This post will walk you through pros and cons of three PostgreSQL clients: pgAdmin, Postico, and TalePlus. It depends on the needs that you will find one tool more useful than the others, so let’s take a look at the quick review and see which tool matches your situation.

1. pgAdmin

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

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

  • Supported Drivers: pgAdmin 4 works with PostgreSQL only. It works with PostgreSQL 9.2 and above.

  • Pricing: pgAdmin is a free and open source tool. Anyone can download pgAdmin from its website and use it for free.

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 only supports PostgreSQL.
  • It’s slower to respond.
  • It’s slower to start.
  • It uses more resources

2. Postico

Postico provides an easy to use interface, making Postgres more accessible for newcomers and specialists alike.

  • Supported platforms: Postico is available on Mac only.

  • Supported Drivers: Postico works well with PostgreSQL 8.0 and later. It also supports database systems derived from PostgreSQL like Amazon Redshift or Greenplum, and systems that use the PostgreSQL protocol like CockroachDB.

  • Pricing: Postico is freemium. The free version has no trial time but it’s limited to 5 saved connections, only a single window per connection, and table filters are disabled. The license costs $39 per user.

Postico

Pros:

  • It has a native experience for Mac
  • The interface is simple and clean
  • Full-featured table designer
  • Advanced filter for the paid version

Cons:

  • It’s Mac only
  • It supports PostgreSQL only, no support for other databases.

3. TablePlus

With a native build and a lightweight size, TablePlus is a very handy tool 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.
  • Multiple carets
  • 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:

  • Work with PostgreSQL only
  • Prefer a web app over a desktop app
  • Need to get the job done and don’t mind the performance & UX
  • Need a tool that is completely free

Go with Postico if you:

  • Work with PostgreSQL only and need a tool that is highly customized for PostgreSQL
  • Work on macOS only

Go with TablePlus if you:

  • Are a fan of native experience
  • Work with multiple databases
  • Want a modern design with better usability
  • Want quick support & development cycle.