Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Microsoft SQL VS Fivetran

Compare Microsoft SQL VS Fivetran and see what are their differences

Microsoft SQL logo Microsoft SQL

Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.

Fivetran logo Fivetran

Fivetran offers companies a data connector for extracting data from many different cloud and database sources.
  • Microsoft SQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-26
  • Fivetran Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19

Microsoft SQL

Pricing URL
-
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
United States

Fivetran

Release Date
2012 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
City
Oakland
Founder(s)
George Fraser
Employees
250 - 499

Microsoft SQL features and specs

  • Comprehensive Feature Set
    SQL Server offers a wide range of features including advanced analytics, in-memory capabilities, robust security measures, and integration services.
  • High Performance
    With in-memory OLTP and support for persistent memory technologies, SQL Server provides high transaction and query performance.
  • Scalability
    SQL Server can scale from small installations on single machines to large, data-intensive applications requiring high throughput and storage.
  • Security
    SQL Server offers advanced security features like encryption, dynamic data masking, and advanced threat protection, ensuring data safety and compliance.
  • Integrations
    It easily integrates with other Microsoft products such as Azure, Power BI, and Active Directory, providing a cohesive ecosystem for enterprise solutions.
  • Developer Friendly
    It supports a wide range of development tools and languages including .NET, Python, Java, and more, making it highly versatile for developers.
  • High Availability
    Features like Always On availability groups and failover clustering provide high availability and disaster recovery options for critical applications.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft SQL

  • Cost
    SQL Server can be expensive, particularly for the Enterprise edition. Licensing costs can add up quickly depending on the features and scale required.
  • Complexity
    Due to its comprehensive feature set, SQL Server can be complex to configure and manage, requiring skilled administrators and developers.
  • Resource Intensive
    SQL Server can be resource-intensive, requiring substantial hardware resources for optimal performance, which can increase overall operational costs.
  • Windows-Centric
    While SQL Server can run on Linux, it is primarily optimized for and tightly integrated with the Windows ecosystem, which may not suit all organizations.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Being a proprietary solution, it can cause vendor lock-in, making it challenging to switch to alternative database systems without significant migration efforts.

Fivetran features and specs

  • Automation
    Fivetran automates data integration, eliminating the need for manual coding and reducing maintenance overhead.
  • Scalability
    Fivetran can easily scale its services to handle growing data loads, making it suitable for businesses of various sizes.
  • Wide Range of Connectors
    It supports a broad array of data sources and destinations, allowing for diverse data pipelines.
  • Data Transformation
    Fivetran provides built-in data transformation capabilities, ensuring that data is in the correct format when it reaches the destination.
  • Real-Time Data Syncing
    Fivetran allows for near real-time data syncing, which is crucial for businesses that rely on up-to-date data for decision-making.
  • Reliability
    The service ensures data integrity and reliability, minimizing data loss during transfers.

Possible disadvantages of Fivetran

  • Cost
    Fivetran can be expensive, especially for small businesses or startups with limited budgets.
  • Limited Customization
    The platform offers limited options for customization, which might be a drawback for businesses with unique data integration needs.
  • Complex Setup for Non-Technical Users
    Despite its automation features, the initial setup can be complex for users without technical expertise.
  • Dependency on Third-Party Services
    Reliance on Fivetran means depending on a third party for crucial data integration tasks, which could be risky if the service faces downtime.
  • Data Latency for Some Sources
    While Fivetran supports near real-time syncing for many sources, some data sources might experience latency, affecting the freshness of the data.

Analysis of Microsoft SQL

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Microsoft SQL Server is generally regarded as a good choice for database management, particularly for organizations that require high performance, reliability, and seamless integration with other Microsoft technologies.

Why this product is good

  • Microsoft SQL Server is considered a robust database management system because of its comprehensive features such as high scalability, strong security, and excellent integration with other Microsoft products. It provides tools for data mining, warehousing, and analytics, making it a popular choice for enterprises. Additionally, it offers high availability and disaster recovery solutions, and its active community provides extensive support and resources.

Recommended for

  • Enterprises
  • Businesses using Microsoft ecosystems
  • Organizations requiring robust data security
  • Users needing scalability for large datasets
  • Projects needing high availability and disaster recovery

Analysis of Fivetran

Overall verdict

  • Fivetran is generally regarded as a good solution for businesses looking for an automated, reliable, and easy-to-use data integration tool. It is particularly beneficial for companies that wish to reduce time and effort spent on managing data pipelines and ensuring accurate data transfer.

Why this product is good

  • Fivetran is considered good due to its ability to automate data integration processes, providing a seamless and efficient way to connect various data sources to your data warehouse. It offers pre-built connectors, automated schema management, and reliable data syncing, which reduces the need for manual coding and maintenance. Its robust security measures and scalability also contribute to its positive reputation.

Recommended for

    Fivetran is recommended for small to large businesses that require efficient data integration from multiple sources into their data warehouse. It is ideal for organizations looking for a fully managed service to simplify their ETL/ELT processes, especially those using cloud-based data warehousing solutions such as Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift.

Microsoft SQL videos

3.1 Microsoft SQL Server Review

More videos:

  • Review - What is Microsoft SQL Server?
  • Review - Querying Microsoft SQL Server (T-SQL) | Udemy Instructor, Phillip Burton [bestseller]

Fivetran videos

Cloud Data Warehouse Benchmark Redshift vs Snowflake vs BigQuery | Fivetran

More videos:

  • Review - Looker + Fivetran: Data Source to Dashboard in an Afternoon
  • Review - The Modern Data Stack: Fivetran + Looker + Snowflake

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Microsoft SQL and Fivetran)
Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Data Integration
30 30%
70% 70
Relational Databases
100 100%
0% 0
ETL
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Microsoft SQL and Fivetran

Microsoft SQL Reviews

We have no reviews of Microsoft SQL yet.
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Fivetran Reviews

Best ETL Tools: A Curated List
High costs: Fivetranโ€™s pricing model, based on Monthly Active Rows (MAR), is one of the most expensive modern ELT vendors, often 5-10x the alternatives. Fivetran measures MARs based on its internal representation of data. Costs are especially high with connectors that need to download all source data each time or that have nonrelational data because Fivetran converts it into...
Source: estuary.dev
Top 11 Fivetran Alternatives for 2024
Fivetran's pricing is determined by monthly active rows (MAR), which can be unpredictable because of the way Fivetran internally represents data and manages non-relational sources. Additionally, reducing latency significantly increases costs. While a small deployment (2M MARs/month) can cost $700-$2667, 10M MARs/month get you into $10K a month. It is not unheard of for...
Source: estuary.dev
10 Best ETL Tools (October 2023)
It is a cloud-based ETL solution that supports data integration with data warehouses like Redshift, BigQuery, Azure, and Snowflake. One of the top selling points of Fivetran is its array of data sources, with nearly 90 possible SaaS sources and the ability to add custom integrations.
Source: www.unite.ai
15+ Best Cloud ETL Tools
Fivetran is a cloud-based automated ETL tool that simplifies the process of transporting data from various sources to a database or data warehouse. It offers an array of more than 200 connectors to help you to collect data seamlessly from multiple sources at the same time.
Source: estuary.dev
Top 14 ETL Tools for 2023
Overall, Fivetran is a great ETL solution for businesses looking to streamline their data integration process. The platform makes it easy for organizations of any size to move and transform data from multiple sources into an analytics-ready form quickly and cost-effectively. While there have been some issues reported with Fivetranโ€™s customer service and pricing model, the...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Fivetran seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 12 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Microsoft SQL mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Microsoft SQL yet. Tracking of Microsoft SQL recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Fivetran mentions (12)

  • Sync Snowflake and Google Sheets
    Even looking past these limitations, internal scripts invariably require development and maintenance time, and as any developer knows, can break at the worst of times :) Method #2: Use Zapier? (https://zapier.com) Want to use Zapier to do this? You canโ€™t. Not only because it doesnโ€™t track deletes, updates to existing records, and only does one way syncs. But because Snowflake isnโ€™t supported. Method #3:... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • Big problem with companies now is they hire data scientist for task that don't require data science practices.
    Disclaimer: I work for Fivetran, a data integration company. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • I love data science but hate data engineering
    Disclaimer: I'm a product evangelist for a data integration company called Fivetran, so I'm shamelessly shilling here. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Which webflow theme is this?
    I really like the theme theyโ€™re using on https://fivetran.com. Source: about 4 years ago
  • A modern data stack for startups
    From experience then, believe me when I say you don't want to build these. Thankfully, ETL products like Fivetran and Stitch run and maintain these extraction processes for you. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Microsoft SQL and Fivetran, you can also consider the following products

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Stitch - Consolidate your customer and product data in minutes

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

Talend Data Integration - Talend offers open source middleware solutions that address big data integration, data management and application integration needs for businesses of all sizes.

Oracle Database 12c - Simplify database management and automate the information lifecycle with maximum security.

Xplenty - Xplenty is the #1 SecurETL - allowing you to build low-code data pipelines on the most secure and flexible data transformation platform. No longer worry about manual data transformations. Start your free 14-day trial now.