About the Services
Informatica
Informatica is an iPaaS platform offering solutions for the enterprise sector. It’s capable of ETL, ELT, and cloud management. It started in 1993. And now, they have 5000+ customers, including Dolby, Twitch, and more.
Informatica offers integration products for both cloud and on-premise cases. The most popular products are PowerCenter and Intelligent Data Management Cloud platform. You can start for free, but you need a work email. So, Gmail, Outlook, and the like won’t pass the registration.
They have a low-code, no-code GUI tool for both cloud and on-premises. They also have an AI recommendation engine called Claire AI. But the ease of use is a mixed bag from users in review sites. Some say it’s easy to use. But others feel it’s too complex and hard to navigate.
Like other data integration tools, Informatica ensures your data is private. They have SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, and other certifications.
Apache Nifi
Apache Nifi is an open-source, easy-to-use system to process and distribute data. Brand new UI version 1 was released in 2016. More than 2400 companies are using Apache Nifi, according to Enlyft.
Apache Nifi works on-premise or with any cloud provider. You can download, install, and configure Apache Nifi on Linux, Mac, and Windows machines. Keep in mind that Nifi may require technical skills. You can’t install it and build ETL pipelines in minutes. But once you complete your configuration, you can prepare data pipelines in a browser.
There are no limits on the number of data sources and destinations in a pipeline. You are only limited by the processing capacity of your machine.
Data security and privacy are your responsibility. But if you deploy the system in AWS or Azure, you can leverage their security and privacy certifications.
Skyvia
Skyvia is a no-code cloud data integration platform for many data integration scenarios. It’s an all-rounder tool for ETL, ELT, Reverse ETL, data migration, one-way and bi-directional data sync, workflow automation, and more. Devart launched this fantastic product in 2014 for cloud data integration and backup.
Skyvia offers more than 180 ready-made data connectors. These are available for thousands of free users, including 2000+ paid customers. Big names like Hyundai and General Electric trust Skyvia to process their data. Its easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface suits both IT professionals and business users. And don’t take our word for it. Listen to G2 reviewers about how easy it is to start and work with it. Data integration experts who used other tools can adapt with little to no help from support.
Skyvia has flexible pricing plans perfect for small startups and large enterprises. So, it makes it applicable to businesses of all sizes. Also, Skyvia’s freemium model allows users to start using it now and then decide if they need to upgrade later.
The safety of your data is also our prime concern. So, we hosted it in Microsoft Azure cloud, providing the best data security and privacy. It complies with a wide set of security standards, including SOC 2, ISO 27001, and many others.
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Data Ingestion, ETL. | ETL, ELT | Data ingestion, ELT, ETL, reverse ETL, data sync, workflow automation. |
| Skill level | Varies from low-code to high-code, depending on the product. | No-code solution. | No-code wizard. Top-rated as one of the easiest ETL tools by G2. |
| Sources | 90+ | Unspecified | 180+ |
| Destinations | Cloud, on-premises, mobile, and social data sources. | Unspecified | Supported data sources, including databases, data warehouses, cloud apps and flat files. |
| Database replication | Full table; incremental via change data capture. | Full and incremental load. | Full table and incremental via change data capture. |
| Ability for customers to add new data sources | Yes, by Connector Toolkit Developer. | Contributing to community/coding. | Ye s, by request or using REST API connector. |
| G2 customer satisfaction | 4.2 out of 5 264 reviews | 4.2 out of 5 23 reviews | 4.8 out of 5 217 Reviews |
| Peer Insights satisfaction | 4.2 308 Ratings | None | 4.8 103 Ratings |
| Developer tools | Informatica Developer Tool, REST API, Connector Toolkit. | Web interface, REST API. CLI, integration to Kafka, and more. | REST connector for data sources that have REST API. |
| Advanced ETL capabilities | Visual ETL designer, Claire AI. | REST API and open architecture. | Visual ETL data pipeline designer with data orchestration capabilities. |
| Compliance and security certifications | SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3, HIPAA / HITECH, GDPR, Privacy Shield. | No provided security and privacy certifications. | HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 (by Azure). |
| Purchase process | Requires conversation with sales. | Download, install, and configure. | Self-service or sales. |
| Vendor lock-in | Annual contracts. | None | Monthly or annual contracts. |
| Pricing | Consumption-based pricing. | Free | Volume-based and feature-based pricing. Freemium model allows to start with a free plan. |
Connectors
Informatica
Informatica’s platform boasts 50K+ high-performance, metadata-aware connections based on its website. But this is not the actual number of connectors. The list of Informatica connectors shows less than 100. It supports SaaS apps, relational databases, data warehouses, and more. It also supports ODBC, JDBC, OData, and REST API. And with these, the number of connectors can increase but will not reach 50K.
You can request new connectors or use the Connector Toolkit for developers.
Apache Nifi
Apache Nifi can connect to various data sources, including SQL and NoSQL databases, flat files, and others. It has a number of components for data extraction and loading called processors which you can drag in the Nifi canvas and configure.
Every Nifi processor for data access is available to you. You can check the Apache Nifi documentation for more details.
You can contribute new data sources and destinations to the сommunity. So, you need to know Java and follow the rules of the community in contributing code.
Skyvia
Skyvia offers more than 180 connectors, and more to come very soon. It supports connectors for CRMs, accounting, email marketing, e-commerce, human resources, marketing automation, payment processing, product management, all major databases and DWH, flat files, and more. It’s also not a problem whether your data is on-premise or in the cloud.
You can access your on-premise data with peace of mind using the Skyvia Agent. It allows you to connect to databases like SQL Server, MySQL, and more using an encrypted connection. You need to download the Skyvia Agent and install it. Then, download a secured key file and place it in the same folder as the Agent. The Agent is like an unbreakable metal door, and you use the key file to open that door to your on-premise data. You can also set it up so that Skyvia can access only the resources you specify and nothing else.
Customers can also leave a request for a new data connector. And Skyvia will prioritize building it without additional payment.
Transformation
Informatica
Informatica offers various data transformation capabilities like aggregation, masking, filtering, parsing, and more. The service processes data transformations in real-time or batch. It also uses AI to map columns to increase productivity.
Informatica offers simple transformations only in their free Cloud Data Integration. Grab a paid plan to enjoy advanced transformations. And get the highest-paid plan to have more data-quality services.
Apache Nifi
Apache Nifi transformation capabilities include aggregating, splitting, data encryption, and decryption to hide sensitive information. You can also do XSLT transforms for XML data and JOLT transforms for JSON data. Besides that, you can also do regular expressions and even run SQL commands in relational databases.
All transformations in Apache Nifi are part of its Processors list. So, check specific transformation processors in the Apache Nifi documentation.
Skyvia
Skyvia is a full-featured ETL service that allows powerful data transformations. It is a no-code solution allowing data splitting, conversion, lookups, and many more.
You can use the Skyvia Data Flow and Control Flow for advanced data pipelines. Transformations for these advanced pipelines are flexible. It supports extending your data with new columns, conditional flows, and summarized values. And all these you can do with parameters, variables, and more for flexibility without code.
Moreover, Skyvia has an Expression Builder to build formulas with many functions. With this, you can convert or extract parts of the data or form new values to suit your needs. And if you love coding in SQL, Skyvia can further extend your transformation needs. It supports multiple joins, groupings, CASE expressions, and more in SELECT queries. And you can also use DML commands like INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.
Support
Informatica
Informatica support depends on your pricing plan.
For the free Data Loader, you only have the community to support you. But the free Cloud Data Integration lets you enjoy the community and live chat.
For the paid tiers, you have Cloud Data Integration – PayGo. It lets you enjoy the community, live chat, and basic support. Meanwhile, the Intelligent Data Management Cloud offers community and premium support.
Informatica also offers comprehensive documentation, a portal with learning courses, and certification training.
Apache Nifi
Open-source projects like Apache Nifi have communities where you can ask for help. You can be a part of their mailing list or you can chat to them through Slack. There is no resolution time for your problems, neither is priority support.
However, there are how-to videos and documentation. And you can ask questions on developer-focused sites like StackOverflow.
Skyvia
Skyvia offers free email, chat (on the website or in-app), and forum support for all customers. It also provides extensive documentation with lots of tutorials and user guides.
For paid customers, there's also a phone support option and additional support options for Enterprise customers.
Pricing
Informatica
Informatica uses consumption-based pricing. It measures consumption in what they call Informatica Processing Unit (IPU). You need to subscribe to enough IPUs in advance for your data integration needs.
Informatica also offers a free tier for their Cloud Data Integration. But with it, you only get simple transformations and live chat support. Also unavailable are SOC 2 Compliance, API Management, data privacy, and more.
The paid tiers offer better support and the features missing in the free tier. For more information, visit Informatica’s website.
Note that one of the dislikes about Informatica is its price. Reviews in G2 report it’s very pricey.
Apache Nifi
The tool is free to use, from downloading to configuring. However, keep in mind that you'll have to pay for the planned infrastructure later on. There is no difference whether you'll build your own data centers or use cloud services.
There are also companies offering consulting services and even freelancers who have successful implementations experience, but they also require payment.
So, if you need to get the fast result it will be better to use alternatives that provide quick solutions. Apache Nifi, however, can offer you a flexibility for complex scenarios.
Skyvia
Skyvia Data Integration is a freemium tool with an option to request a 14-day trial. So, price is not a barrier to entry.
And when you’re ready, paid plans start from $19 per month. Pricing tiers depend on a few factors. It includes the number of loaded records, scheduling frequency, and advanced ETL features. There are no sale commitments. And customers can upgrade or downgrade at any time. Check out a detailed comparison here.
If you doubt the price is worth it, check out review sites like G2. Aside from ease of use, reasonable pricing is one of the things Skyvia customers like. So, you can be sure the features you get are worth every penny.