Many teams start with Fivetran for ELT pipelines—but face limitations in flexibility, cost, and transparency. Mage Pro offers a powerful alternative: a unified platform for data integration, transformation, and orchestration with full code control, AI-assisted development, and cloud-native scalability.

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Why migrate from Fivetran to Mage Pro?

Fivetran is convenient for basic replication—but it wasn’t built for:
  • Custom transformations or logic
  • Managing orchestration and dependencies
  • Running in your own cloud for cost control and security
  • Debugging and optimizing individual steps
  • Streaming data or event-driven triggers
Mage Pro replaces Fivetran’s “black-box” connector model with modular, open pipelines that give you full control over data extraction, transformation, and loading—plus visibility into every step.

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✨ Mage Pro vs Fivetran: Benefits Overview

Mage Pro offers more flexibility, transparency, and scalability than Fivetran—at a fraction of the cost.
CapabilityFivetranMage Pro
Data integration✅ Managed connectors✅ Native connectors for APIs, DBs, files
Transformation support⚠️ External only (via dbt or dest SQL)✅ Built-in SQL & Python support
Orchestration❌ None✅ Full DAG-level orchestration
Visual pipeline UI❌✅ Drag-and-drop builder
AI assistance❌✅ AI Sidekick for code & pipeline generation
Incremental loads✅ Supported✅ Native with customizable logic
Custom logic⚠️ Limited (no in-flow transforms)✅ Full Python & SQL control
Streaming & event triggers❌✅ Real-time CDC, Kafka, webhooks
Data preview & validation⚠️ Destination-only✅ Block-level previews & schema validation
Git integration & CI/CD❌✅ Git-native pipelines & deployments
Secrets management⚠️ Env-only✅ Built-in secrets & workspace isolation
Multi-environment support⚠️ Manual setup✅ Dev, staging, and production workspaces
Observability & debugging⚠️ Basic logs, no pipeline introspection✅ Logs, retries, lineage, and alerting
Scalability⚠️ Controlled by Fivetran, usage-priced✅ Auto-scaled executors on your infra
Deployment options✅ Cloud, Hybrid, Self-Hosted (HVR)✅ Cloud, Hybrid, or Fully On-Prem
Data stays in your VPC✅ With Hybrid deployment✅ Always (runs in your infra)
Control plane ownership⚠️ Fivetran-managed (except self-hosted)✅ Fully under your control

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🛠️ Step-by-Step Migration Instructions

  1. Review your Fivetran connectors
    • List all source → destination syncs
    • Identify transformation steps (dbt, SQL, external pipelines)
    • Export any sync configuration (e.g., schedule, sync mode)
  2. Create your Mage Pro workspace
    • Sign up at Mage Pro
    • (Optional) Connect GitHub or GitLab for version control
  3. **Rebuild Fivetran sync using Mage pipeline **
    • Each Fivetran source → Mage Data Integration Source block
    • Each Fivetran destination → Mage Data Integration Destination block
    • dbt or SQL logic → Mage SQL block
    • Add Python blocks for advanced transforms or conditionals
  4. Design pipelines
    • Combine extract → transform → load in one visual pipeline
    • Use UI builder or YAML configs for setup
  5. Configure schedules and triggers
    • Replace Fivetran sync schedules with Mage cron, event, or file triggers
    • Add webhooks or file watchers if needed
  6. Validate pipelines
    • Preview outputs at each block
    • Compare target tables and schema to Fivetran outputs
    • Test incremental sync and backfill behavior
  7. Monitor and scale
    • View logs, lineage, and metrics in Mage
    • Configure alerts, retries, and concurrency
    • Enable auto-scaling for high-volume loads

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🤖 Use AI Sidekick to Convert Fivetran Configs

Mage Pro’s AI Sidekick helps migrate Fivetran configurations, dbt models, and logic into Mage pipelines.

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🔧 How to Use It

  1. Open your Mage Pro workspace
  2. Click the “Ask AI” button
  3. Paste in your Fivetran connector settings, sync SQL, or dbt model
  4. Ask: “Convert this Fivetran sync into a Mage pipeline.”
  5. The AI will:
    • Generate Extract and Load blocks
    • Create SQL/Python transforms
    • Add schedule and retry logic
  6. Insert the generated pipeline into your workspace

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🧠 Tips for Migrating Complex Pipelines

  • Use multiple pipelines for large source groups (e.g., one per schema)
  • Parameterize table names and filters with pipeline variables
  • Replace dbt logic with modular SQL blocks using ref() and tests
  • Use batching or streaming modes for large datasets

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✅ After Migration: What You Gain

  • Complete ELT pipelines with built-in orchestration
  • Visual and modular pipeline builder
  • AI-powered development & debugging
  • Git-native deployments across environments
  • Real-time ingestion with event-based triggers
  • Transparent cost, better performance, full control
Fivetran is great for getting started. But when you’re ready for control, observability, and flexibility—Mage Pro is built for scale.
👉 Start Migrating to Mage Pro