Heimdall Database Proxy vs PgDog

Heimdall Database Proxy9.4Visit PgDog8.4Visit

Higher score Heimdall Database Proxy #1 in Database Proxy Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Heimdall Data

vs

PgDog #8 in Database Proxy Software 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit PgDog

• Heimdall Database Proxy fits best

  Broad, enterprise-grade database proxying

• PgDog fits best

  Free PostgreSQL pooling and sharding

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Side by side

Feature	Heimdall Database Proxy 9.4/10 Visit ↗	PgDog 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.4
Ranking	#1 in Database Proxy Software	#8 in Database Proxy Software
Best for	Broad, enterprise-grade database proxying	Free PostgreSQL pooling and sharding
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Heimdall Database Proxy 4/4 · PgDog 4/4
Connection pooling	✓	✓
Query routing	✓	✓
Load balancing	✓	✓
Automatic failover	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Both	Both
Supported databases	MySQL, PostgreSQL, Amazon RDS, Oracle, SQL Server, MariaDB, DB2, Greenplum, Redshift	PostgreSQL
Maximum connections	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports pooling, routing, load balancing, caching, and failover Works with major relational databases and cloud platforms Enterprise Plus adds multi-tenant routing, masking, and GDPR auditing	Free, open-source PostgreSQL connection pooling and multiplexing Combines routing, read/write splitting, lag monitoring, and sharding Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, on-premises, or customer cloud accounts
Cons	Enterprise features require paid editions Community Edition is specifically for Greenplum deployments Its broad feature set may exceed narrow proxying needs	Supports PostgreSQL rather than multiple database engines Failover detection is disabled by default AGPLv3 licensing may not suit every deployment or distribution model
Our verdict	Heimdall Database Proxy is a data access layer for application developers, database administrators, and architects. It sits between applications and SQL databases in cloud or on-premise environments, providing connection pooling,… Read the review →	PgDog is an open-source PostgreSQL proxy for teams that need to manage connection capacity, distribute reads across replicas, or route traffic across sharded databases. Its scope covers transaction-mode connection pooling, connection… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Heimdall Database Proxy — where it wins

  • Supports pooling, routing, load balancing, caching, and failover
  • Works with major relational databases and cloud platforms
  • Enterprise Plus adds multi-tenant routing, masking, and GDPR auditing

  Where it doesn't

  • Enterprise features require paid editions
  • Community Edition is specifically for Greenplum deployments
  • Its broad feature set may exceed narrow proxying needs

• PgDog — where it wins

  • Free, open-source PostgreSQL connection pooling and multiplexing
  • Combines routing, read/write splitting, lag monitoring, and sharding
  • Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, on-premises, or customer cloud accounts

  Where it doesn't

  • Supports PostgreSQL rather than multiple database engines
  • Failover detection is disabled by default
  • AGPLv3 licensing may not suit every deployment or distribution model

• Heimdall Database Proxy9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad database proxy with pooling, routing, analytics, security, and failover.

  Visit Heimdall DataFull verdict →
• PgDog8.4/10 · Free plan

  A free PostgreSQL proxy with pooling, routing, replica balancing, and sharding.

  Visit PgDogFull verdict →