Top 10 Data Migration Tools

AWS Database Migration Service: Best for features and advanced functionalities

Amazon Web Services offers a variety of data migration tool sets, but one of its standout service tools is AWS Database Migration Service. The service allows you to migrate different types of workloads — applications, websites, databases, storage setups and physical or virtual servers — as well as data centers from an on-premises environment, hosting facility or another public cloud environment to AWS.

With this tool, your source database stays active throughout the migration. This reduces downtime for apps that depend on the database and allows you to migrate the database quickly and securely. Furthermore, this service can transfer data to and from the most commonly used commercial and open-source databases.

SEE: Read our full review of AWS DMS.

Pricing

AWS DMS has both free and paid plans. The Free Tier includes up to 750 hours of Single-AZ dms.t2.micro instance usage each month for one year.

The paid plan is available in the following tiers:

• On-demand instances pricing: This plan lets you pay for database migration capacity by the hour with no long-term commitments. For instance, T3 CPU Credits are charged at $0.075 per vCPU-Hour.
• Serverless pricing: This plan allows you to only pay for the capacity you use on a per-hour basis. For instance, one DMS Capacity Unit (DCU) costs $0.087 per hour for Single-AZ and $0.173 per hour for Multi-AZ, while 384 DCUs cost $33.219 per hour for Single-AZ and $66.439 per hour for Multi-AZ.
• Homogeneous data migrations: $0.0824 per migration hour.
• General Purpose (SSD) Storage: It costs $0.115 per GB per month for Single-AZ or $0.23 per GB per month for Multi-AZ.

These rates are not cast in stone; the actual price you will pay for AWS DMS will vary based on the size of the data you are migrating. You can also use the AWS pricing calculator for DMS to create your custom estimate.

Key features

• AWS DMS Fleet Advisor helps automate migration planning, streamline database and analytics fleet transfers to the cloud and suggest optimal migration pathways.
• Provides several ways to transfer files in and out of AWS through online data transfer methods.
• Using the Snow product line, you can transfer data in and out of AWS via offline methods.
• Enables both homogeneous and heterogeneous migrations, which means you can move data between both similar and different database providers.

Pros

• Supports migration between over 20 databases and analytics engines.
• Highly scalable and easy to set up.
• User-friendly.

Cons

• Data type conversion could use some improvement.
• Some users find this tool pricey.

Fivetran: Best for automated data migration

Fivetran is a cloud-based ETL data migration tool that lets data engineers spend more time generating insights and less time on tedious engineering tasks. With connectors that deploy in a few minutes, automatically adapt to source changes and require zero maintenance, Fivetran simplifies data migration by automatically taking care of all data integration tasks.

In addition, it enables users to centralize and streamline their data operations, including database and application integration, process orchestration and metadata management.

SEE: Read our full review of Fivetran.

Pricing

Fivetran offers a usage-based pricing model, meaning you will only pay for the monthly active rows (MAR) you use each month. It offers a 14-day free trial, allowing you to try the tool before making a purchase decision.

• Free plan: Free for unlimited users and up to 0.5M monthly active rows.
• Starter: This plan is ideal for small teams with up to 10 users.
• Standard: Designed for fast-growing teams, this plan supports unlimited users.
• Enterprise: Best for large, global teams requiring real-time data delivery and advanced security. This plan supports unlimited users.
• Business critical: For global enterprise teams needing a high level of data protection and compliance. This plan supports unlimited users.

Each plan offers a 14-day free trial, allowing you to try the tool’s features and functionalities before making a purchase decision.

Key features

• Connectors offered for various data sources, including applications, data warehouses, databases, functions, events and files.
• Uses dbt core to monitor pipelines, load data and prompt dbt models to transform data.
• Users can automate and orchestrate their data workflows via the Fivetran dashboard.

Pros

• Supports multiple data sources.
• Intuitive user interface.
• Efficient user support representatives.
• Comprehensive documentation.

Cons

• Connectors don’t offer support for data lakes.
• Some users consider this tool expensive.

Microsoft Data Migration Assistant: Best for data warehouse data migrations

Data Migration Assistant, or DMA, is a tool from Microsoft that enables you to upgrade your database schema and data from a source SQL Server environment to a target SQL Server environment. With this migration tool, you can move schema, data and uncontained objects from your source server to your target server.

The best part about using this tool is that it will help you identify compatibility issues that may impact functionality in your new SQL Server database version. DMA automates database migration, while simultaneously maintaining minimal downtime. It also provides support for Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL and MongoDB migration to Azure from on-premises and other cloud environments.

Pricing

The tool is available in two versions:

• Standard compute: This pricing tier offers 1-, 2- and 4-vCore options (a vCore represents a logical CPU) and is generally available and free to customers. This is ideal for small to medium-sized business workloads and only supports offline migration.
• Premium compute: It offers 4-vCore at $0.37 per hour. This plan is ideal for large or business critical workloads. It supports online migrations, offline migrations and faster migration speeds.

You can use the DMS Premium 4-vCore for free for 6 months or 183 days before incurring any charges. Your free usage time is calculated from the DMS service creation date.

Key features

• Ability to analyze on-premises SQL Server instances migrating to Azure SQL database(s).
• Identifies and resolves compatibility issues blocking migration from on-premises SQL Server database(s) to Azure SQL Database(s).
• Identifies partially supported or unsupported features used on the source SQL Server instance.
• Detects issues, such as behavior changes and deprecated features, that may affect migration to an on-premises SQL Server.

Pros

• Ease of use.
• Fast migration process.
• Issues detection.
• Highly scalable and adaptable.

Cons

• The interface could be improved.
• First-time users may need to invest more time in learning how to use the tool.

Dell EMC Intelligent Data Mobility: Best for data migration to new storage

With Dell EMC Intelligent Data Mobility, users can manage workloads and data migration by leveraging technology, automation and Dell EMC expertise.

This solution is built on modern architecture that delivers a flexible design. It also integrates seamlessly into current business needs, with comprehensive coverage from capture to consumption. This provider’s methodology is built around three pillars: discovery, planning and execution.

Pricing

The pricing for this product is not publicly advertised on the vendor’s website. Buyers are encouraged to contact the vendor for a custom quote.

Key features

• Data migration in discovery, planning and execution phases.
• Extensive automations and workflows.
• Support for remote data transfer of up to 35TB, across up to 15 Hosts and 15 LUNs per host.

Pros

• Customizability.
• Accelerates time-to-value.
• Offers in-region and remote resources.

Cons

• Documentation could be improved.

Hevo Pipeline: Best for integration with various data sources

Hevo is a cloud-based, no-code data migration platform that simplifies migration from legacy platforms to modern data storage solutions. Users can replicate data from over 150 connectors and migrate it into databases, data warehouses and other analytic tools such as Hadoop, SQL Server and Amazon Redshift.

Hevo specifically allows you to preload transformation and overrides auto schema mapping. With this feature, you can leave the app to do its own tweaking to get your data ready for migrations. With a suite of features aimed at speeding up your processes and saving time, Hevo also allows you to monitor your workflow to resolve any issues before they disrupt business operations.

SEE: Read our full review of Hevo.

Pricing

Hevo Pipeline offers three pricing tiers. The amount you will pay depends on your desired features and the number of events.

• Free: At no cost for up to five users per month. It includes 1 million free events and 50 selected connectors.
• Starter: The amount you will pay for this plan depends on the monthly events you will run.
  • 5 million events: $239 per month when billed annually or $299 per month when billed monthly.
  • 20 million events: $399 per month when billed annually or $499 per month when billed monthly.
  • 50 million events: $759 per month when billed annually or $949 per month when billed monthly.
  • 100 million events: $1,159 per month when billed annually or $1,449 per month when billed monthly.
• Business: Custom pricing.

Key features

• Supports pre-load and post-load data transformation.
• Automated schema management syncs your data destination regardless of changes in source data.
• Supports three ingestion modes: Log-based, Table and Custom SQL.

Pros

• Drag and drop interface for non-technical users.
• Intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
• Easy setup and configuration.
• Seamless data integration.
• Highly rated customer support team.

Cons

• Its knowledge resources — documentation and video tutorials — could be improved.
• The pipeline scheduling feature could use some improvement.

Integrate.io: Best for prioritizing quality support over cost

Integrate.io is a data migration tool that provides users with a single interface for migrating, transforming and managing data between different applications. This tool helps organizations integrate, process and prepare data for analytics in the cloud. The solution is scalable and cost-effective, with an intuitive interface and a highly automated workflow.

Integrate.io’s ease of use enables users to focus on their business without worrying about the complexities of data migration. Integrations are available via REST API or direct FTP uploads to make it possible for even non-technical personnel to work seamlessly with their technology stack while using this tool.

SEE: Read our full review of Integrate.io.

Pricing

The amount you will pay for this tool depends on your selected plan and desired features.

ETL and Reverse ETL

• Starter: $15,000 per year. Ideal for basic ETL needs and running pipelines.
• Professional: $25,000 per year. Ideal for those with high data security needs and basic ETL needs and for running pipelines.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing. Ideal for companies looking for advanced security, features and support.

ETL and CDC

Pricing for this plan varies based on your data management needs.

• 5 million rows: $159 per month when billed annually or $199 per month when billed monthly. Overage per million rows will cost you $49.
• 15 million rows: $340 per month when billed annually or $430 per month when billed monthly. Overage per million rows will cost you $32.
• 40 million rows: $630 per month when billed annually or $788 per month when billed monthly. Overage per million rows will cost you $22.
• 75 million rows: $1,005 per month when billed annually or $1,256 per month when billed monthly. Overage per million rows will cost you $15.
• 150 million rows: $1,723 per month when billed annually or $2,154 per month when billed monthly. Overage per million rows will cost you $13.
• 300 million rows: $2,729 per month when billed annually or $3,411 per month when billed monthly. Overage per million rows will cost you $11.
• 600 million rows: $3,733 per month when billed annually or $4,667 per month when billed monthly. Overage per million rows will cost you $9.

DWH Insights

• Essentials: Available for free and includes 30 vCPUs. Additional vCPUs will cost $9 per vCPUs per month.
• Growth: Costs $750 per month and includes 50 vCPUs. Additional vCPUs will cost $14 per vCPUs per month.
• Enterprise: It costs $1,450 per month. Custom vCPUs.

Key features

• Supports over 200 data sources.
• Supports data movement into Hadoop HDFS, MongoDB, SQL Server, Elasticsearch and Redshift.
• Uses REST APIs to connect to any data source.
• Encrypts data at rest.
• Offers round-the-clock customer support.

Pros

• Responsive support.
• Ease of use.
• Intuitive user interface.

Cons

• The error debugging process could be improved.
• Some users consider the tool pricey.

IRI NextForm: Best for file conversion and legacy data type translation

IRI NextForm is a data migration tool built on Eclipse. This tool can migrate, reformat, convert, replicate, federate and report data from one system or format to another. In addition, it can move information from legacy systems into new environments and upgrade old database engines and other components that may not have native export capabilities.

SEE: Read our full review of NextForm.

Pricing

This tool’s pricing depends on the edition you need:

• Lite: It is free for a single Windows PC based on 2018 build, JRE 7, but costs $1,000 for a current, permanent single-PC version without support. If you need support, it charges $125 per file or incident hour or $1K per year for 10 incident hours and upgrades.
• COBOL (Featuring: Lite + Micro Focus libraries): It costs $3,500 for Windows systems, $4,500 for x86 Linux and $5,500 for Unix (AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, MacOS) systems.
• DBMS (Featuring: Lite + ODBC libraries): $5,000 to $25,000, depending on databases and hardware platforms.
• Legacy (Featuring: Lite + Proprietary drivers): Pricing varies based on data sources and hardware platforms.
• Modern (Featuring: Lite + Proprietary drivers): Pricing varies based on data sources and hardware platforms.
• Premium (Featuring: Lite + Multiple libraries): Pricing varies based on data sources and hardware platforms.

Key features

• Able to structure previously unstructured data.
• Remaps data types, record layouts and file formats.
• Built-in report generation.
• Can convert EBCDIC data files (including zoned and PD fields) to ASCII.
• Cross-platform format allows it to run on Windows, Unix and Linux systems.

Pros

• Converts over 100 data types.
• Offers a free edition.
• Extracts values and metadata from document file formats such as HTML, Microsoft Office and PDF.

Cons

• Steep learning curve.

Stitch Data: Best for ease of use

Stitch Data from Talend is an ETL tool that helps you transform, cleanse and prepare your data so it’s ready for analysis. Stitch can also extract and load structured or unstructured data from various sources, like databases and spreadsheets.

With these capabilities, you can execute your analytical workflow with a single tool. With its diverse connectors, Stitch provides customers with an easy way to migrate their complex databases without coding.

Pricing

• Standard: Starts at $100 per month or $1,000 per year for five million rows. This plan is available for up to five users.
• Advanced: $1,250 per month, billed annually. It includes 100 million rows per month.
• Premium: $2,500 per month, billed annually. It includes one billion rows per month.
• Stitch Platform: Custom pricing. Ideal for agencies that need client data pipelines in one place.

Key features

• Supports popular databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle and Amazon Redshift.
• Offers over 130 connectors.
• Automates data ingestion.

Pros

• Easy to set up and configure.
• Easy to generate reports.
• Not as expensive as many competitors.

Cons

• The user interface could be improved.
• Steep learning curve.

IBM Informix: Best for real time analytics

IBM Informix is a Data Migration solution that works with SQL commands and migrates data from one IBM Informix database or operating system to another.

Integrating SQL, NoSQL, JSON, time-series and geographic data is made simpler with IBM Informix’s migration tool. It also has an intuitive GUI that simplifies workflows, allowing users to migrate data between various database types and platforms.

SEE: Read our full review of IBM Informix.

Pricing

The following is the IBM Informix on cloud pricing. Contact the vendor for on-premises pricing.

• Small plan: $1,310 per instance.
• Medium plan: $2,300 per instance.
• Large plan: $4,180 per instance.
• Extra large plan: $8,360 per instance.

Key features

• Offers self-management and automated administrative capabilities for edge, cloud and on-premises analytics.
• Real-time analytics.
• Automated data management.
• Offers high availability data replication.

Pros

• Easy to maintain.
• High scalability and availability.
• The setup process is relatively simple.

Cons

• Platform tends to be slow during big data transfers.
• Some users find the tool pricey.

Matillion: Best for flexible deployment

Matillion is a cloud-based ETL solution that enables you to migrate data between systems, databases and platforms. This tool primarily lets you load, transform, sync and orchestrate data in a centralized location with built-in analytics capabilities.

In addition, Matillion allows users to sync data back to business and operational applications through reverse ETL with pre-built connectors. They can also manage complex pipelines through a single dashboard and customize ETL for organization-specific infrastructure.

Matillion pricing

Matillion offers three pricing plans with different features:

• Basic: It costs $2 per credit and starts with five users.
• Advanced: It costs $2.50 per credit.
• Enterprise: It costs $2.70 per credit.

Matillion features

• Offers low code/no code GUI.
• Users can create their own connectors.
• Deploys flexibly with SaaS and hybrid options.
• Supports Amazon Redshift Spectrum, Amazon S3 components, Amazon SNS and SQS alerts.
• Compatible with Azure Synapse-specific functionalities, such as reading from Blob Storage and alerts and notifications through Azure Message Queues.

Matillion pros

• Easy to use.
• Drag and drop functionality.
• Responsive support team.
• Users find the platform stable.
• Extensive native connectors for different applications.

Matillion cons

• Some users consider this tool pricey.