Moon Modeler Alternatives for MongoDB and SQL Schema Design

Moon Modeler is a desktop schema design tool from Datensen for MongoDB and similar document databases. It still sells and still ships updates. The product page lists version 13.7 for Windows, macOS (Apple chip and Intel) and Linux, with targets limited to MongoDB, Mongoose ODM, Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB and DocumentDB. Basic costs $99 and Professional $169, both one-time, per the Datensen purchase page.

Many people searching for alternatives remember an older Moon Modeler that also drew PostgreSQL, MySQL and GraphQL models. That changed with version 5.0.0 on October 5, 2022, when relational databases went to a new product called Luna Modeler, according to the release history on Softpedia. GraphQL now sits in a third app, Galaxy Modeler. So the right replacement depends on which Moon Modeler you used.

The list starts with MongoDB tools, then Datensen's own relational sibling, then SQL-only diagram tools. Teams leaving a heavyweight enterprise modeler should read our PowerDesigner alternatives page instead, since repository and governance features matter more there.

Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

Hackolade Studio

Hackolade was built for nested JSON documents, so it reads a MongoDB model the way Moon Modeler does. The edition matrix lists MongoDB and Mongoose as targets, forward-engineers a MongoDB validator or a Mongoose schema, and reverse-engineers both live MongoDB instances and Mongoose files. That covers the two outputs most Moon Modeler users rely on.

The difference is reach. The same matrix counts 36 target entries, with Cosmos DB's several APIs grouped under one, and a Polyglot model can feed more than one physical target. Workgroup adds native Git for branching and review. Desktop builds run on Windows, Mac and Linux, and a Community edition runs in the browser with no install.

Best for: MongoDB teams that want Moon Modeler's validator and Mongoose output plus Git-based model review.

Pricing:

• Community: free in the browser, 50 objects per model
• Workgroup: EUR 175 per dedicated seat per month, or EUR 1,750 per seat per year
• Floating seats: contact sales
• Personal and Professional: no price on the pricing page
• 14-day Workgroup trial, no card

Watch out for:

• Community leaves out forward and reverse engineering and caps each model at 50 objects, where entities and attributes each count, per the editions page.
• Hackolade's only listed price is a subscription in euros. One year of Workgroup is EUR 1,750 per seat, against a one-time $169 for Moon Modeler Professional.

Official site: Hackolade Studio.

DbSchema

One licence in DbSchema covers MongoDB and relational databases alike, which suits anyone who used the pre-2022 Moon Modeler for both. Its MongoDB page says it samples a configurable number of documents per collection and maps scalar fields, arrays, embedded objects and ObjectId references, then marks which fields are always filled and which are sparse.

From there you arrange collections into saved, annotated layouts, drill into subdocuments and build simple filters in a visual query builder. It connects through an open source MongoDB JDBC driver and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Pro is a perpetual licence that installs on two computers, used one at a time.

Best for: Developers who model MongoDB and SQL databases side by side and want to own the licence.

Pricing:

• Community: free for any use
• Pro: $294 one-time; updates $75 a year after year one
• Architect: $470.40 one-time; updates $120 a year after year one
• AI Assistant add-on: $9 a month
• 15-day full trial

Watch out for:

• The model is inferred from sampled documents, so rare fields can be missed. The MongoDB page says results depend on the sample.
• Community cannot save designs to a file or work offline, and Git versioning and HTML docs need Pro.

Official site: DbSchema. Our listing: DbSchema.

MongoDB Compass

MongoDB's own free GUI now has a Data Modeling tab. Per the Compass docs, you pick a connection, a database and some collections, click Generate, and Compass draws an entity-relationship diagram of fields, types and relationships. It can infer relationships for you, and you can add comments to collections, fields and links to record design choices.

The feature is new and moving fast. The release notes show data modeling fixes in 1.49.0 on January 15, 2026, then cardinality options, a diagram overview drawer, collapse and expand, and an All Documents option over the next two months. The current release is 1.53.2, dated October 27, 2026. Diagrams export as .mdm files, PNG or JSON, and teammates can import the .mdm to edit.

Best for: MongoDB developers who want a free diagram of an existing database without buying a modeler.

Pricing:

• Free download
• No paid tier for the desktop app

Watch out for:

• Relationships are for annotation only. The docs say Compass does not store them in your MongoDB database.
• Each diagram covers collections from a single database, so cross-database models need separate files.

Official site: MongoDB Compass.

Luna Modeler

Luna Modeler is the relational half of the old Moon Modeler, split off by Datensen at version 5.0.0. Version 14.7 targets PostgreSQL with PostGIS, Supabase, Neon, Oracle, SQL Server, Azure SQL, MySQL, MariaDB and SQLite, per the product page. You can design offline before a database exists, then generate DDL for the target dialect.

Professional adds what Basic lacks for live work: compare a model against a database and generate ALTER scripts, plus SSH and TLS connections, sub-diagrams and model conversion. Ultimate adds a schema navigator, a folder-based project format for teams and a command line. Builds exist for Windows, macOS and Linux as an AppImage, and the trial runs 14 days with no card or account.

Best for: Former Moon Modeler users whose models were PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB or SQLite.

Pricing:

• Basic: $99 one-time
• Professional: $189 one-time ($89 upgrade from Basic)
• Ultimate: $349 one-time ($159 from Professional, $249 from Basic)
• One user, unlimited devices; first year of updates included

Watch out for:

• MongoDB is not on Luna's target list. Mixed SQL and MongoDB shops need a second Datensen licence for Moon Modeler.
• The purchase page says updates after year one need a renewal but lists no renewal price.

Official site: Luna Modeler.

Navicat Data Modeler

Navicat Data Modeler 5 handles conceptual, logical and physical models in one workspace and lists MongoDB beside MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle, SQLite and Snowflake as targets, per the product page. Notation choices are Crow's Foot, IDEF1X and UML, and methods include dimensional and Data Vault 2.0.

Native builds run on Windows, macOS 14 or later, and Linux. The Enterprise edition can pull schemas from cloud services, and the feature matrix names MongoDB Atlas among those sources. A free Lite edition covers basic diagramming for up to five users in one organisation.

Best for: Teams already paying for Navicat clients who want MongoDB and SQL models in one desktop app.

Pricing:

• Lite: free, up to 5 users per organisation
• Enterprise perpetual: USD 1,299 per licence, shown as a reseller price
• Monthly and yearly subscriptions: price not published

Watch out for:

• Lite has no reverse or forward engineering, SQL export, model conversion or database sync, per the feature matrix. Atlas import is Enterprise only.
• At USD 1,299 the perpetual licence costs more than seven Moon Modeler Professional licences.

Official site: Navicat Data Modeler. Our listing: Navicat Data Modeler.

dbdiagram.io

Instead of dragging boxes, you type the schema. dbdiagram.io draws the diagram from DBML, a small text language its makers publish under Apache 2.0 on GitHub. Because the model is plain text, it diffs cleanly in pull requests and pastes into chat or docs without screenshots.

The pricing page shows SQL import and export, database reverse engineering and PDF, PNG or SVG export on every plan, including Free. Paid plans add version history, password-protected sharing and an API. Team adds a shared workspace with three editors, and viewers are unlimited on all plans.

Best for: Developers who sketch relational schemas in a browser and keep them as text next to the code.

Pricing:

• Free: up to 10 diagrams and doc projects, one editor, 14-day schema changelog
• Personal Pro: $8 a month
• Team: $75 a month with 3 editors; extra editors $5 a month
• Custom: contact sales
• Annual billing saves up to 42%

Watch out for:

• The DBML reference covers constructs that map to SQL output. There is no syntax for embedded documents, so MongoDB models do not fit.
• Free keeps only 14 days of schema changes and has no version history.

Official site: dbdiagram.io.

ChartDB

ChartDB skips the database password. You run one query the app gives you, paste the JSON result, and the diagram appears, per its GitHub README. It reads PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, MariaDB, SQLite including Cloudflare D1, CockroachDB and ClickHouse.

The code is AGPL-3.0 and the repository has about 22.8k stars. A one-line Docker command self-hosts it, and an OpenAI key is only needed for the AI features. The hosted plans add a DBML editor, sticky notes, schema export and, on Teams, real-time editing and change history.

Best for: Teams that want an open source ERD tool they can self-host behind their own firewall.

Pricing:

• Free: no charge, 1 user, 1 database, 10 tables, 2 private diagrams; self-host or cloud
• Pro: $25 a month, 100 tables in one database
• Teams: from $59, up to 200 tables per database; billing period not stated
• Custom: contact sales

Watch out for:

• MongoDB is not among the supported databases in the README.
• The hosted Free plan stops at 10 tables, which most production schemas pass quickly.

Official site: ChartDB.

pgModeler

Only PostgreSQL is in scope for pgModeler, and that focus is the point for anyone whose old Moon Modeler projects were Postgres. Version 2.0.0 became the stable release on October 30, 2026, per the pgModeler site.

The core is GPL v3. You can clone the source from GitHub and compile it for free on Linux, Windows or macOS. Ready-made binaries come with a paid Plus licence, offered for 6 or 12 months for one seat, or as a perpetual team licence for two seats.

Best for: PostgreSQL specialists who want an open source modeler and do not mind building it themselves.

Pricing:

• Community: source code free, GPL v3
• Plus binaries: 6-month, 12-month or perpetual team licence; no fixed price shown, quote calculator in USD or BRL
• Students: 50% off one seat for 6 months

Watch out for:

• The free route means compiling from source. Installers are paid.
• No MySQL, SQL Server or MongoDB support, so mixed stacks need a second tool.

Official site: pgModeler.

erwin Data Modeler

Quest's erwin sits at the opposite end from Moon Modeler: an enterprise suite with a shared model repository, for Windows and now macOS. Its product page lists MongoDB, Apache Cassandra and Neo4j next to Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Snowflake, Databricks and BigQuery, and mentions automation for NoSQL denormalization.

The editions page names Standard for conceptual, logical, physical and NoSQL models, Workgroup for the Mart repository with permissions and change management, and Navigator as a read-only viewer. Quest's download page lists erwin Data Modeler for macOS 15.1 (64-bit), released October 20, 2025.

Best for: Large data teams that model MongoDB inside a governed, multi-database program.

Pricing:

• No public price; sold through Quest sales and resellers
• Editions: Standard, Workgroup, Navigator

Watch out for:

• Licensing cost is the main complaint in a PeerSpot pricing thread, where an August 2026 reviewer called the process painful.
• Mac support is recent. The 64-bit macOS build of 15.1 arrived on October 20, 2025, per Quest's download page, while the editions page still names only Windows.

Official site: erwin Data Modeler. Our listing: erwin Data Modeler.

How to choose

When to stay with Moon Modeler

Keep Moon Modeler if your work is MongoDB or Mongoose and you like paying once. Professional is $169 for one user on unlimited devices, the licence never expires, and it runs on all three desktop systems. Few rivals generate both $jsonSchema validation scripts and Mongoose code at that price. Leave only if you need Git workflows, many databases in one model, or a free tool.

Frequently asked questions