Airbyte vs dbt Labs Pricing (2026)

Which one is cheaper?

Airbyte starts lower at $29/mo, compared to $100/mo for dbt Labs.

Can I use either one for free?

Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.

How do they charge?

Different approach here. Airbyte uses usage-based pricing, while dbt Labs goes with hybrid. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.

Which one is a better deal?

Depends on what you need. Airbyte: Sitting below enterprise ETL players like Fivetran on price, Airbyte leans on its open-source roots to win developers who want control without enterprise sticker shock. The free tier and low Individual price are clearly aimed at poaching users who'd otherwise self-host or hack together scripts, while Custom exists to compete for the same enterprise budgets as pricier rivals. dbt Labs: At $100/user/month, Starter isn't cheap for what's essentially a small-team tier — it signals dbt Labs is positioning as the premium standard in the analytics engineering space rather than competing on price. They're betting that teams already sold on dbt as a category (versus building it themselves) will pay up rather than shop around.

Still deciding? See the best Airbyte alternatives or the best dbt Labs alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.