Fivetran is an ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) platform that offers a cost-effective approach to data integration and analytics. To determine the cost-effectiveness of Fivetran, consider four key factors: building data pipelines, maintaining data pipelines, moving data, and transforming data. When it comes to building data pipelines, DIY options can be time-consuming and lack scalability, while using open-source connector development kits can speed up the process but also introduce inefficiencies. Maintaining data pipelines is critical, as pipeline breaks can have serious downstream impacts, and Fivetran's auto-schema change detection and response capabilities eliminate these issues. Moving data requires efficient capabilities such as data normalization, idempotence, incremental syncs, data selection, and programmatic pipeline management. Transforming data can be accelerated with features like version control, prebuilt data models, modularity, data lineage graphs, scheduling and managing transformations, and fully integrated scheduling. By considering these factors, organizations can choose the most cost-effective ELT solution for their business needs.