# Airbyte review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Data integration with a free self-hosted core and a managed cloud Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Airbyte moves data from applications, databases and files into warehouses and other destinations using 700+ connectors. Airbyte Core is free to self-host, and the paid plans add hosting, upgrades and support in the cloud. Standard and Plus are billed by volume in credits; Pro and Enterprise Flex are priced on compute capacity. - **Category:** Automation - **Made by:** Airbyte - **Website:** https://airbyte.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you can't run and maintain a self-hosted install. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Airbyte has a free plan, and paid plans start at $20 per month (Standard, 5 credits included). - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Airbyte Core is free to self-host under the Elastic License 2.0; you run and maintain it yourself. - **Free trial:** 14-day Cloud trial with 400 credits, no credit card required. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | 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. | | Pro | Custom | Flat annual capacity pricing on Data Workers, 5-minute syncs, RBAC, premium support and a dedicated Solutions Architect. | | Enterprise Flex | Custom | Everything in Pro with hybrid deployment in your own VPC, on-prem or multi-region. | Read from https://airbyte.com/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Airbyte before buying. ## Key features - **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. ## Good for - Engineering teams that want to self-host a data integration tool for free - Small teams starting with a few pipelines at a low monthly fee - Organizations with data that must stay inside their own environment ## Worth knowing - 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Airbyte moves data between sources and destinations, with a free self-hosted Core and a paid cloud. Standard syncs at most hourly, 15-minute syncs and SSO need Plus at $189 a month, and Core is on the Elastic License 2.0 with community support only. - **Value for money: C.** Core is free but you host it. Cloud Standard is $20 a month with 5 credits included, then Plus is $189. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Core is free to self-host, and the cloud has a 14-day trial with 400 credits and no card. - **Features: C.** Connectors and syncs. Standard is hourly at most; 15-minute syncs and SSO need Plus, and enterprise connectors are an add-on. - **Ease of use: D.** No store rating on record. Running Core means installing and maintaining it yourself. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web console with connections to Airflow, Dagster, Prefect and Terraform. No desktop or phone apps. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Airbyte's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among automation tools - Airbyte's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 54 of the 134 other automation tools we grade, and level with 35. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 100 of 134) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $20 a month, against a middle price of $22.17 for the category: 30 of the 65 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 27 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/automation ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Airbyte you would be making connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $240 a year. Airbyte is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself. - You could not: Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Airflow, Dagster, Prefect, Terraform **Tags:** Workflow automation, Open source, Self-hostable, Public API ## Alternatives - [Fivetran](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fivetran): Managed data movement with a free plan and usage-based pricing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/airbyte-vs-fivetran) - [Integrate.io](https://toolgpa.com/tools/integrate-io): Low-code data pipelines for ETL, ELT and reverse ETL. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/airbyte-vs-integrate-io) - [Skyvia](https://toolgpa.com/tools/skyvia): No-code cloud data integration, sync and workflow automation. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/airbyte-vs-skyvia) - [Kestra](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kestra): Open-source workflow orchestration platform defined in YAML. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/airbyte-vs-kestra) - [Celigo](https://toolgpa.com/tools/celigo): Integration platform with AI agents, EDI and API management. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/airbyte-vs-celigo) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://airbyte.com/pricing Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/airbyte Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).