Lite Connectors

A Lite connector is a type of connector built on a new technology that enables Fivetran to develop API-based connectors quickly. Compared to Fivetran’s existing connectors, Lite connectors are built for a specific use case and often cover fewer endpoints.

Lite connectors can be differentiated by the Lite badge.

Lite connectors have a simplified Generally Available (GA) process to reduce time to value for our users. They follow the same Service Level Agreements (SLA) for major data integrity, security, and reliability issues as our existing connectors.

Once a Lite connector is generally available, Fivetran provides support, maintenance, and also considers enhancement requests for the connector.

Our By Request program provides our users the opportunity to work with Fivetran to build a Lite connector.

A Lite connector built through the By Request program will join Fivetran’s catalog of connectors available for all Fivetran users to use going forward.

Why Lite connectors?

Lite connectors are built for your specific use case coverage. API-based connectors are easy to build and maintain as most APIs are designed using a formula or pattern-based approach. Our Lite (API-based) connectors:

Post request to a source API URL
Support incremental endpoints
Use API key or OAuth-based authentication
Support native schema management
Support multiple data formats
Support multiple source data types
Support advanced features, such as Pagination, Custom Rate Limit management, etc

What are the key differences between Standard and Lite connectors?

The following table summarizes the key differences between standard and Lite connectors.

Aspect	Standard	Lite
Use cases	Complete or near-complete use case coverage.	Partial or specific use case coverage.
Release cycle	See Release phases.	Private Preview, then Generally Available. No Beta phase.
SLA	Full SLA based on pricing plan.	Full SLA based on pricing plan; Enhancement response times differ.
Schema design process	Starts with analyzing the application workflow in order to translate into highly designed schemas.	Starts with the available API.
Development prioritization	Build for most popular sources to meet the needs of the majority of users.	By Request build process for connectors that are unavailable today.
Pricing	Consumption-based (Monthly Active Rows).	Consumption-based (Monthly Active Rows).

What are the key differences between Connector SDK and Lite connectors?

Connector SDK enables you to build your own Fivetran custom connector. You can use the Connector SDK if you have a custom data source or a private API that we don’t support, and you want to build your own connector. You must build and maintain the connector code that Fivetran's Connector SDK triggers during its sync.

The following table summarizes the key differences between Connector SDK and Lite connectors.

ASPECT	By Request (LITE)	Connector SDK
Use cases	Complete or near-complete use case coverage	Customer-decided use case. Custom solution hosted by Fivetran
Release cycle	Private Preview, then Generally Available. No Beta phase	Live upon deployment. Setup can be fully automated
SLA	Full SLA based on pricing plan	Customer-driven SLAs
Hosting or requirement for the 3rd party to run the code you write.	Fivetran	Fivetran
Supported Language	Not applicable since Fivetran writes the code	Python

Fivetran users who signed up on or after July 22, 2025, no longer have access to Function connections. Older Fivetran users can continue to create and use Function connections as before. All our users can use Connector SDK to build custom connectors. Connector SDK provides a streamlined development experience, and we'll host your custom connector for you.

Lite connectors catalog

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