Transformations Pricing

Fivetran charges for data transformation usage for Quickstart data models and Fivetran-hosted Transformations for dbt Core. We charge for usage based on the total number of successful monthly model runs.

We count only successful model runs toward your usage. Let’s consider the following scenarios:

• Successful job: You have a transformation job that was completed successfully. All the model runs that were a part of that job were successful and count toward your usage.
• Partially completed job: A job was partially completed. Any successful model runs within that job count towards your usage.
• Repeated job runs: You have jobs that run multiple times a month. Each time the models run successfully as part of the jobs, they count towards your usage.
• Failed job runs: You have a job that fails, and none of the job’s models run successfully. This does not count toward your transformation usage.

Monthly model runs

Monthly model runs are the number of models successfully executed in a given month. Fivetran uses it as a metric to calculate transformations activity and usage levels.

An individual model run is a SQL statement that produces a materialized table or data view. Transformations often consist of multiple interdependent models that work together to produce the final dataset used for business intelligence (BI) or operational purposes. This includes all upstream and intermediate models before the final output model.

Transformations pricing tiers

Transformations pricing is usage-based. Each month, the first 5,000 successful model runs are free. Any usage beyond the 5,000 successful model runs mark is paid, and the higher the usage, the lower the cost per successful model run.

See transformations pricing tiers below:

Additionally, consider the image below that exemplifies using 35,000 model runs a month:

Free usage

The following transformations usage is free:

• Any usage related to the Fivetran Platform Quickstart data model.
• Third-party orchestrations, such as dbt Cloud Integration and Coalesce. Third-party orchestrations are free on all pricing plans.
• We’re offering up to 5,000 model runs per month for free to help customers manage costs. This applies to all Fivetran pricing plans.
• Unsuccessful model runs do not count toward your usage.

Free plan

Fivetran’s Free plan supports Quickstart data models and dbt Core Transformations. If you exceed the 5,000 monthly model run limit on the Free plan, you can either opt to optimize your usage or upgrade to a paid plan. The first time you exceed the limit, your transformations will continue to function during the next billing cycle.

If your transformation usage exceeds 5,000 monthly model runs for the second time:

• Fivetran will freeze your connections, transformation jobs, and your account.
• To continue using Fivetran, go to the Plans page in your dashboard and upgrade to a paid plan by the end of the month.

Monitoring transformation usage and costs

Monitor your transformation usage and costs in your Fivetran dashboard or by using the Fivetran Platform Connector.

Fivetran dashboard

You can monitor your transformation usage in the Fivetran dashboard. Go to Billing & Usage > Transformations to see your total usage.

The Monthly overview section displays how much of your free monthly usage you have consumed so far in the month. It also displays the number of paid model runs and the associated costs (if any).

You can break down usage by Month, Destination, Transformation, and Run type (Metered runs and Free runs).

Metered runs

Metered runs include all your usage on a paid plan. It includes the 5,000 free model runs as well as any paid usage you may have.

Free runs

Free runs include the free 5,000 model runs you receive each month.

Fivetran Platform Connector

The Fivetran Platform Connector syncs your transformation usage data into your destination, allowing you to analyze it just like any other data. The TRANSFORMATION_RUNS table provides the total number of successful transformation model runs during a specific month. The model run count resets to zero at the beginning of each month.

For more information, see our Fivetran Platform Connector documentation.

Optimizing transformation usage

You can control costs by reducing the number of monthly model runs. See our Transformations pricing best practices video below for practical advice.

You can optimize your costs by adjusting your scheduling to change the run frequency or by only selecting Quickstart output models that matter the most.

Custom scheduling

Custom scheduling allows you to select particular days of the week to run your transformation, with a run frequency within a day from 1 minute to 24 hours. If you choose 24 hours, you can set a particular time of day in 30-minute increments. Reducing your run frequency reduces your monthly model runs and costs. Consider how up-to-date your transformations need to be to suit your use case.

Integrated scheduling and connection sync frequency

If you are using integrated scheduling, adjust it to optimize the number of monthly model runs. Integrated scheduling automatically triggers model runs following the completion of Fivetran connection syncs, so transformations only run when a sync has completed. In this case, the usage depends on how often your connections sync. To optimize your total monthly model runs, adjust the sync frequency of your connections.

Cron jobs

Cron jobs are tasks that run at specific times or intervals. For example, you can schedule your dbt models to run hourly, daily, or weekly based on your reporting or analytics needs. We use them in our deployment.yml-based scheduling for all our transformations. Cron jobs will also be available in the dashboard on January 1, 2025.

Quickstart data models

You can also control costs by selecting the Quickstart output models that matter most to you. Each of our Quickstart data models has multiple output models associated with it. Output models are the final model in a transformation workflow. Similar to selecting tables within a schema for connections, you can choose which output models you need with Quickstart. If certain output models are not valuable, you can turn them off.

The number of models associated with each data model is available in Fivetran’s dbt packages documentation. See our Available Data Models documentation and go to the relevant data model’s dbt package documentation.

Remove transformations you don't need

You can remove unnecessary transformations in your Fivetran dashboard. To do so:

1. Log in to your Fivetran dashboard.
2. Click Transformations and select the destination for which you want to turn off transformations jobs.
3. Select the transformations you want to remove by selecting the checkboxes beside their names.
4. Click Remove.
5. In the confirmation pop-up window, click Remove.

Transformations usage and billing FAQs

Are both successful and failed model runs counted as usage?

We count only successful model runs as usage. Model runs that fail do not count toward your usage.

If a job is partially completed, do the successful model runs still count toward paid usage?

If you have a transformations job that has only been partially completed, any successful model runs that are part of that job count towards your total usage.

Does re-running the same model within a month count multiple times toward my model run total?

Yes, each successful model run counts towards your usage. For example, if you have a job that runs five times a month, for each of those runs, all successful model runs count towards your total usage.

If a job has only been partially completed and I need to restart it, will the previously successful model runs be counted again?

Yes, we count every successful model run for each job separately. Even if a job is only partially completed, all successful model runs that are a part of that job still count toward your total usage. When you restart the job, we count all successful model runs separately.

The Quickstart data model I use produces five output models, but I am being charged for more. Why is that?

While output models are ready for use, a transformation often requires more models in intermediate transformations to produce the final output models. These are known as intermediate models. As a result, the total number of models may include intermediate models, which you do not see but are essential for producing the final output models.

Can I run Fivetran’s data models outside of Fivetran? Will I be charged for that?

All Fivetran data models are open-source, and customers can download them from the dbt Hub and orchestrate them outside of Fivetran. We only charge for the simple, no-code setup and maintenance that Fivetran takes care of for customers. If you prefer, you can run the models outside of Fivetran and not use Quickstart.

* dbt Core is a trademark of dbt Labs, Inc. All rights therein are reserved to dbt Labs, Inc. Fivetran Transformations is not a product or service of or endorsed by dbt Labs, Inc.