Airtable Integration Sync time

[cclark2]

Hello, We recently established an integration between Airtable and tickets. Essentially, when a ticket is created in Airtable it is then created in Hubspot and any updates then sync back and forth. My question is what is generally the time for syncs an dcan this be changed? we tested and saw sometimes a sync may only take 2 minutes but in some cases its up to 14 minutes. Is there anyway to get a clear time for the sync updates? Also we have multiple objects connected to Airtable is there a way to reorder the sync order so the tickets can go first? Not a big deal but just wanted to know if possible. 

[RubenBurdin · Accepted solution]

Hey @cclark2 , what you’re seeing is expected behavior with HubSpot’s native Data Sync integrations.

Under the hood, the Airtable sync runs on a polling model.

HubSpot periodically checks for changes rather than reacting instantly to them. In practice, that means updates are usually picked up every 5–10 minutes, but depending on timing, load, and object volume, it’s normal to occasionally see delays closer to 12–15 minutes. There isn’t a guaranteed SLA-style sync interval you can rely on, and there’s no setting to tighten it.

That polling cadence also explains why you can’t control sync order. With standard integrations, HubSpot doesn’t expose any way to prioritize Tickets over other objects. Everything is queued and processed based on internal scheduling. As Seala mentioned, HubSpot generally prefers core objects to sync first so associations resolve cleanly, but that’s not configurable.

As of how HubSpot works today, there’s also no way to switch a native Airtable sync to an event-driven or webhook-based model. If your workflow needs near-real-time behavior, predictable ordering, or “tickets must go first” guarantees, you’re outside what the built-in integration was designed for. At that point, the only real option is a custom integration that reacts to changes as they happen instead of waiting for the next poll (https://developers.hubspot.com/docs/api-reference/webhooks-webhooks-v3/guide )

Small disclaimer since I’m close to this space: I work at Stacksync. We see teams move away from native syncs when these timing gaps become operationally painful, because a real-time, bidirectional sync removes the polling delay and lets you control how objects flow between systems. Not a fit for every setup, but that’s usually the tradeoff point. Hope this gives you a clearer picture of what’s possible and what isn’t.

[SealaB]

Hey there, @cclark2 - and welcome to HubSpot community! 

Great question!

For most HubSpot Data Sync integrations, the system checks for changes approximately every 5 to 10 minutes.

The variance you are seeing is considered normal. 
It depends on when the "check" happens relative to when you made the update, as well as the volume of data being processed at that moment.

The polling frequency is hard-coded into the integration infrastructure to manage API limits and performance for all users. 

There is currently no setting to manually prioritize one object over another in the standard integrations.

Usually, it is actually better for Contacts or Companies to sync before Tickets, so that when the Ticket arrives, it can immediately associate with the correct record. 

If 10-15 minutes is too long for your business process, you would likely need to switch to a custom automation tool.
Webhooks might be able to trigger an update when a record is created, rather than waiting for the next "check". 

You can learn more about webhooks in the developers webhooks documentation. 
If you have questions about your specific implementation of webhooks with HubSpot, reach out on the HubSpot Developers Forums.

I hope this helps!

Tagging in @johnelmer and @louischausse in case they have any specific workarounds for this use case.