SQuirreL SQL Client Alternatives for Windows, Mac and Linux

SQuirreL SQL Client is a free Java desktop client that connects to any database with a JDBC driver. It is not abandoned. The project page lists 5.1.0, released March 26, 2026, as the current stable version, with a minimum of Java 17. A 5.2.0 release candidate from October 23, 2026 adds an MCP server so AI tools can work with SQuirreL sessions, plus Java 27 support. It is LGPL licensed and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

People move on for practical reasons. You install and update Java yourself, add each JDBC driver by hand, and the Swing interface has changed little in years. The seven clients below fix one or more of those. Five are free to start and two are paid. If your main database is Oracle, our SQL Developer alternatives page goes deeper into PL/SQL tools.

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

Quick comparison

DBeaver

DBeaver works the way SQuirreL does under the hood: a Java app that talks to databases over JDBC. The difference is in the chores. Downloads ship with OpenJDK 25, so there is no separate Java install, and DBeaver offers to fetch the right driver the first time you connect. The GitHub repository lists the Community edition under Apache 2.0.

You also get an ER diagram view, a data grid editor, data export and import, and SQL editor tabs per connection. The paid PRO line adds NoSQL sources such as MongoDB and Redis, files like XLSX and Parquet treated as tables, and official support.

Best for: SQuirreL users who want the same any-database approach with less setup.

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

Watch out for:

• Community gets no official support. Online support and priority fixes belong to PRO, per the repository.
• The SQL debugger on the edition comparison covers PostgreSQL only and sits in Enterprise and Ultimate.

Official site: DBeaver.

DataGrip

Where SQuirreL's completion lists table and column names, DataGrip understands the query. It resolves aliases, flags unknown columns, and renames objects across files, the same way IntelliJ IDEA treats Java code. Since October 2025 it is free for non-commercial use, covering learning, hobby projects and open source work with no commercial benefit.

Drivers download from inside the app, so there is no jar hunting. It also has a debugger for Oracle PL/SQL, per the help pages, which is rare in a multi-database client.

Best for: Developers who write a lot of SQL and want IDE-grade completion and refactoring.

Pricing:

• Non-commercial: free
• Organizations: $259.00 per user per year
• Individuals: $109.00 the first year, $87.00 the second, $65.00 from the third

Watch out for:

• The free licence sends anonymous usage statistics with no opt-out and needs online activation with a JetBrains Account, per the announcement.
• Any paid work, including at a non-profit, counts as commercial and needs a paid licence.

Official site: DataGrip.

DbVisualizer

DbVisualizer is the other long-running Java client, but it hides the Java part. Installers for Windows (x64 and Arm64), macOS (Apple silicon and Intel) and Linux include the runtime, per its Oracle page, so you skip the setup SQuirreL needs.

The Free edition is fine for browsing and running queries. Pro is priced higher in year one and lower afterwards, which suits people who keep a tool for years.

Best for: People who want a mature JDBC client with a vendor behind it and a one-person licence.

Pricing:

• Free: standard features
• 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

Watch out for:

• Free leaves out explain plan, the table data editor, the query builder and procedure management, per the pricing page. Editing rows in a grid, which SQuirreL does for free, needs Pro.

Official site: DbVisualizer.

Beekeeper Studio

Beekeeper Studio is the pick if SQuirreL's dated look is the main problem. It is an open source app with tabs, autocomplete and saved queries, and the pricing page promises full feature parity across macOS, Windows and Linux. Community covers PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server, MariaDB and Redis, with SSH tunnels and unlimited connections.

Paid plans add more databases. Indie adds Oracle, Cassandra, Firebird, DuckDB and SurrealDB, and Professional adds MongoDB, ClickHouse, Trino and DynamoDB. If you pay for 12 months you keep the paid features in versions released during that time, even after you cancel.

Best for: Developers on mainstream SQL databases who want a clean, fast interface.

Pricing:

• Community: free, meant for students, individuals, non-profits and businesses with fewer than 10 employees and/or under $1M revenue
• Indie: $9 per user per month billed yearly, 2 users and 1 device
• Professional: $14 per user per month billed yearly
• Business: $18 per user per month billed yearly
• Enterprise: from $4,999 a month; 14-day trial, 30-day refund

Watch out for:

• Community cannot edit query results, import or export data, or back up and restore, per the pricing page.
• It is not a JDBC client. A database outside its list, which SQuirreL could reach with any driver, may not be supported at all.

Official site: Beekeeper Studio.

HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is free, open source and quick to start, with no Java involved. It handles MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite, InterBase and Firebird, plus ProxySQL and Redshift, per the HeidiSQL site.

For years it was a Windows app. The site now lists builds for Windows, made with Delphi, and for Linux and macOS, made with Lazarus. Release 12.22, from October 25, added SQL Server, InterBase and Firebird connections to the macOS and Linux versions.

Best for: MySQL and MariaDB users who want a free, light client with no runtime to install.

Pricing:

• Free, open source

Watch out for:

• The database list is fixed. There is no generic JDBC or ODBC route, so Oracle and DB2 users of SQuirreL are out of luck.
• The macOS and Linux builds are recent and still catching up with Windows. The site describes some of that work as part of a v13 preview.

Official site: HeidiSQL.

DbGate

DbGate covers what SQuirreL never did well: NoSQL. The free Community edition handles a wide range of SQL databases, MongoDB and Redis in one app, and it comes as both a desktop app and a web app you can run on a server, per the pricing page.

The web build is useful when a team wants one shared database browser without installing anything locally. Premium adds cloud and legacy databases, and DbGate Lite runs SQLite, DuckDB and IndexedDB in the browser for free.

Best for: Teams that mix SQL databases with MongoDB or Redis and want desktop or browser access.

Pricing:

• Community: free, open source, single user
• Premium: $12 a month or $120 a year, 1 user
• Team Premium: $15 per user per month or $150 per user per year
• Academic: free for one year

Watch out for:

• The pricing page limits Community users to 5 connections and 5 SQL files in DbGate Cloud, with read-only shared folders.

Official site: DbGate.

TablePlus

TablePlus is a native app, not a Java one, so it opens fast and looks at home on macOS 12 or later. The Windows build needs .NET 4.8, and Linux builds cover Ubuntu, Fedora and others, per the pricing page. An iOS app is free for desktop licence owners.

It sells perpetual licences rather than subscriptions. Each includes a year of updates, and the app keeps working after that if you do not renew.

Best for: Mac users who want a fast native client and prefer to pay once.

Pricing:

• Basic: $99 one-time, 1 device
• Standard: $129 one-time (listed down from $198), 2 devices
• Team: $79 per seat, minimum 3 seats
• Renewal: $59 per device for another year of updates

Watch out for:

• The free trial allows only 2 tabs, 2 windows and 2 advanced filters at a time, and filters are missing from the free Windows version.
• Licences are per device, so a desktop and a laptop need Standard or two Basic licences.

Official site: TablePlus.

How to choose

When to stay with SQuirreL SQL Client

Keep SQuirreL if you connect to unusual databases through JDBC drivers that other tools do not list, or if you want an LGPL tool with no paid tier at all. It is free, still gets releases, and the 5.2.0 candidate's MCP server is more than most free clients offer. If Java 17 is already on your machine, the setup cost is mostly behind you.

Frequently asked questions