In this post, we are going to have a quick review of three database tools: HeidiSQL, pgAdmin, TablePlus; and compare the pros and cons to see which is the best GUI client for your database management tasks.

1. HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL provides a powerful graphical interface for managing tables, logs, and users of a MySQL database, as well as Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL.

  • Supported Platforms: HeidiSQL was built for the Windows platform, and it only works on Windows.

  • Supported Drivers: Initially, HeidiSQL offered support for MySQL, then extended to MS SQL Server, and now it also includes PostgreSQL support.

  • Pricing: HeidiSQL is a free and open-source client. Its codebase was originally taken from Ansgar Becker’s own MySQL-Front 2.5 software. Anyone can download and use the app for free with no limitation, but it also accepts the donation.

HeidiSQL

Pros:

  • It’s lightweight.
  • Connect to multiple servers in one window
  • Free to use – Licensed under GNU GPL.
  • Portable. Alongside the possibility of downloading the installer and source code, a portable version of the software is available.
  • Full database user management and privileges management options.
  • Write queries with customizable syntax-highlighting and code-completion
  • Data synchronization. HeidiSQL can compare and synchronize your data and structure between local and remote databases.
  • SSH tunneling support

Cons:

  • Low stability. HeidiSQL is known to have a lot of bugs that result in frequent crashes
  • It’s only available for Windows and it doesn’t look like a cross-platform is coming anytime soon
  • No built-in debugger included
  • Low DPI display. The author attempted to add the high DPI but dropped it eventually.

2. pgAdmin

pgAdmin is one of the oldest and most popular PostgreSQL database design and management tools.

pgAdmin 4 is a web application. The native binary is a wrapped version of the web app that runs a web server and web browser. Thus it has a high memory footprint and low performance.

  • Supported platforms: From the recent update to pgAdmin 4, pgAdmin becomes a web app, which can run on any computer with a web browser installed.

  • Supported Drivers: pgAdmin supports PostgreSQL only. It works well with PostgreSQL 9.2 and above.

  • Pricing: pgAdmin is also a free and open source client. Anyone can download and use pgAdmin from its website.

pgAdmin

Pros:

  • It’s free.
  • It can be easily deployed on any server and accessed remotely using any web browser.
  • The UI is flexible and can be re-organized. The user interface elements are detachable panels that can be dragged around and re-arranged to be displayed stand-alone or in the tabbed browser.

Cons:

  • It’s web-based
  • It starts and runs very slow.
  • It uses more resources

3. TablePlus

With a native build and a lightweight size, TablePlus offers a fast and easy solution for managing multiple databases.

  • Supported platforms: TablePlus is built native for each platform. It started out with a native version for Mac, then another version for Windows, and a version for Linux was introduced recently as an alpha release. It also has an iOS version.

  • Supported Drivers: TablePlus supports a handful of relational databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Microsoft SQL Server, Amazon Redshift, MariaDB, CockroachDB, Vertica, Oracle; and two popular NoSQL databases: Cassandra and Redis.

  • Pricing: TablePlus has a free version with full set of features which you can download and use forever, but there are some usage limitations. If you use it heavily, the license costs $59 to remove all those limitations.

TablePlus

Pros:

  • Native build for each platform so it’s fast, lightweight, and stable.
  • Clean and simple interface.
  • Multiple drivers support
  • Multiple conditions data filter
  • Queries history and keyword binding favorite.
  • Streaming results and async loading to show queries results faster and doesn’t block the UI.
  • Very quick inline editing for table data and structure, you also can edit query results directly.
  • Smart query editor with highlight syntax, instant autocomplete, SQL reformat.
  • A plugin system to extend the app.
  • Quick support. TablePlus releases new updates regularly and responds to users’ requests almost immediately.

Cons:

It currently lacks of some advanced features such as ER Diagram, database compare tool to Diff and Sync, etc.

4. Conclusion

Go with pgAdmin if you:

  • Prefer a web-based app
  • Work with PostgreSQL only

Go with HeidiSQL if you:

  • Prefer the old-fashioned design with loads of buttons in the UI.
  • Work on Windows only
  • Need a tool that is feature rich.

Go with TablePlus if you:

  • Are a fan of native experience
  • Work with multiple databases
  • Want a modern design with better usability