Airbyte vs Celigo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Celigo grades higher than Airbyte: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Airbyte grades higher on the free plan. Celigo grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Airbyte
Data integration with a free self-hosted core and a managed cloud
Which one is for you
Pick Airbyte if
- Fits if you can host Core and want no per-row fees
- Works for small teams that start on a $20 cloud plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you can't run and maintain a self-hosted install
- Tight if you need syncs faster than hourly on Standard
- Pricey if you want 15-minute syncs or SSO, which need Plus at $189
- Watch out: Core is under the Elastic License 2.0, with community support only
Pick Celigo if
- Fits if you move data between NetSuite, Salesforce and similar business systems
- Works for teams that want a 30-day trial before talking to sales
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price on the page, as none is shown
- Tight if you pick Standard: SSO, API Builder and a sandbox are not in it
- Watch out: the trial is the only self-serve way in
- Not for you if you only need a quick two-app link, as it is built for larger setups
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAirbyteFair | 2.4GPACeligoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CCore is free but you host it. Cloud Standard is $20 a month with 5 credits included, then Plus is $189. | CPrices are not published: each edition has a Get pricing button, and cost depends on edition and usage. It sits in the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | BCore is free to self-host, and the cloud has a 14-day trial with 400 credits and no card. | CA 30-day free trial with unlimited access to the platform. The page does not mention a card. |
| Features | CConnectors and syncs. Standard is hourly at most; 15-minute syncs and SSO need Plus, and enterprise connectors are an add-on. | BA prebuilt marketplace, AI agents, EDI, APIs and governance tools. The missing pieces are edition locks, not gaps in the core job. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. Running Core means installing and maintaining it yourself. | CNo store rating on record. Accounts to connect and flows to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb console with connections to Airflow, Dagster, Prefect and Terraform. No desktop or phone apps. | BWeb platform with connections to Salesforce, Dynamics 365, NetSuite, SAP, Shopify, Snowflake, Amazon and Walmart, plus APIs. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | moving data into a warehouse, self-hosted or cloud | connecting business apps like NetSuite |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Airbyte and Celigo. How we grade
Where they differ
- Airbyte is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Celigo also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| Airbyte | Celigo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $20 per month (Standard, 5 credits included) | Not published |
| Free plan | Airbyte Core is free to self-host under the Elastic License 2.0; you run and maintain it yourself. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day Cloud trial with 400 credits, no credit card required | 30-day free trial of the platform |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Airbyte | Celigo |
| Price read from | airbyte.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Airbyte
- Standard syncs at most hourly; 15-minute syncs and SSO need Plus at $189 a month or more.
- Enterprise connectors are an add-on on Standard and Plus, and AWS PrivateLink is an add-on on those plans.
- Core is licensed under the Elastic License 2.0 and you maintain it yourself, with community support only.
- Pro and Enterprise Flex prices are not published and need a quote.
Celigo
- Prices are not published; each edition has a Get pricing button and the page says price depends on edition and usage.
- The 30-day free trial is the only self-serve way in.
- SSO, API Builder and a sandbox are not in the Standard edition.
Key features
Airbyte
- 700+ connectors
- Connectors cover sources and destinations, with CDC, schema propagation and column selection, and a Connector Builder for custom ones.
- Self-hosted or managed
- Airbyte Core runs on your own infrastructure for free; the cloud plans include hosting, upgrades and support.
- Credit-based usage pricing
- Standard and Plus bill by volume: 400 credits in the trial is about 100 GB of syncs, and 5 credits is about 1 GB.
- Capacity pricing
- Pro and Enterprise Flex price on Data Workers, dedicated compute units, so cost stays flat when data volume spikes.
- Orchestrator and developer access
- An Airbyte API, Terraform provider, PyAirbyte and integrations with Airflow, Dagster and Prefect are listed on the plan comparison.
Celigo
- Prebuilt marketplace
- Every edition includes the Celigo Marketplace with prebuilt connectors, templates, AI agents and MCP servers.
- Celigo Ora
- An assistant for building, troubleshooting and managing automations in plain language, included in every edition.
- AI agents and MCP
- Teams can build and deploy AI agents and connect AI tools through MCP Management.
- EDI and APIs
- The platform lists B2B EDI, data ingestion and API management as capabilities; API Builder and Lookup Cache start at Professional.
- Sandbox
- The Professional edition includes a sandbox for development.
- Governance
- MFA and role-based access come with every edition; SSO and auditability start at Professional.
Plans
Airbyte
Core$0
Self-hosted edition you run and maintain yourself, under the Elastic License 2.0.
Standard$20
per month, 5 credits included
Managed cloud with syncs as often as hourly; 5 credits is about 1 GB of syncs. Pay for the data you sync.
Plus$189
per month for 40 credits
Adds SSO, 15-minute syncs, a 24-hour support SLA and 2 workspaces; packages run to 2,000 credits at $4,999 a month.
ProCustom
Flat annual capacity pricing on Data Workers, 5-minute syncs, RBAC, premium support and a dedicated Solutions Architect.
Enterprise FlexCustom
Everything in Pro with hybrid deployment in your own VPC, on-prem or multi-region.
Celigo
Pricing could not be confirmed. See celigo.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Airbyte or Celigo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Airbyte starts at $20 per month (Standard, 5 credits included), and Celigo has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Airbyte or Celigo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Airbyte has a free plan. Celigo does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.