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Automation Integration · head to head

Airbyte vs Mautic

Airbyte logo

Airbyte

Automation Integration

The open-source ELT platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Airbyte the self-managed open source Core edition has no SSO or RBAC, no multiple workspaces, no row filtering or encryption, and no monitoring integrations; Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • They diverge on capability: Airbyte covers Data replication, Mautic covers Visual campaign builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbyte and Mautic actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbyte and Mautic differ
AttributeAirbyteMautic
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker
CategoryAutomation IntegrationMarketing
Founded2020Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbyte

  • Data replication
  • Schema detection
  • ELT pipelines
  • Real-time sync
  • Data transformation
  • Monitoring
  • Custom connectors
  • 300+ connectors

Only in Mautic

  • Visual campaign builder
  • Contact management and segmentation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Lead scoring
  • Dynamic web content
  • Email builder and A/B testing
  • Self-hosted data control
  • No feature gating

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbyte

  • Data integrationnot Mautic
  • ETL operationsnot Mautic
  • API data synchronizationnot Mautic
  • Data warehouse populationnot Mautic
  • Real-time data replicationnot Mautic

Mautic

  • A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot Airbyte
  • A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot Airbyte
  • A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot Airbyte
  • A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot Airbyte

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbyte

  • The self-managed open source Core edition has no SSO or RBAC, no multiple workspaces, no row filtering or encryption, and no monitoring integrations
  • Sync frequency on Core is limited compared with the managed tiers, which offer 15 minute syncs
  • Support on the free tier is community and AI only; premium support requires Pro or Enterprise
  • The free Agents plan stops at 1,000 agent operations a month and pauses capacity until the next month once hit
  • Agent overages are billed per operation at $0.004 to $0.005 once past the plan allowance

Mautic

  • Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
  • Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
  • Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
  • The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbyte

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 Agent Operations monthly
    • Single user access
    • API and MCP access
  • Individual$29/month
    • 5,000 Agent Operations monthly
    • Hourly Context Store refresh
    • Standard and AI support
  • Team$299/month
    • 10,000 Agent Operations monthly
    • Parallel workflow execution
    • Multiple users

Mautic

Free
  • Self-hosted communityFree
    • GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
    • All features included, no paid edition
    • You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
  • Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
    • Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
    • Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
    • Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbyte if

  • You need data replication.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want schema detection.
Airbyte review

Choose Mautic if

  • You need visual campaign builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want contact management and segmentation.
Mautic review

Questions people ask

Is Airbyte or Mautic better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbyte starts at Free and Mautic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbyte or Mautic?
Airbyte starts at Free and Mautic at Free.
Does Airbyte or Mautic run on more platforms?
Airbyte runs on Web, Self-hosted. Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Airbyte for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Airbyte best used for?
Airbyte is most often used for data integration, etl operations, api data synchronization, data warehouse population. Of those, data integration and etl operations are not what Mautic is typically brought in for.
What can Airbyte do that Mautic cannot?
Airbyte covers Data replication, Schema detection, ELT pipelines, Real-time sync. Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Airbyte: Is Airbyte free to use?

Yes, Airbyte offers a free tier with 1,000 Agent Operations monthly, single user access, API and MCP support, and community/AI assistance.

Source
Mautic: Is Mautic free?

Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.

Airbyte: What does the Team plan include?

The Team plan costs $299/month and includes 10,000 Agent Operations monthly, parallel workflow execution, multiple users, standard and AI support, with overages charged at $0.005 per AO.

Source
Mautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?

Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.

Airbyte: What happens if I exceed my monthly Agent Operations limit?

Overages are charged at $0.004 per AO on the Individual plan and $0.005 per AO on the Team plan, allowing you to exceed your quota as needed.

Source
Mautic: What breaks most often?

Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.

Airbyte: Does Airbyte offer data replication pricing?

Yes. Airbyte Data Replication starts at $10/month on the Standard plan with 600+ connectors. Pro and Enterprise plans use custom capacity-based pricing with Data Workers and dedicated support.

Source
Mautic: Can it handle large contact lists?

Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.

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