drawDB vs DBModeler

drawDB9.0Visit DBModeler8.4Visit

Higher score drawDB #4 in Database Design Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit drawDB

vs

DBModeler #10 in Database Design Tools 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit DBModeler

• drawDB fits best

  Open-source teams wanting self-hosted ER modeling

• DBModeler fits best

  Free web modeling across many database engines

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Side by side

Feature	drawDB 9.0/10 Visit ↗	DBModeler 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.4
Ranking	#4 in Database Design Tools	#10 in Database Design Tools
Best for	Open-source teams wanting self-hosted ER modeling	Free web modeling across many database engines
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business
Features drawDB 5/5 · DBModeler 4/5
Reverse engineering	✓	✓
Forward engineering	✓	✓
SQL export	✓	✓
Team collaboration	✓ (best)	—
Version history	✓	✓
Specs
Supported databases	MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle, generic dialect	PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server, SQLite, IBM Db2, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, CockroachDB, YugabyteDB, TiDB, DuckDB
Deployment	Web	Web
Our review
Pros	Open-source with Docker self-hosting for infrastructure control Imports DDL and exports SQL, DBML, JSON, and images Supports collaboration, versioning, migrations, and AI assistance	Supports visual ER modeling across 14 database engines Generates engine-aware SQL, migrations, previews, and exports Includes snapshots, diffs, rollback, and repository workflows
Cons	Free diagrams are stored locally in the browser Cloud sync and collaboration require a paid tier The feature set may exceed the needs of simple schema sketches	Collaboration is not supported Projects are stored locally by default Available through the web only
Our verdict	drawDB is a browser-based database schema and entity-relationship diagram tool for developers, database administrators, and teams designing or documenting relational structures. Its visual editor supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite,… Read the review →	DBModeler is a browser-based ER diagram editor for designing relational schemas and organizing database projects. It is suited to developers and database professionals who need to model tables, fields, constraints, and relationships,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• drawDB — where it wins

  • Open-source with Docker self-hosting for infrastructure control
  • Imports DDL and exports SQL, DBML, JSON, and images
  • Supports collaboration, versioning, migrations, and AI assistance

  Where it doesn't

  • Free diagrams are stored locally in the browser
  • Cloud sync and collaboration require a paid tier
  • The feature set may exceed the needs of simple schema sketches

• DBModeler — where it wins

  • Supports visual ER modeling across 14 database engines
  • Generates engine-aware SQL, migrations, previews, and exports
  • Includes snapshots, diffs, rollback, and repository workflows

  Where it doesn't

  • Collaboration is not supported
  • Projects are stored locally by default
  • Available through the web only

• drawDB9.0/10 · Free plan

  A capable ER modeling tool for open-source teams that need local control and flexible exports.

  Visit drawDBFull verdict →
• DBModeler8.4/10 · Free plan

  A free web modeler with broad engine coverage and strong SQL workflow features.

  Visit DBModelerFull verdict →