In this post, we are going to quickly review three database tools phpMyAdmin, Sequel Pro, and TablePlus; as well as to compare pros and cons of each tool and choose the one that matches your needs.

1. phpMyAdmin

With a web-based build, phpMyAdmin offers a handy tool to handle the administration of a database in a web browser.

  • Supported Platforms: phpMyAdmin is a web-based administration tool, so you can get it run from any platforms with a web browser.

  • Supported Drivers: phpMyAdmin supports only Mysql and it works well with MySQL version 5.5 and newer.

  • Pricing: phpMyAdmin is free and open source. It’s available on almost every hosting service.

phpMyAdmin

Pros:

  • It’s portable. It can run on any computer and on any OS with a web browser.
  • Easy installation. You need to have PHP and MySQL installed on your server, extract the files to a specified directory and run the install script.
  • Stable due to its maturity.
  • Comprehensive management of user accounts and permissions.

Cons:

  • It’s web-based, so it runs slow and depends too much on the browser.
  • Confusing and outdated interface. It may take some time to get used to it.
  • No schema visualization.
  • Does not have smart code highlighting or auto-completion capabilities.

2. Sequel Pro

Sequel Pro has been long known for being one of the best GUI tools for MySQL, only until recently when it has compatibility issues with MySQL 8 and macOS Mojave.

  • Supported Platforms: Sequel Pro is available on macOS only.

  • Supported Drivers: Sequel Pro only supports MySQL. It works well with MySQL up to 5.7. Since the recent MySQL 8.0 came out, it’s reported that Sequel Pro can’t connect to MySQL 8.0, it’s not working properly or just crashing.

  • Pricing: Sequel Pro is free and open source. It also accepts donation.

Sequel Pro

Pros:

  • Very clean and simple interface. It’s easy for newbies to get started.
  • It runs fast.
  • Easy to import/export databases.
  • Connections over SSH
  • Full user management, credentials, and roles
  • Filtering/Sorting data based on single constraint including equal to/in/like/between etc.
  • Sanity check or data integrity check.
  • It’s free

Cons:

  • Crashes very often and randomly. This is a big problem in the current (2016 to present) version of Sequel Pro.
  • Available for Mac only. The development is stopped now.

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.
  • 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 phpMyAdmin if you:

  • Prefer a web app
  • Work with MySQL only

Go with Sequel Pro if you:

  • Um. It’s dead. Just move on.

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.