Alternatives to DbSchema

A visual database designer and client that turns SQL and NoSQL databases into ER diagrams. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as DbSchema.

  • ChartDB

    An open-source tool for visualizing and editing database schema diagrams, hosted or self-hosted.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    ChartDB is an AGPL-3.0 web tool that can be self-hosted, builds diagrams from a single query without database access and exports DDL, but is not a full database client.

  • dbdiagram.io

    A web tool for drawing database relationship diagrams by writing a simple text-based language.

    FreeProprietaryWeb

    dbdiagram.io is a free browser-only tool that draws diagrams from a text language, with nothing to install but no offline models, documentation generation or database connections.

  • pgModeler

    An open-source PostgreSQL modeling tool for designing, reverse-engineering, diffing and deploying database schemas.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    pgModeler is open source and limited to PostgreSQL, offering deep Postgres modeling, schema diff and sync and a CLI, with pre-built binaries in the paid Plus edition.

  • Valentina Studio

    A cross-platform database management tool for MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, SQLite, MongoDB and more.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    Valentina Studio is a cross-platform manager for SQL and NoSQL databases with a visual diagram editor that generates schema objects, with some features in the paid PRO edition.

  • Navicat Premium

    A commercial desktop client for building, querying and managing many database engines from one application.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinux

    Navicat Premium is a paid, closed-source client on Windows, macOS and Linux that includes modeling alongside querying, synchronization and BI tools for many engines.

  • DBeaver Community

    One database client for more than a hundred databases, with a proper SQL editor and ER diagrams.

    FreemiumOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    DBeaver Community is free and open source under Apache-2.0 and includes ER diagrams among its client features, though it is Eclipse-based and slow to start.

Also worth comparing

These listings name DbSchema as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • SchemaSpy

    A command-line tool that generates browsable HTML documentation and ER diagrams from a database schema.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxCommand line

    DbSchema replaces generated command-line output with a desktop visual designer that also produces ER diagrams and HTML documentation, but advanced features are paid and it is not open source.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.