Oracle SQL Developer Alternatives for Windows, Mac and Linux

Oracle SQL Developer is Oracle's free desktop IDE for its database, and it still downloads and runs from the SQL Developer page. Its end date is set, though. Oracle's support page says version 24.3 is supported until April 2027 and points users to SQL Developer for VS Code for continued development. Oracle's Jeff Smith announced the support extension in February 2026.

That leaves three kinds of move. You can follow Oracle into VS Code. You can pick a multi-database client such as DBeaver, DataGrip or DbVisualizer, which matters if you also touch PostgreSQL or SQL Server. Or you can buy an Oracle specialist such as PL/SQL Developer, Toad or dbForge, which go deeper into PL/SQL, tuning and schema compare. The list starts with the free options.

Plain code editors such as Vim, Sublime Text and Eclipse are left out. None of them browses an Oracle schema, runs a worksheet or debugs a package out of the box.

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

Quick comparison

SQL Developer for VS Code

Oracle's own answer to "what next" is an extension, not a new app. On the VS Code Marketplace it is at version 26.3.0 from Oracle Corporation, with more than 1,037,000 installs. It brings the SQL Developer worksheet into VS Code with the same keys: Ctrl+Enter runs a statement, F5 runs a script and F10 shows an explain plan. Connections can come from tnsnames.ora, an Autonomous Database wallet or OCI Database Tools, and the drivers ship inside the extension.

The PL/SQL debugger uses VS Code's native debugger, so breakpoints, stepping and the call stack look like they do for any other language. SQLcl runs in the integrated terminal, Liquibase is there through the lb command, and the extension registers the SQLcl MCP server so GitHub Copilot chat can run SQL against your connections. It also adds a DBA panel for DBMS_SCHEDULER, AWR and ASH reports.

Best for: Oracle developers who want the SQL Developer feature set to keep getting updates.

Pricing:

• Free under Oracle's Free Use Terms and Conditions licence
• VS Code itself is free

Watch out for:

• Parity with the desktop app is still arriving in quarterly updates, per the listing. Oracle's SQL Developer page still places the full data modeling suite under the desktop product.
• MLE JavaScript debugging is post-execution only. Breakpoints must be set before the session starts and only one session can run at a time.

Official site: SQL Developer for VS Code.

DBeaver

DBeaver Community is the free client most people reach for once they leave Oracle's tools. The GitHub repository lists an Apache 2.0 licence, and Oracle is one of the drivers the Community build includes out of the box. Every download bundles OpenJDK 25, so you do not install Java first, and you do not need an Oracle Client either since it connects over JDBC.

The case for DBeaver is breadth. The same window holds Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server and dozens more, with an ER diagram view, data export and a grid editor. The paid PRO builds add NoSQL sources such as MongoDB and Redis, flat files like XLSX and Parquet as databases, more AI providers, and what the repo calls extended functionality for many popular drivers.

Best for: Developers who work with Oracle and other databases and want one free, open source client.

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, no monthly option

Watch out for:

• No PL/SQL debugger is listed. The edition comparison shows a SQL debugger for PostgreSQL only, and only in Enterprise and Ultimate.
• Community has no official support. Online support and priority bug fixes are PRO features, per the repository.

Official site: DBeaver.

DataGrip

JetBrains built DataGrip on the IntelliJ platform, and it shows in the editor. Completion understands your schema, refactoring renames objects across scripts, and the same shortcuts work as in IntelliJ IDEA or PyCharm. Since October 2025 it has been free for non-commercial use, which covers learning, hobby projects and open source work with no commercial benefit.

Unusually for a multi-database client, it has an Oracle debugger. The DataGrip 2026.3 help says debugging is only supported for Oracle, covers anonymous blocks, packages, procedures, functions and triggers, and works on Oracle 9.0 and later. Your user needs the DEBUG CONNECT SESSION and DEBUG ANY PROCEDURE privileges, and objects must be compiled with the DEBUG option.

Best for: Developers who live in JetBrains IDEs and want strong SQL completion plus PL/SQL debugging.

Pricing:

• Non-commercial: free, one-year licence that renews if used
• Organizations: $259.00 per user per year
• Individuals: $109.00 the first year, $87.00 the second, $65.00 from the third
• Prices from JetBrains' store page as of November 6, 2026

Watch out for:

• The free licence requires anonymous usage statistics with no opt-out, and it must be activated online with a JetBrains Account, per the announcement.
• Paid work at a non-profit still counts as commercial, so most people at work need the $259.00 organization licence.

Official site: DataGrip.

PL/SQL Developer

Allround Automations builds PL/SQL Developer for one job, and it is in the name. The product page points to version 17.0. The tool is built around writing, testing and debugging stored program units, and it supports plug-ins in 32-bit and 64-bit builds.

Its client is narrow but its server range is wide. The system requirements list Oracle 7.x through 23c and 26ai on any server platform. Licences are per named user, not per PC or database, so one person can install it on a desktop and a laptop.

Best for: Windows developers who spend most of their day in packages, procedures and triggers.

Pricing:

• Single user: $243 licence plus $42 a year for support
• 5 users: $729 licence
• 10 users: $1,215 licence
• Unlimited users: $8,100 licence plus $1,400 a year support

Watch out for:

• Windows only. The requirements page lists Windows Vista through Windows 11 and nothing for Mac or Linux.
• It needs an Oracle Client installed, and its bitness must match. The 64-bit build needs a 64-bit Oracle Client.

Official site: PL/SQL Developer.

Toad for Oracle

Quest sells Toad for Oracle in six editions, and picking one is part of the job. The product page lists Base, Developer, Professional, Xpert, DBA, and DBA for RAC and Exadata. Automation Designer, the PL/SQL Profiler and Project Manager are in every edition. Toad Data Modeler comes with the DBA edition, and Database Health Check needs the DB Admin Module or the DBA edition.

Toad makes sense when a team wants one vendor for development, tuning and admin, with support contracts behind it. The supported systems on the page are Windows 8.1, 10 and 11 plus Windows Server 2012 R2 through 2022. The installs run from 530 MB for Professional to 2 GB for the DBA editions.

Best for: DBA and development teams in larger companies that want tuning, health checks and vendor support.

Pricing:

• No public price on quest.com; quotes come from Quest sales or resellers
• Six editions, from Base to DBA for RAC and Exadata

Watch out for:

• You cannot see the cost before talking to sales. Quest does not publish prices on its product page, and none of the editions is free.
• The editions overlap in confusing ways. Some features live in add-on modules rather than in a higher edition.

Official site: Toad for Oracle.

dbForge Studio for Oracle

Devart's dbForge Studio is the paid IDE to look at if schema compare is a weekly task. The product page lists schema comparison and sync, data comparison and sync, a PL/SQL debugger, a query profiler, a visual query builder and pivot tables. There is also an AI assistant that turns plain English into SQL and explains queries.

Devart says it runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. The ordering page sells three editions on subscription, and perpetual licences come with a set period of support and upgrades. Annual plans and perpetual licences have a 30-day money-back guarantee; monthly plans get 7 days.

Best for: Teams that move schema changes between dev, test and production and want compare tools built in.

Pricing:

• Standard: $209.95 a year
• Professional: $399.95 a year
• Enterprise: $519.95 a year
• Perpetual licences: price on request

Watch out for:

• Every edition is paid, so after the trial you pay at least $209.95 a year.
• Perpetual licences are offered at a price on request, so a one-off purchase means asking Devart.

Official site: dbForge Studio for Oracle.

DbVisualizer

For a light client that treats Oracle well, DbVisualizer is a solid choice. Its Oracle page says it was tested against Oracle 8i through 21c and supports 91 more Oracle-specific object types beyond tables, views, triggers and sequences. It also handles the Oracle Scheduler and shows the server's explain plan.

Installers exist for Windows on x64 and Arm64, macOS on Apple Silicon and Intel, and Linux, each with Java included. Pro costs more in the first year and less from year two onward, per the pricing page.

Best for: People who want a clean cross-platform client and are willing to pay for Pro once it earns its place.

Pricing:

• Free: standard feature set
• Pro with 60-day support: $199 the first year, $89 from year two
• Pro with premium support: $229 the first year, $119 from year two
• Volume pricing, for example $183 per user for 4 to 10 users

Watch out for:

• The free tier is thin for Oracle work. The pricing page keeps explain plan, the table data editor, the query builder and procedure, function, package and trigger management in Pro.
• Licences are per user, so a shared team machine still needs one licence per person.

Official site: DbVisualizer.

Navicat for Oracle

Navicat for Oracle is a single-database product from a vendor better known for Navicat Premium. The product page lists Windows 8 to 11, macOS 14 Sonoma through macOS 27, and Linux through Flatpak or AppImage on x86_64 and aarch64. It connects to Oracle Cloud, Amazon RDS for Oracle and Oracle Database Cloud Service.

The feature list covers the object designer, data editor, code insight and refactoring, data modeling, data masking, structure and data sync, backup and restore, and an AI assistant. Navicat Collaboration is listed for team work. If you need MySQL or PostgreSQL too, Navicat sells those in Navicat Premium instead.

Best for: Mac and Linux users who want a commercial Oracle GUI with data sync and modeling in the box.

Pricing:

• Enterprise: $56.99 a month, $569.99 a year, or $1,129.00 perpetual
• Standard and Non-Commercial editions are also sold; check the store for their prices

Watch out for:

• No free edition for Oracle. The product page offers free Lite versions of other Navicat products, but Navicat for Oracle only has a trial.
• The $1,129.00 perpetual Enterprise licence is the most expensive public price in this list.

Official site: Navicat for Oracle.

How to choose

When to stay with Oracle SQL Developer

Keep SQL Developer desktop if it does what you need today. It is free, and Oracle's support page lists version 24.3 as supported until April 2027. It is also where Oracle still lists the full data modeling suite. Plan your next move before support ends, but there is no reason to rush.

Frequently asked questions