Airbyte is $50/mo (Cloud). Wrangler is a self-hosted alternative at $1.99/mo. Here's when each makes sense.
| Wrangler | Airbyte | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted, your infra | OSS version requires Docker Compose with 7+ containers |
| Data location | Your server, your disk | Your server (if self-hosted) |
| Free tier | 2 pipelines | Paid only |
| Pro pricing | $1.99/mo | $50/mo (Cloud) |
| Dependencies | None (single binary + SQLite) | Docker, Postgres, etc. |
| Setup time | ~30 seconds | 15-30 minutes (self-host) |
| Dashboard | Built-in at /ui | Web UI |
| License | BSL 1.1 | Open source |
Wrangler is a single Go binary with embedded SQLite. Install it with one command, and you are running in under a minute. Your data stays on your server.
curl -fsSL https://stockyard.dev/wrangler/install.sh | sh
The decision between Wrangler and Airbyte usually comes down to one question: do you need the breadth of features that Airbyte offers, or would a focused tool that stays out of your way be a better fit? Airbyte has spent years building an ecosystem around etl and data pipeline runner. Wrangler does one thing well and gives you complete control of the underlying data.
Wrangler runs as a single static binary with an embedded SQLite database. There is no application server, no cache layer, no background worker. One process handles HTTP requests and reads from and writes to the database file directly. This simplicity is the entire point — fewer moving parts means fewer things that can break at 2 AM.
Airbyte can be self-hosted, but the experience differs significantly from Wrangler. OSS version requires Docker Compose with 7+ containers With Wrangler, self-hosting means downloading one file and running it. The gap in operational complexity matters most for small teams without dedicated DevOps staff.
Switching from Airbyte to Wrangler is straightforward for most teams. Export your data from Airbyte (most services offer CSV or JSON export), then POST each record to Wrangler's API. A migration script that reads the export and writes to /api/ endpoints typically takes less than 50 lines of code. The reverse migration is equally simple — Wrangler's SQLite database is a standard file you can query with any SQLite client.
Single binary. Free to start. $1.99/mo for Pro.