Fivetran vs dlt: Quickstart vs Endgame

Fivetran and dlt represent two entirely different philosophies about how data teams should work. Fivetran, a managed data pipeline service, offers pre-built connectors wrapped in a clean UI, sold as a managed service, but its approach is limited by the rapidly changing API landscape and vendor lock-in. In contrast, dlt, an open-source Python-first data integration tool, empowers developers with flexibility, automates what can be automated, and exposes what must be customized, resulting in faster pipelines, fewer bugs, and actual control. The choice between Fivetran and dlt depends on whether you want to invest in building capability within your team or rent access to someone else's catalog, with dlt being the optimal choice for flexibility, ownership, and scalability.