DbSchema Alternatives for Database Design and ER Diagrams

DbSchema, made by Wise Coders, is a visual database designer and client that connects to more than 100 databases, from PostgreSQL and MySQL to MongoDB, Snowflake and ClickHouse. It is still sold and developed. The DbSchema purchase page lists a Community edition that is free (DbSchema's own pages differ on commercial use, so check the licence), Pro at $294 and Architect at $470.40 as one-time licences in US dollars, with yearly update fees of $75 and $120 after the first year. An AI Assistant add-on costs $9 a month, and the trial runs 15 days.

People look for alternatives for a few reasons. Community cannot save a design to a file or work offline, so the free edition is mostly a viewer. Others want a browser tool the whole team can open, a cheaper one-time licence, or a modeler built for cloud warehouses. The eight picks below cover each of those cases. For heavier enterprise modelers such as erwin and ER/Studio, see our erwin Data Modeler alternatives page.

Prices below are as of November 8, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

DBeaver

Many DbSchema users mainly need the client half: connect to a database, browse it, run queries and see the tables as a diagram. DBeaver Community does that for free. It connects through JDBC like DbSchema, reaches a similar spread of SQL databases, and draws an ER diagram for any schema or a custom set of tables that you can save and export as an image.

Paid editions add NoSQL sources and support. The DBeaver edition page lists Lite at $113 a year or $12 a month, Enterprise at $255 a year or $26 a month, and Ultimate at $510 a year with no monthly option.

Best for: Developers who want free day-to-day database work plus diagrams of existing schemas.

Pricing:

• Community: free, Apache 2.0
• Lite: $113 a year or $12 a month
• Enterprise: $255 a year or $26 a month
• Ultimate: $510 a year
• Team Edition: from $1,630 a year

Watch out for:

• It is a client first. Designing a new schema in a diagram, keeping the model in Git and generating migration scripts, which is DbSchema's core, is much thinner here.
• MongoDB and other NoSQL databases, which DbSchema Pro covers, need a paid DBeaver edition.

Official site: DBeaver.

Luna Modeler

Luna Modeler, from Datensen, is the nearest like-for-like swap. It is a desktop modeler for Windows, macOS and Linux that works offline, reverse engineers existing databases, and generates SQL scripts. Supported targets include PostgreSQL, Supabase, Neon, Oracle, SQL Server, Azure SQL, MySQL, MariaDB and SQLite. The Professional edition adds model-to-database compare with ALTER scripts, and Ultimate adds a folder-based project format for teams and a command line tool.

The licence model matches DbSchema's but costs less. The Datensen purchase page lists Basic at $99, Professional at $189 and Ultimate at $349, all one-time. Each covers one user on unlimited devices with a year of updates, and the licence never expires.

Best for: Solo designers and small teams on relational databases who want to pay once and work offline.

Pricing:

• Basic: $99 one-time
• Professional: $189 one-time
• Ultimate: $349 one-time
• One user, unlimited devices; first year of updates included

Watch out for:

• Relational databases only. DbSchema's MongoDB support has no match here; Datensen sells Moon Modeler separately for MongoDB.
• Updates after year one need a paid renewal, and its price sits on a separate renewals page.

Official site: Luna Modeler.

MySQL Workbench

For MySQL projects, MySQL Workbench covers DbSchema's main modeling jobs at no cost. You draw EER diagrams, forward engineer them into a database, reverse engineer an existing server into a model, and synchronize the two in either direction. The same app also runs queries and handles server administration.

The MySQL Workbench downloads page offers version 26.10.0 for Windows, macOS and Linux under the GPL. It came with Oracle's October 2026 MySQL releases.

Best for: MySQL teams that want free model-to-database sync without buying DbSchema Pro.

Pricing:

• Community edition: free, GPL

Watch out for:

• It models MySQL only. A project that also uses PostgreSQL or SQL Server needs a second tool.
• Models are saved as .mwb archives, which do not diff well in Git, unlike DbSchema's shared model with merge support.

Official site: MySQL Workbench.

Redgate Data Modeler

This is Vertabelo under a new owner. Redgate completed the purchase on September 17, 2025 and renamed the browser-based modeler a few weeks later. It suits teams that want everyone to open the same model in a browser with no install, and it supports 10 database types, including SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL and MySQL.

The editions page lists Standard at $189 per user a year, capped at 20 models, 100 tables per model and sharing with five users. Pro costs $303 per user a year, removes the caps, adds logical design and an API, and comes with a 14-day trial.

Best for: Teams that want shared browser access to models instead of passing project files around.

Pricing:

• Standard: $189 per user a year
• Pro: $303 per user a year
• Bundled in SQL Toolbelt Essentials: $1,410 per user a year

Watch out for:

• It is a subscription. Over three years, one Pro seat costs $909, about twice a DbSchema Pro licence plus two years of updates at $444.
• There is no offline mode, which DbSchema Pro users rely on.

Official site: Redgate Data Modeler.

dbdiagram.io

dbdiagram.io swaps dragging boxes for typing. You describe tables and references in DBML, an open source schema language, and the diagram updates as you type. SQL import and export work on all plans, so it fits early design work and pull-request reviews where a text diff matters more than a polished layout.

dbdiagram.io has a free plan with up to 10 diagrams and one editor. Personal Pro starts at $8 a month. Team costs $75 a month for three editors, plus $5 a month per extra editor, and annual billing saves up to 42%.

Best for: Developers who prefer a schema-as-text workflow and need diagrams for docs or reviews.

Pricing:

• Free: up to 10 diagrams, one editor
• Personal Pro: from $8 a month
• Team: $75 a month, 3 editors; $5 a month per extra editor

Watch out for:

• It does not connect to a live database, so there is no schema compare or deploy step like DbSchema's synchronization.
• Version history and the AI Assistant are not on the free plan.

Official site: dbdiagram.io.

DrawSQL

DrawSQL is built for clean, shareable diagrams. You import SQL or build tables by hand, and the result looks good enough to drop into product docs or an onboarding guide. Paid plans add private diagrams, AI credits and, on Growth and above, real-time editing with teammates.

The DrawSQL pricing page lists Starter at $19 a month or $171 a year with 10 private diagrams of 50 tables, Growth at $59 a month or $531 a year for up to five users, and Large at $179 a month or $1,790 a year for up to 25 users.

Best for: Teams that want readable, shareable diagrams for documentation rather than a full modeler.

Pricing:

• Free: public diagrams only, up to 15 tables each, 1 user
• Starter: $19 a month or $171 a year
• Growth: $59 a month or $531 a year, up to 5 users
• Large: $179 a month or $1,790 a year, up to 25 users
• Enterprise: custom

Watch out for:

• Only MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server and MariaDB are supported, a small slice of DbSchema's database list.
• The free plan keeps every diagram public and caps it at 15 tables, so a real schema needs a paid plan.

Official site: DrawSQL.

ChartDB

ChartDB takes a different route to a diagram. You run one query it gives you against your database, paste the JSON result into the editor, and the whole schema appears with no driver or connection setup. It works with PostgreSQL, including Supabase and Timescale, MySQL, SQL Server, MariaDB, SQLite and Cloudflare D1, CockroachDB and ClickHouse.

The ChartDB repository is AGPL v3 licensed and has about 22,800 stars. You can use the hosted editor without an account or run the Docker image on your own server, and AI features work with your own OpenAI key or a custom endpoint.

Best for: Developers who want a free diagram of an existing database, or a self-hosted tool for a team.

Pricing:

• Hosted editor: free, no account needed
• Self-hosted: free, AGPL v3

Watch out for:

• There is no live connection, so the diagram goes stale until you run the query and import again.
• AGPL v3 requires you to publish your changes if you modify it and offer it to others over a network, which some legal teams avoid.

Official site: ChartDB.

SqlDBM

SqlDBM is the pick when the database is a cloud warehouse. It models Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Redshift, Azure Synapse and Microsoft Fabric with their platform-specific settings, as well as PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, AlloyDB and MySQL. Everything happens in the browser, and Git integrations and dbt YAML export link the model to an analytics workflow.

Pricing is the opposite of DbSchema's. SqlDBM sells one plan with all features, priced per seat by quote, with AI usage billed separately. Our SqlDBM alternatives page compares it with Hackolade, Ellie and others.

Best for: Data teams modeling Snowflake or Databricks who need a shared browser workspace.

Pricing:

• No public price; quoted per seat
• AI features and premium support billed separately

Watch out for:

• Reviewers on G2 say deployment and CI/CD steps often need custom scripts.
• Without a public price, a small team cannot compare it with DbSchema's $294 licence until sales replies.

Official site: SqlDBM. Our listing: SqlDBM.

How to choose

When to stay with DbSchema

Stay with DbSchema if you use the paid edition and need both a designer and a client across many databases, including MongoDB. Few tools here combine Git-shared models with merge support, schema synchronization, HTML documentation and a data generator for a one-time $294. The free edition is the weak spot, so a Pro licence is what makes DbSchema worth keeping. Its homepage lists more than 100 supported databases, which no other pick here matches.

Frequently asked questions