If you work with a PostgreSQL database and if you’re looking for some
awesome SQL Editors to execute your SQL scripts, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we will introduce you to the some Best SQL
Editors for PostgreSQL.
Why do we need SQL Editors?
Well, we could use the command-line tool psql, but sometimes we may want to use a more user-friendly and graphical interface to run the SQL
scripts and see results.
Today I will tell you about the 5 popular PostgreSQL SQL Editor tools.
Which is the Best PostgreSQL GUI/SQL Editor Tools in 2024?
SQLynx
SQLynx is a new database IDE, designed to meet the needs of professional SQL developers. You can execute queries in multiple modes.
It also provides a local history which keeps track of your activity and
protects your work from being lost.
You can jump to any table or view by the name of the action or directly
from the SQL code.
This tool gives you a detailed insight into the behavior of your queries and the database engine behavior so that you can optimize your queries.
Since SQLynx is a web application, you can deploy it on your any server
and access it remotely.
SQLynx offers many exciting features:
It has a very intuitive and fast UI. You can easily create and edit SQL statements using its visual SQL builder, and the powerful code auto-completion feature saves a lot of time and prevents errors.
Context-sensitive and schema-aware auto-completion suggests more relevant code completions.
The most commendable features are its stability and high performance in handling SQL statements under large data volumes, and its simple and easy-to-use interface.
The SQLynx client can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.
pgAdmin
pgAdmin is the de facto GUI tool for PostgreSQL, and the first tool anyone would use for PostgreSQL. It supports all PostgreSQL operations and features while being free and open source. pgAdmin is used by both novice and seasoned DBAs and developers for database administration.
Here are some of the top reasons why PostgreSQL users love pgAdmin as their PostgreSQL GUI:
Create, view and edit on all common PostgreSQL objects.
Offers a graphical query planning tool with color syntax highlighting.
The dashboard lets you monitor server activities such as database locks, connected sessions, and prepared transactions.
Since pgAdmin is a web application, you can deploy it on any server and access it remotely.
pgAdmin UI consists of detachable panels that you can arrange according to your likings.
Provides a procedural language debugger to help you debug your code.
pgAdmin has a portable version which can help you easily move your data between machines.
There are several cons of pgAdmin that users have generally complained about:
The UI is slow and non-intuitive
pgAdmin uses too many resources.
The overall interaction with pgAdmin can be unfriendly for novice users, as the menu and directory tree setup can be quite complex to understand. Additionally, for SQL developers who are not CLI experts, installing pgAdmin can be problematic. Launching the web application from the terminal and managing multiple servers or database clusters requires advanced terminal skills, which can be a significant challenge for beginners.
The pgAdmin client can be used on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. pgAdmin can be downloaded from their official website. pgAdmin
DBeaver
DBeaver is a major cross-platform GUI tool for PostgreSQL that both developers and database administrators love. DBeaver supports more than just PostgreSQL, it also boasts support all the popular databases like MySQL, MariaDB, Sybase, SQLite, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, MS Access, Firebird, Teradata, Apache Hive, Phoenix, Presto, and Derby — any database which has a JDBC driver (over 80 databases!).
Here are some of the top DBeaver GUI features for PostgreSQL:
Visual Query builder helps you to construct complex SQL queries without actual knowledge of SQL.
It has one of the best editors — multiple data views are available to support a variety of user needs.
Convenient navigation among data.
In DBeaver, you can generate fake data that looks like real data allowing you to test your systems.
Full-text data search against all chosen tables/views with search results shown as filtered tables/views.
Metadata search among rows in database system tables.
Import and export data with many file formats such as CSV, HTML, XML, JSON, XLS, XLSX.
Provides advanced security for your databases by storing passwords in secured storage protected by a master password.
Automatically generated ER diagrams for a database/schema.
Enterprise Edition provides a special online support system.
DBeaver’s drawbacks include:
Learning Curve: DBeaver’s user interface is relatively more complex and flexible, which may require some learning and adaptation time.
Performance Configuration: In certain situations, DBeaver’s performance may require some configuration to achieve optimal performance.
One of the cons of DBeaver is it may be slow when dealing with large data sets.
If you want to use DBeaver’s more advanced features, such as data charts, analysis tools, or comprehensive distributed cluster management, you will need to switch to the enterprise paid version.
DBeaver
DataGrip
DataGrip is a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE) that supports multiple database environments. The most important thing to note about DataGrip is that it’s developed by JetBrains, one of the leading brands for developing IDEs. If you have ever used PhpStorm, IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, WebStorm, you won’t need an introduction on how good JetBrains IDEs are.
There are many exciting features to like in the DataGrip PostgreSQL GUI:
The context-sensitive and schema-aware auto-complete feature suggests more relevant code completions.
It has a beautiful and customizable UI along with an intelligent query console that keeps track of all your activities so you won’t lose your work. Moreover, you can easily add, remove, edit, and clone data rows with its powerful editor.
There are many ways to navigate schema between tables, views, and procedures.
It can immediately detect bugs in your code and suggest the best options to fix them.
It has an advanced refactoring process — when you rename a variable or an object, it can resolve all references automatically.
DataGrip is not just a GUI tool for PostgreSQL, but a full-featured IDE that has features like version control systems.
There are a few cons in DataGrip:
Despite its advantages, DataGrip also has some widely recognized drawbacks:
Not Beginner-Friendly: DataGrip’s learning curve can be steeper compared to other database tools because it includes many advanced features required by professional users.
Configuration Options Not Intuitive: Although DataGrip offers a rich set of configuration options, the organization of these options might not be intuitive, and users may need to refer to documentation to understand how to adjust settings.
Performance Issues: DataGrip may exhibit performance issues when handling large databases or complex queries, especially on computers with limited memory resources.DataGrip Website
DataGrip
Navicat
Navicat is an easy-to-use GUI tool that targets both beginner and experienced developers. It supports several database systems such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. One of the special features of Navicat is its collaboration with cloud databases like Amazon Redshift, Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Tencent Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, and Huawei Cloud.
Important features of Navicat for Postgres include:
It has a very intuitive and fast UI. You can easily create and edit SQL statements with its visual SQL builder, and the powerful code auto-completion saves you a lot of time and helps you avoid mistakes.
Navicat has a powerful data modeling tool for visualizing database structures, making changes, and designing entire schemas from scratch. You can manipulate almost any database object visually through diagrams.
Navicat can run scheduled jobs and notify you via email when the job is done running.
Navicat is capable of synchronizing different data sources and schemas.
Navicat has an add-on feature (Navicat Cloud) that offers project-based team collaboration.
It establishes secure connections through SSH tunneling and SSL ensuring every connection is secure, stable, and reliable.
You can import and export data from the GUI to diverse formats like Excel, Access, CSV, and more.
Despite all the good features, there are a few cons that you need to consider before buying Navicat:
The license is locked to a single platform. You need to buy different licenses for PostgreSQL and MySQL. Considering its heavy price, this is a bit difficult for a small company or a freelancer.
It has many features that will take some time for a newbie to get going.
Higher Cost: Navicat is not free and can be quite expensive, which might be a significant expense for individual users.
High System Resource Usage: Navicat tends to use a lot of system resources when running, which might affect the performance of other applications.
Some Features Require Payment: Certain advanced features in Navicat are only accessible through additional payments, which might be frustrating for some users.
Learning Required: As a professional database management tool, Navicat requires users to spend time and effort learning how to use it. This could be a barrier for users who are not familiar with databases. Navicat WebSite
Conclusion
Let’s summarize our main comparison of PostgreSQL GUIs. Almost everyone starts with pgAdmin for PostgreSQL. It has strong community support, and if you encounter issues, there are plenty of resources available to help you out. Generally, pgAdmin meets the needs of many developers, which is why most developers do not look for other GUI tools. This is why pgAdmin remains the most popular GUI tool.
However, if you are looking for a tool with a better UI and visual editor, a more user-friendly interface, very easy to grasp, and context-aware auto-completion of SQL statements with extreme performance, then SQLynx will be your ideal choice.
Feedback
For inquiries or feedback, please contact the SQLynx team at service@sqlynx.com.