FME vs Informatica PowerExchange comparison

Safe Software and Informatica are both solutions in the Data Integration category. Safe Software is ranked #26 with an average rating of 8.7, while Informatica is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.0. Safe Software holds a 1.8% mindshare in DI, compared to Informatica’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Safe Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Informatica users who would recommend it.

FME

Read 5 FME reviews

2,503 Views
1,829 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Informatica PowerExchange

Read 23 Informatica PowerExchange reviews

1,554 Views
1,154 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

FME

Informatica PowerExchange

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Informatica PowerExchange and FME are competing in the data integration category. FME has an edge with its spatial data transformation capabilities, making it suitable for industries that rely on GIS data.

Features:Informatica PowerExchange is noted for its robust data integration capabilities, compatibility with a wide range of databases, and scalability suitable for complex IT infrastructures. It offers native real-time scanning abilities and powerful change data capture features. FME is recognized for its simplicity in data conversion across multiple formats, its intuitive graphical user interface, and its exceptional ability to handle and transform spatial data, making it ideal for organizations needing extensive GIS data processing.

Room for Improvement:Informatica PowerExchange can enhance real-time capabilities further beyond batch processing and simplify integration with legacy systems. It could also benefit from more streamlined installation processes. FME could improve its handling of non-spatial data formats and offer more comprehensive enterprise-level support for larger organizations. Enhancements in API connectivity would broaden its capabilities for more integrated solutions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Informatica PowerExchange provides a straightforward deployment process with extensive enterprise support, which is beneficial for large-scale implementations. Its technical support is reliably available. On the other hand, FME offers a user-friendly installation process backed by comprehensive documentation and community support. Users often find FME's setup to be more intuitive, especially for smaller projects requiring rapid deployment.

Pricing and ROI:Informatica PowerExchange usually involves higher initial setup costs, suitable for large-scale enterprise integrations, but provides a significant ROI due to its extensive service offerings. FME is more cost-effective upfront, especially for organizations focusing on spatial data transformation, delivering faster ROI in scenarios prioritizing GIS data handling. Both products deliver good value for money, but FME is noted for its quicker returns when spatial data is key.

To learn more, read our detailed FME vs. Informatica PowerExchange Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FME vs. Informatica PowerExchange

April 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

FME

Ranking in Data Integration

26th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Informatica PowerExchange

Ranking in Data Integration

18th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Data Integration category, the mindshare of FME is 1.8%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Informatica PowerExchange is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Integration

Featured Reviews

Alan Bloor

Geographic Information System Developer at Public Sector

Great for handling large volumes of data, but it is priced a bit high

When I do coding, I think about every single function. Some of these functions can be very elementary, like doing a substring or some capitalization. But FME removes all that coding because it's a transformer, so the time to develop an application to get to a point where you're producing results is decreased massively. It used to take weeks and months to develop software, and now I can use something like FME, and within one day, we get results. We can look at and validate data. We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else.

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Mohammad Faizan Ahmad

Sr. Technical Engineer at Investcorp Bank BSC

Helpful in handling areas like complex data sources and data processing but needs improved support services

The major challenge with the tool stems from the fact that if you are implementing it in the cloud, then it has to be within the framework. Another challenge is the large volume of data. Informatica PowerExchange is a product through which we enable connectivity, so it is not an application product or a stand-alone tool, but Informatica's core systems or IICS uses it to connect to multiple systems. The major challenge associated with the tool is on the infrastructure side. The tool's features could be something faster with more connectors. A number of connectors can help connect to a wide variety of applications. The tool should focus on reducing the resilient time, like, if any network disconnectivity happens, then auto-reconnection and the retry method should be more robust so that manual intervention is not required. We communicate with the tool's support team as we need to raise our issues with them. I have already worked with Informatica and have a total experience of around eight to nine years; the one problem with the tool is its support team since they take a lot of time to address a particular issue. If one time you schedule a call and explain the situation to them about the issue, the support team will raise tickets and take notes. They will ask you to share the logs or screenshots of the errors, and you will get no resolution. The support team will randomly give you some documents and expect you to go through them, and if you get back to them with questions, a new person will be allocated, and you will have to start explaining everything again. I would not say it is a pleasant experience.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"All spatial features are unrivaled, and the possibility to execute them based on a scheduled trigger, manual, e-mail, Websocket, tweet, file/directory change or virtually any trigger is most valuable."

"We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else."

"The most valuable feature of FME is the graphical user interface. There is nothing better. It is very easy to debug because you can see all steps where there are failures. Overall the software is easy to optimize a process."

"It has a very friendly user interface. You don't need to use a lot of code. For us that's the most important aspect about it. Also, it has a lot of connectors and few forms. It has a strong facial aspect. It can do a lot of facial analysis."

"It has standard plug-ins available for different data sources."

"The data transformation is the solution's most valuable feature."

"The scalability is excellent."

"It is a scalable and versatile solution."

"The agentless RCDC enablement through PowerExchange is a great idea and has worked very well so far."

"This product is easy to install and it can be done in a few hours."

"PowerExchange is one of the best software solutions to build integrations with non-Oracle or standard database services, especially for SAP and Hana products."

"The most valuable feature is connectivity to data sources."

"I rate Informatica PowerExchange a ten out of ten."

More Informatica PowerExchange pros

Cons

"To get a higher rating, it would have to improve the price and the associated scalability. These are the main issues."

"FME's price needs improvement for the African market."

"The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point."

"FME can improve the geographical transformation. I've had some problems with the geographical transformations, but it's probably mostly because I'm not the most skilled geographer in-house. The solution requires some in-depth knowledge to perform some functions."

"Improvements could be made to mapping presentations."

"The major challenge associated with the tool is on the infrastructure side."

"The major shortcoming of PowerExchange is high availability and failover. None of the versions we've used to date have had the out-of-the-box ability to enable failover and high-availability requirements. This is a significant challenge and risk."

"The product's high costs can be an area of concern where improvements are required."

"Informatica is very expensive in all aspects, so the pricing is something that could be improved."

"The solution could be made more user-friendly. The configurations are also quite difficult."

"I have minimal exposure to PowerExchange at this point."

"The product is not suitable for application integration."

"Integration with the largest number of databases and other systems would be important."

More Informatica PowerExchange cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's price is reasonable."

"We used the standard licensing for our use of FME. The cost was approximately €15,000 annually. We always welcome less expensive solutions, if the solution could be less expensive it would be helpful."

"FME Server used to cost £10,000; now it can cost over £100,000."

"Many users don't prefer to use the product, considering the high costs attached to the licensing part of the solution."

"There is a need to pay towards the licensing cost of the product. It is an expensive product."

"There are licensing and connector costs. Basically, Informatica is pay-as-you-use."

"The product is not very expensive."

"The cost of PowerExchange is reasonable. It does not rely on complicated formulas or unrealistic equations. The pricing model is straightforward. There is one component, and real-time integration is included. Some other solutions require purchasing additional modules or third-party plugins for this capability."

"It's expensive. In fact, nobody would buy any product of Informatica if the price was the only consideration. It costs money, and it doesn't come cheap, but it provides value for money in many ways."

"An annual package license fee is required."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

30%

Energy/Utilities Company

14%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

27%

Computer Software Company

12%

Insurance Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FME?

We make minor subtle changes to the workbenches to improve it. We can share the workbenches. We don't have to use GitHub or anything else.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FME?

The pricing is really bad. Last year, they rebranded the whole pricing structure. It used to be moderately priced at about £400 per user per year. Now they've changed the whole thing, and it's expe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with FME?

The one thing that always appears in the community is the ability to make really easy loops to loop through data efficiently. That needs to be added at some point. There must be a technical or comm...

See all answers

What do you like most about Informatica PowerExchange?

The product’s flexibility is valuable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Informatica PowerExchange?

The pricing and cost depend heavily on SAP's licensing structure, especially if using SAP integration services. Informatica is seen as broader in integrations.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Informatica PowerExchange?

One area that could be improved is performance, as PowerExchange sometimes has less performance compared to native connectors when dealing with a huge volume of data. Additionally, the tool faces t...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FME

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Informatica PowerExchange

April 2025

Download Informatica PowerExchange product report

Also Known As

No data available

PowerExchange, Connectors

Overview

FME is the data integration platform with the best support for spatial data. Run workflows on the desktop or deploy them in a server or cloud environment.

Safe Software

Informatica PowerExchange Connectors provides high performance, out-of-the-box connectivity without having to develop custom data access programs.

Informatica

Sample Customers

Shell, US Department of Commerce, PG&E, BC Hydro, City of Vancouver, Enel, Iowa DoT, San Antonio Water System

ACH Food, BNSF Railway Company, Illinois State University

Buyer's Guide

FME vs. Informatica PowerExchange

April 2025

Free Report: FME vs. Informatica PowerExchange

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