For ETL/ELT in 2025

Hightouch and Fivetran are crucial for ETL/ELT solutions, enabling seamless data integration into unified data warehouses. In this article, we'll compare Hightouch and Fivetran to determine the best data integration solution.

What are Hightouch and Fivetran?

Hightouch

Hightouch is a reverse ETL and AI platform tailored for marketing and personalization, allowing businesses to uncover insights, execute campaigns, and develop AI agents using their data.

It features an AI Decisioning Platform for lifecycle marketing and a Composable Customer Data Platform (CDP) that is adaptable, secure, and swiftly deployable, built on top of a data warehouse.

Fivetran

Fivetran is a widely-used ETL tool that transfers data from SaaS applications, databases, and files into data warehouses such as Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks, and Redshift.

It efficiently handles the extraction, transformation, and loading of data, ensuring seamless integration with various data storage solutions.

Feature-by-Feature Breakdown: Alternatives & Competitors

Features
Sync to Warehouse (ETL/ELT)
Sync from warehouse (Reverse ETL)
Sync directly between SaaS Applications
Self-Hosted Option
High-Scale Database CDC
2-way, Read +Write Environment as Terraform
Real-time SOQL Transformations on Salesforce
Workspaces
Entity-level RBAC Permissions
Built for Enterprise Use Cases
Support Chat Reply in Minutes from Actual US-based Engineers
First-class API with Native Clients
White-label API with Auth-handling
Robust Connectors, None in Beta Version
Fast Turnaround Time on New Connectors
Straightforward Pricing (Easy to Understand)
Polytomic
Hightouch
Fivetran

Compare Hightouch and Fivetran

Hightouch

Fivetran

Key Features

  • Sync your data using Reverse ETL
  • Focus on AI capabilities and marketing personalization
  • Start with a free tier

Key Features

  • Renowned ETL provider
  • Extensive array of built-in connectors
  • Effortless syncing into data warehouses
  • Ideal for smaller businesses due to its simplicity

Limitations

  • Does not support syncing to data warehouses (No ETL)
  • Excess features and pricing for just Reverse ETL
  • Lack of unlimited workspaces

Limitations

  • Cannot sync data back into SaaS applications (lacks Reverse ETL functionality)
  • Prices are frequently increased
  • Expensive at medium scale and larger
  • Customer support is limited and often unreliable
  • Slow to respond to requests for new connectors

Pricing

Hightouch's Starter Plan includes a free tier at $0 and a paid tier at $350 per month, billed annually with a 20% discount.

For larger teams, the Business Plan offers custom pricing tailored to specific needs, featuring unlimited user seats and advanced personalization features.

Pricing

Fivetran offers a variety of pricing plans, starting with a Free Plan at $0, a Standard Plan at $500 per million monthly active rows (MAR), an Enterprise Plan at $667 per million MAR, and a Business Critical Plan at $1,067 per million MAR.

As of March 2025, bulk sync discounts are applied on a per connector basis rather than across the entire workspace, leading to higher costs for many users.

Reviews

Hightouch has an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars. Some users have mentioned that the pricing model can be expensive, especially for startups or when using the paid solution extensively.

There are comments about the learning curve and the need for better error handling and debugging processes. The UI is sometimes described as confusing and not very intuitive, and error reporting, especially for large batches, needs improvement. Check out more of their reviews here.

Reviews

Fivetran has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, reflecting a generally positive user experience. Users have expressed concerns about the pricing model, limited connectors, and customer support. Check out more of their reviews here.

While many appreciate the ease of use and quick setup, some users have noted that the pricing can be opaque and expensive, especially as data usage scales up. Additionally, there are mixed reviews about customer support, with some users finding it responsive and others reporting unresolved issues.

WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Why customers are switching to Polytomic

Polytomic is a data integration platform that automatically syncs data from various sources into your data warehouse for easy analysis.

  • Minimal API usage: Whether you’re syncing to or from Salesforce, HubSpot, or other systems, you will never have to worry about API limits again. Our sync engine automatically syncs incrementally and uses the right bulk APIs, rate limits, and throttling using its smart job queue.
  • No coding required: Sync, ETL, Reverse ETL, ELT, CDC stream between databases, data warehouses, spreadsheets, and applications like Salesforce, Zendesk, and others, all without involving engineers. Point, click, and go!
  • Custom SQL? No problem: If you need the full power of SQL, we’ve got you covered. You can define the data model of your choice using native SQL against your databases.
  • Realtime & scheduled syncs: Automatically move data from databases and spreadsheets to your CRM as soon as it changes at the source, or set up a custom sync schedule of your choice. You’re in control.

What is Polytomic?

Polytomic

Polytomic combines ETL and Reverse ETL in a single platform so you can move data to and from your data warehouse without managing brittle pipelines across multiple tools.

Business operations teams can set up powerful syncs without writing code, and data engineers get full SQL support, CDC streaming, Terraform compatibility, and an API. Built for enterprise scale, Polytomic handles billions of rows, complex models, and fine-grained access controls with reliability and speed.
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All the features you need, on the platform that does it all

Replace multiple vendors

Reduce costs and simplify workflows

One platform for all syncs

ETL, Reverse ETL, CDC, iPaaS, APIs, and spreadsheets

Sync only what’s changed

Save on API limits and compute costs

Point and click

Select and filter your data without writing code

SQL query support

Powerful transformations when you need them

Pull from any API

No more glue code for custom integrations

Self-hosting available

Turnkey deployment to your private cloud

Enterprise-ready

SOC 2, GDPR, permissions, and audit logs

Move data between all of your favorite tools

Sync any of your proprietary data to and from your databases, data warehouses, spreadsheets, and business systems.
See all integrations

Pricing begins at $500/month

Standard

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Everything in Basic, plus:

  • Sync to and from databases, warehouses, spreadsheets, apps, and APIs
  • Multiple sync destinations
  • Live chat support

Enterprise

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Everything in Standard, plus:

  • On-prem deployment
  • Single sign-on (SSO)
  • Dedicated engineer
  • Phone support
Get hands-on with Polytomic
See how easy it is to sync data to the tools your team actually uses—no code, no waiting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can Polytomic do both ETL and Reverse ETL when other tools can't?
Polytomic was designed from the start to do both ETL and Reverse ETL. While they are both "moving data", they require different technical architectures. WIth Polytomic, you can replace a multi-vendor stack with a single contract.
How frequent should my data syncs be?
Higher cadence means more API calls, warehouse credits, and compute, so start with the slowest interval that meets your SLA and tighten only where ROI is clear. Polytomic’s continuous mode runs as fast as every 5 minutes; for most revenue-ops or analytics cases, 15-min, 30-min, hourly, or daily schedules are cheaper and plenty fresh. We can help you determine what's best for your needs.
What is the difference between ETL and Reverse ETL?
ETL / ELT move data into a warehouse (ETL transforms first, ELT transforms after load). Reverse ETL sends modeled warehouse data back out to SaaS apps like Salesforce so teams can act on it. Think “data warehouse as a destination” vs. “data warehouse as a source.”
What is Fivetran?
Fivetran is a data integration platform that automatically syncs data from various sources into your data warehouse for easy analysis.