ShedBoxAI vs Fivetran

Fivetran offers managed ELT with 300+ connectors. ShedBoxAI provides a lightweight, open-source alternative with AI capabilities.

Quick Comparison​

Key Differences​

Pricing Model​

Fivetran charges based on Monthly Active Rows (MAR). Costs can grow significantly with data volume.

ShedBoxAI is free and open-source. Run it anywhere without usage fees.

Connector Approach​

Fivetran provides pre-built connectors:

• Click to connect
• Automatic schema mapping
• Managed syncs

ShedBoxAI uses flexible REST API configuration:

data_sources:
  salesforce:
    type: rest
    url: "https://${SF_INSTANCE}.salesforce.com/services/data/v58.0/query"
    headers:
      Authorization: "Bearer ${SF_ACCESS_TOKEN}"
    options:
      params:
        q: "SELECT Id, Name FROM Account"
    response_path: "records"

AI Processing​

ShedBoxAI includes AI processing as a core feature:

ai_interface:
  model:
    type: rest
    url: "https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages"
    method: POST
    headers:
      x-api-key: "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}"
      Content-Type: "application/json"
    options:
      model: "claude-sonnet-4-20250514"

  prompts:
    enrich:
      user_template: |
        Enrich this record:
        {{ data | tojson }}

Fivetran focuses on data movement, not processing.

When to Choose Fivetran​

• You need many pre-built connectors
• You prefer fully managed infrastructure
• Budget isn't a primary concern
• You don't need AI processing

When to Choose ShedBoxAI​

• You want to avoid usage-based pricing
• You need AI-powered data processing
• You're comfortable with self-hosting
• You need custom connector logic

Get Started​

• Quick Start Guide
• Data Sources Documentation
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