Data pipelines and Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct differences. ETL is a process that extracts data from sources, transforms it into a usable format, and loads it into a destination repository, whereas data pipelines are continuous structures that gather data from multiple sources, process it in real-time, and deliver it to various destinations such as analytics tools or data visualizations. While ETL focuses on batch processing, data pipelines can support real-time data analysis using technologies like Fivetran, which provides a range of extract, transform, load tools and connectors to create custom pipelines tailored to specific needs and applications.