Changes / ETL / ELT & ingestion / Fivetran
Packaging changemedium impact
Census becomes Fivetran Activations, billed on MAR
Activations is billed on inserted, updated and deleted data measured in MAR, with cost per MAR decreasing on each activation's consumption curve.
Who’s affected
Teams running Census (now Fivetran Activations) for reverse ETL, and anyone planning to buy it from Fivetran. Billing is now measured in MAR on inserted, updated and deleted data, with the per-MAR cost set per activation.
Not affected: Teams that do not use reverse ETL or Census, and teams that only use Fivetran for ingestion into the warehouse.
What it costs
The record gives no list prices, so the bill now depends on how much data each activation inserts, updates and deletes. Per-MAR cost falls as an activation's usage rises, so high-volume syncs get cheaper per unit while many small syncs may not.
When to act
The change has been in effect since 2026-02-01, so check your next renewal or quote with 60-90 days of lead time to review MAR volumes and negotiate.
Blast radius: Existing Census syncs, their schedules and the downstream CRM, ad and marketing tools they feed. Budget forecasts and invoices also change, since they are now based on MAR.
What should you do? decision tree
- you are a current Census customer on a pre-Activations contractAsk your account rep how and when your contract moves to MAR billing and request the per-activation consumption curve in writing.
- you can pull sync history by activation (rows inserted, updated, deleted)Estimate monthly MAR per activation and compare against the curve to see which syncs sit in the costly low-volume tiers.
- many activations have low volume or sync full tables every runSwitch to incremental or change-only syncs and merge or retire small activations to reduce MAR.
- your estimate is higher than your current Census spendNegotiate committed volume or a price lock at renewal, and get a quote from an alternative reverse ETL tool for leverage.
- none of the above appliesKeep the current setup, monitor MAR monthly for two or three cycles, and revisit at renewal.
Options
- OptimizeCut MAR by syncing only changed rows, avoiding full refreshes and deleting unused or duplicate activations.
- NegotiateAsk for list-price discounts, a committed-volume tier or a price cap, since per-MAR cost drops with higher usage.
- Re-architectConsolidate syncs into fewer, larger activations so volume lands further down the consumption curve.
- MigrateMove low-value syncs to another reverse ETL tool or to native warehouse and CRM connectors if MAR cost grows.
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The facts straight from the source
Facts above are extracted from the source and checked word-for-word before publishing. The guidance sections are AI-assisted analysis based only on those facts: a starting point, not legal or procurement advice. Spotted an error? Tell us.
Related changes
- FivetranFivetran moves MAR volume tiering from account to connection level
MAR volume tiering is applied per connection instead of per account from March 1, 2025, raising costs for accounts with many equal-sized connections.
Price ↑ - FivetranFivetran signs agreement to acquire Census (reverse ETL)
Fivetran announced a signed agreement to acquire Census, funded by cash and equity; terms were not disclosed and closing is pending.
M&A - FivetranFivetran acquires Tobiko Data (SQLMesh, SQLGlot)
Fivetran announced it has acquired Tobiko Data, the open source company behind SQLMesh and SQLGlot, adding transformation capabilities to its platform.
M&A - FivetranFivetran adds a $5 minimum per connection (1 to 1M MAR)
A $5 minimum base charge applies to standard connections generating between 1 and 1 million MAR per month, starting January 1, 2026 for PAYG.
Price ↑ - FivetranFivetran deletes now count toward paid MAR
Inserts, updates and deletes all count toward paid MAR; previously deletes did not contribute to paid MAR.
Billing - FivetranFivetran now bills history-mode repeated updates as paid MAR
Repeated updates tracked in history mode now count toward paid MAR; soft delete and live modes are alternatives.
Billing