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Databases · head to head

Canary Labs vs Fivetran HVR

Canary Labs logo

Canary Labs

Databases

Industrial process historian with published per-tag pricing and no client licence fees

From
$3000/year
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

  • Each has a real cost: Canary Labs pricing steps by tag band rather than actual tags, so a site sitting just above a threshold pays the next band in full; growth from 3,400 to 3,600 tags is a licence purchase, not a rounding error.; Fivetran HVR pricing not published separately; part of Fivetran's usage model
  • They diverge on capability: Canary Labs covers Loss-less compression, Fivetran HVR covers Log-based change capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Canary Labs and Fivetran HVR actually diverge.

Attributes where Canary Labs and Fivetran HVR differ
AttributeCanary LabsFivetran HVR
Starting price$3000/yearOn request
Pricing modelPer tag band per yearUsage-based, integrated with Fivetran billing
PlatformsWindows, WebData Warehouse, Data Lake, Operational Databases
FoundedUnknown2012

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 Canary Labs

  • Loss-less compression
  • Unlimited clients
  • Store and forward
  • Views service
  • Sparkplug B
  • Calculation engine
  • Axiom
  • ODBC and REST

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.

Canary Labs

  • A manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a PI System enterprise agreementnot Fivetran HVR
  • A water utility replacing SCADA-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next SCADA replacementnot Fivetran HVR
  • An Ignition site that wants long-term storage and trending without paying per-client for dashboardsnot Fivetran HVR
  • A plant with regulatory data-retention obligations where swinging-door compression would not survive an auditnot Fivetran HVR

Fivetran HVR

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

Where each one falls short

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

Canary Labs

  • Pricing steps by tag band rather than actual tags, so a site sitting just above a threshold pays the next band in full; growth from 3,400 to 3,600 tags is a licence purchase, not a rounding error.
  • CustomerCare at 18 percent of licence cost is effectively mandatory on perpetual licences because lapsing it removes upgrades, so the perpetual option is not really a one-time cost.
  • The storage format is proprietary; getting data out at volume means the ODBC connector, an additional 2,500 USD one-time or 1,000 USD a year, or writing against the REST API.
  • Canary is a small vendor with a limited partner network outside North America, so support coverage and integrator availability in Europe and Asia are thinner than for AVEVA or Ignition.
  • It is a Windows-only server product with no Linux or container deployment, which complicates placing collectors in modern edge estates.

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

Canary Labs

$3000/year
  • Subscription, 3,500 tags$3000/year
    • Unlimited Axiom clients
    • Unlimited Excel clients
    • Support and upgrades included
  • Perpetual, 3,500 tags$8730/one-time
    • 7,400 USD licence plus 1,330 USD first-year CustomerCare
    • CustomerCare renews at 18 percent of licence cost per year
    • Unlimited clients
  • Private cloud, 3,500 tags$12320/year
    • Hosted by Canary
    • 1,500 USD one-time setup fee per system
    • Scales to around 58,684 USD per year at 60,000 tags
  • Enterprise unlimited$undefined/year
    • Unlimited tags
    • Negotiated licensing terms
    • Quoted pricing

Fivetran HVR

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Fivetran HVR review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Canary Labs if

  • You need loss-less compression.
  • You work on Windows, Web.
  • You also want unlimited clients.
Canary Labs 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 Canary Labs or Fivetran HVR better?
Neither clearly leads. Canary Labs starts at $3000/year and Fivetran HVR at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Canary Labs or Fivetran HVR?
Canary Labs starts at $3000/year and Fivetran HVR at On request.
Does Canary Labs or Fivetran HVR run on more platforms?
Canary Labs runs on Windows, Web. Fivetran HVR runs on Data Warehouse, Data Lake, Operational Databases.
What is Canary Labs best used for?
Canary Labs is most often used for a manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a pi system enterprise agreement, a water utility replacing scada-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next scada replacement, an ignition site that wants long-term storage and trending without paying per-client for dashboards, a plant with regulatory data-retention obligations where swinging-door compression would not survive an audit. Of those, a manufacturer that needs a compliant historian but cannot justify a pi system enterprise agreement and a water utility replacing scada-embedded logging with a historian that survives the next scada replacement are not what Fivetran HVR is typically brought in for.
What can Canary Labs do that Fivetran HVR cannot?
Canary Labs covers Loss-less compression, Unlimited clients, Store and forward, Views service. Fivetran HVR covers Log-based change capture, Real-time replication, Schema evolution handling, Multi-table consistency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Canary Labs: What does Canary cost?

8,730 USD for a 3,500 tag perpetual system including first-year CustomerCare, or 3,000 USD a year on subscription.

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
Canary Labs: Are client licences extra?

No. Unlimited Axiom browser clients and unlimited Excel clients are included on every tier.

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
Canary Labs: Is perpetual cheaper than subscription?

Canary states perpetual pays off after roughly three years, and after that you still pay 18 percent CustomerCare annually.

Canary Labs: Does it use lossy compression?

No. Canary stores every collected value rather than approximating the trend, which matters for regulated data retention.

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