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Databases · head to head

Amazon Redshift vs Fivetran HVR

Amazon Redshift logo

Amazon Redshift

Databases

Fast, scalable cloud data warehouse from AWS

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fivetran HVR logo

Fivetran HVR

Databases

Log-based change data capture for database replication and synchronization

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Amazon Redshift has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Redshift on-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery; Fivetran HVR pricing not published separately; part of Fivetran's usage model
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Fivetran HVR covers Log-based change capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Redshift and Fivetran HVR actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Redshift and Fivetran HVR differ
AttributeAmazon RedshiftFivetran HVR
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedUsage-based, integrated with Fivetran billing
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebData Warehouse, Data Lake, Operational Databases

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases), founded (2012).

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 Amazon Redshift

  • Columnar Storage
  • Massively Parallel
  • Machine Learning
  • AQUA Acceleration
  • Data Sharing
  • Federated Query
  • Concurrency Scaling
  • S3

Only in Fivetran HVR

  • Log-based change capture
  • Real-time replication
  • Schema evolution handling
  • Multi-table consistency
  • Zero-impact monitoring
  • Fivetran integration

What people use each for

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

Amazon Redshift

  • Business intelligencenot Fivetran HVR
  • Data warehousingnot Fivetran HVR
  • Real-time analyticsnot Fivetran HVR
  • Reportingnot Fivetran HVR
  • Machine learningnot Fivetran HVR

Fivetran HVR

  • Real-time database replication to data warehousesnot Amazon Redshift
  • Maintaining operational copies for analyticsnot Amazon Redshift
  • Disaster recovery and business continuitynot Amazon Redshift
  • Feeding AI systems with fresh governed datanot Amazon Redshift

Where each one falls short

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

Amazon Redshift

  • On-demand pricing runs up to 75% higher than competitors like Snowflake and BigQuery
  • Requires significant manual tuning including managing concurrency scaling costs and configuring Workload Management queues
  • Performance degrades without proper design of distribution keys and sort keys
  • Limited elastic resize options - can only halve or double current cluster size
  • AWS lock-in makes it unsuitable for multi-cloud architectures

Fivetran HVR

  • Pricing not published separately; part of Fivetran's usage model
  • Requires Fivetran relationship for implementation
  • Limited standalone documentation and community resources
  • May be overkill for simple batch replication needs
  • Competitive offerings provide more transparent per-connector pricing

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Redshift

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 750 DC2.Large hours
    • 2 months free
    • Full features
  • On-Demand$0.25/hour
    • Pay per node hour
    • All features
    • Standard support

Fivetran HVR

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Fivetran HVR review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Redshift if

  • You need columnar storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want massively parallel.
Amazon Redshift review

Choose Fivetran HVR if

  • You need log-based change capture.
  • You work on Data Warehouse, Data Lake, Operational Databases.
  • You also want real-time replication.
Fivetran HVR review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Redshift or Fivetran HVR better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Redshift starts at Free and Fivetran HVR at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Redshift or Fivetran HVR?
Amazon Redshift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Amazon Redshift and On request for Fivetran HVR.
Does Amazon Redshift or Fivetran HVR run on more platforms?
Amazon Redshift runs on Web. Fivetran HVR runs on Data Warehouse, Data Lake, Operational Databases.
Can I use Amazon Redshift for free?
Yes. Amazon Redshift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fivetran HVR starts at On request.
What is Amazon Redshift best used for?
Amazon Redshift is most often used for business intelligence, data warehousing, real-time analytics, reporting. Of those, business intelligence and data warehousing are not what Fivetran HVR is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Redshift do that Fivetran HVR cannot?
Amazon Redshift covers Columnar Storage, Massively Parallel, Machine Learning, AQUA Acceleration. Fivetran HVR covers Log-based change capture, Real-time replication, Schema evolution handling, Multi-table consistency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Redshift: What deployment options does Amazon Redshift offer?

Redshift offers Provisioned Cluster (with RA3 or DC2 nodes) and Serverless options to match varying workloads. The new Redshift RG instance family, powered by Graviton, delivers 2.4x faster performance than RA3 at 30% lower cost per vCPU.

Source
Fivetran HVR: What databases does Fivetran HVR support?

HVR supports major databases including Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and others that emit transaction logs.

Source
Amazon Redshift: What does Amazon Redshift cost?

Provisioned cluster pricing: RA3 on-demand starts at $1.086/hour for ra3.xlplus. Serverless costs approximately $0.375 per RPU-hour with 4-RPU minimum (roughly $1.50/hour active workload). Managed storage costs $0.024/GB-month.

Source
Fivetran HVR: Is HVR part of standard Fivetran pricing?

Yes, HVR is integrated into Fivetran's usage-based pricing model with standard per-row-synced and transformation costs.

Source
Amazon Redshift: Does Redshift work with data lakes?

Yes, Redshift's integrated data lake query engine processes workloads on Apache Iceberg tables and other supported formats in Amazon S3, allowing you to run SQL analytics across your data warehouse and data lake from the same engine.

Source
Amazon Redshift: Is there a free tier for Amazon Redshift?

AWS offers a free trial with $300 USD in Serverless credits valid for 90 days, but Redshift is not part of the permanent AWS Free Tier.

Source
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