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Head-to-head · Database Migration Tools

Flyway vs Alembic

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score Flyway #1 in Database Migration Tools 9.4/10 Free plan · 28-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Flyway
Alembic #5 in Database Migration Tools 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Alembic

Flyway leads on 0 checks, Alembic on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreFlyway · 9.4/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialonly Flyway

Flyway scores higher on our rubric for database migration tools: 9.4 against 8.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #5.

On migration format, Flyway gives you Mixed where Alembic offers Code.

Flyway is the better fit for teams needing mature, broad migration automation. Alembic is the better fit for python teams wanting powerful open-source migrations.

  • Flyway fits best

    Teams needing mature, broad migration automation

  • Alembic fits best

    Python teams wanting powerful open-source migrations

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Side by side

Feature Flyway 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Alembic 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 8.7
Ranking #1 in Database Migration Tools #5 in Database Migration Tools
Best for Teams needing mature, broad migration automation Python teams wanting powerful open-source migrations
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price — Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 28 days —
Deployment Self-hosted, Desktop Self-hosted
Support Email, Tickets, Community, Docs Community, Docs
Built for Solo, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Flyway 5/5 · Alembic 5/5
Rollback support ✓ ✓
Schema diff ✓ ✓
CI/CD automation ✓ ✓
Drift detection ✓ ✓
Self-hosted option ✓ ✓
Specs
Supported databases Not checked yet Not checked yet
Migration format Mixed Code
Our review
Pros
  • Free Community edition includes core migration commands, CLI, and API.
  • Supports versioned SQL and Java migrations with rollback workflows.
  • Connects with CI/CD tools, Git, Docker, Maven, and Gradle.
  • Upgrade and downgrade scripts support reversible migration workflows.
  • Autogeneration compares schemas and creates candidate revisions.
  • Offline SQL, CI checks, branching, and SQLite batch migrations add control.
Cons
  • Schema diff and object-level versioning begin with the Teams edition.
  • Drift detection and generated rollback scripts require Enterprise.
  • The broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple migration projects.
  • Requires a local Python environment rather than a hosted migration service.
  • Designed for applications using SQLAlchemy and Python.
  • Migration workflows are code-based and require engineering ownership.
Our verdict

Flyway is a database change management tool for developers, database teams, and enterprises managing versioned schema changes. It runs migration workflows through commands such as migrate, validate, repair, and baseline, while supporting…

Read the review →

Alembic is an open-source database migration tool for applications built with SQLAlchemy and Python. It gives development teams a command-line interface and Python APIs for creating, organizing, reviewing, and applying migration scripts.…

Read the review →
  1. FlywayDatabase Migration Tools 9.4Free plan · 28-day trial
  2. AlembicDatabase Migration Tools 8.7Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Flyway — where it wins

    • Free Community edition includes core migration commands, CLI, and API.
    • Supports versioned SQL and Java migrations with rollback workflows.
    • Connects with CI/CD tools, Git, Docker, Maven, and Gradle.

    Where it doesn't

    • Schema diff and object-level versioning begin with the Teams edition.
    • Drift detection and generated rollback scripts require Enterprise.
    • The broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple migration projects.

  • Alembic — where it wins

    • Upgrade and downgrade scripts support reversible migration workflows.
    • Autogeneration compares schemas and creates candidate revisions.
    • Offline SQL, CI checks, branching, and SQLite batch migrations add control.

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires a local Python environment rather than a hosted migration service.
    • Designed for applications using SQLAlchemy and Python.
    • Migration workflows are code-based and require engineering ownership.
  • Flyway9.4/10 · Free plan · 28-day trial

    A broad migration platform with free core commands and deeper controls in paid editions.

    Visit FlywayFull verdict →
  • Alembic8.7/10 · Free plan

    A free, code-based migration toolkit for Python and SQLAlchemy teams.

    Visit AlembicFull verdict →

More comparisons

All database migration tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update