ETL vs iPaaS vs Unified API: Why Real-Time Data Access Wins for Modern SaaS

November 4, 2025

When it comes to integrations, real-time is not a feature — it's the foundation for modern SaaS and AI applications. Yet most integration platforms still operate on decades-old batch processing models.

Here's how ETL, iPaaS, and first-generation Unified APIs compare to Unified.to when it comes to data freshness and delivery.

ETL — Extract, Transform, Load

Built for a pre-SaaS era, ETL pipelines move data between databases on a fixed schedule.

They work well for analytics, not for live product experiences.

• Processing model: Batch
• Latency: Up to 24 hours
• Typical use case: Data warehousing and historical reporting
• Limitations: Delayed updates make it unusable for in-app insights or AI workflows that depend on live context

iPaaS — Integration Platform as a Service

iPaaS evolved to help SaaS tools connect, but under the hood, it still relies on polling and batch jobs.

• Processing model: Batch or scheduled syncs
• Latency: Often 15 minutes to 24 hours
• Impact: Your customers see stale data, API limits get hit, and maintenance overhead grows with scale

First-Generation Unified APIs

Unified APIs made integration easier by normalizing endpoints, but most inherited the same storage-based architecture.

• Processing model: Cached or batch sync
• Latency: 5 minutes to 24 hours depending on provider
• Trade-off: Simplified schemas, but delayed data and duplicated storage increase compliance and security risk

Unified.to — Real-Time Unified API

Unified.to eliminates polling and caching entirely. Every API call is live, fetched from the source at the moment it's requested.

There are no sync jobs, no stale records — just on-demand, real-time data.

• Processing model: Real-time passthrough
• Latency: Instant (live from source)
• Security: No data stored or cached — fully stateless architecture
• AI readiness: Ideal for powering LLMs, copilots, and RAG pipelines that rely on fresh, normalized data

Why It Matters

For AI-native and real-time SaaS products, stale data breaks trust.

Unified.to's real-time delivery ensures your application reflects the current state of your customer's systems — not last night's sync.

• Power live dashboards and in-app insights
• Trigger actions based on actual events, not polling delays
• Feed accurate data into AI agents and workflows

The Bottom Line

Unified.to is the real-time data layer for modern SaaS.

Build once, connect to 350+ integrations, and power your product with live, permissioned data — no sync jobs, no stale cache, no maintenance.

Start your 30-day free trial →