# dbForge Edge Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is dbForge Edge the right Database solution for you? Explore 59 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/196325/dbForge-Studio/reviews --- dbForge Edge 4.6 (59) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/196325/dbForge-Studio/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of dbForge Edge Ease of use 4.6 Customer Service 4.3 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews SM Scott M CTOInformation Technology and Services, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “You can also easily output data to all kinds of formats including Excel, Sheets, csv, xml, etc., and save templates so that you can quickly generate the same reports.“ July 26, 2020 KS Kevin S Sr. Director of Web StrategyPrinting, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I've worked with Microsoft SQL Management Studio for most of my career. When presented with a set of projects which required MySQL administration I found the tool provided for MySQL to be pretty poor.“ December 17, 2020 SM Scott M CTOInformation Technology and Services, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “I love being able to completely copy a database from one server to another with a few clicks, which makes it super quick to keep my dev environment in sync with the live database.“ July 26, 2020 LY Larry Y IT ManagerMining & Metals, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “If there were one thing that I find a tiny bit lacking in dbForge, it is the way in which you define data sources. “ December 17, 2020 SM Scott M CTOInformation Technology and Services, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “The ability to mark different databases with shapes and colors is a thoughtful feature and reduces the chances of accidentally making a change in live instead of dev.“ July 26, 2020 SS Sebin S Product Manager and Business AnalystInformation Technology and Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “I could not find the option to visually edit queries in the standard edition that I purchased.“ October 20, 2020 TA Troy A IS DirectorInformation Technology and Services, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “dbForge brings all the tools needed to administer and develop for not only Microsoft SQL Server, but many other dbs. “ October 20, 2020 KT Klaus T Developer / ManagerInformation Technology and Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Unfortunately no direct function for renaming tables (or I haven't discovered the function yet)“ October 21, 2020 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 59 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Dinand V. Senior Developer Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Can't do without it" April 23, 2020 5.0 I'm using dbForge on a daily basis and to be frank, I can't do my job without it. When I'm on a server without it, I install at least the express edition because the way dbForge supports writing queries is unmatched. Pros It's a one stop tool for my database tasks Cons Sometimes it crashes when I accidentally press F10 Alternatives considered [Navicat Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/154292/Navicat-Premium/) Reason for choosing dbForge Edge dbForge is completer, more robust and more affordable. But above all, dbForge is more intuitive Review Source SM Scott M. CTO Information Technology and Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great SSMS replacement for MySQL newbies" July 26, 2020 5.0 So, for the record I'm an MSSQL guy from way back, and SSMS is my friend. I've been using it forever, and I think it's perhaps one of the best free pieces of software on the planet given what you can do with it. I like MSSQL/SSMS so much, and I'm so stubborn, that I stupidly connect to MSSQL when I am doing PHP pages. I took on a new client recently, and they are a MySQL shop, so I had to find a tool where the learning curve wouldn't waste a lot of my time. I have used the MSSQL version of dbForge Studio in the past, so when I realized they offered a MySQL version, I decided to give it a try. For me, dbForge Studio for MySQL is easily the closest in terms of look and feel to SSMS. I was able to install, connect to the sandbox they gave me, and dive right in. I was a little embarrassed about my lack of MySQL skills, so in about 30 seconds dbForge Studio was able to copy my sandbox DB over to a local MySQL server I set up so that I could play around with it and learn the nuances of MySQL over MSSQL. I ended up liking MySQL/dbForge Studio so much that I'm going to use MySQL as my go-to database technology on my projects going forward. I love this software and it offers a great value over its competitors and a shortened learning curve for those of use who use SSMS. Pros I love being able to completely copy a database from one server to another with a few clicks, which makes it super quick to keep my dev environment in sync with the live database. The code completion feature is so much quicker than SSMS, I love that you can set the delay, and it saves me a lot of typing in addition to keeping the case consistent within my SQL. The Visual Studio Blue makes it feel like I'm working with my old friend SSMS. The ability to mark different databases with shapes and colors is a thoughtful feature and reduces the chances of accidentally making a change in live instead of dev. The data generation feature is nice as well, as you can generate a lot of test data quickly. Also, one of the best features is the automated code formatting command (CTRL-K, D), which takes my sloppy, ill-formated SQL and turns it into beautifully formatted SQL. You can also easily output data to all kinds of formats including Excel, Sheets, csv, xml, etc., and save templates so that you can quickly generate the same reports. Cons The "Edit View" feature is a little clunky--you cannot edit SQL directly in the SQL tab, and when you try to do it in the Query Text tab, it constantly throws errors as you type. Sometimes you just need to do a quick edit to a view and it's a bit frustrating to deal with. I found myself opening up a new SQL window, copying my code, pasting into the new tab, modifying and copying back to the Query Text tab. There has to be an easier way. Alternatives considered [Navicat Premium](https://www.capterra.com/p/154292/Navicat-Premium/) Reason for choosing dbForge Edge dbForge Studio for MySQL is the closest to SQL Server Management Studio in terms of look, feel, and functionality. The other options were awkward and unintuitive for me to use. Review Source CV Chuck V. Lead Computer Software Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "We tried, it failed." April 22, 2020 3.0 It was ok, but settings and config were not intuitive and had to contact support several times and they were not very helpful. Pros it has syncing and backup built in and it looked to be a better product. Cons it only ran on windows, alot of our devs use macOS. Reason for choosing dbForge Edge I ended up going back to navicat. Review Source KS Kevin S. Sr. Director of Web Strategy Printing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A great solution for MySQL development" December 17, 2020 4.0 I've worked with Microsoft SQL Management Studio for most of my career. When presented with a set of projects which required MySQL administration I found the tool provided for MySQL to be pretty poor. dbForge provides a familiar interface to what I was used to for SQL Server, but targeting MySQL. We use dbForge for management and developing all of our MySQL solutions. It is fantastic. Pros The platform works great, replacing the admin interface provided by MySql. DbForge provides the tools and familiar interface features need to perform all the admin and development we need. Cons There is some instability in the product, experienced infrequently, which causes it to hang for 20 seconds or so occasionally. Typically it recovers fine. When the platform does crash, it generally starts right back up where I left off without any loss. Alternatives considered [DBeaver](https://www.capterra.com/p/210182/DBeaver/) Reason for choosing dbForge Edge I did a head to head comparison between the platforms, using each for a few hours when I was originally working on identifying the product to use moving forward. While similar, I found dbForge to have a better experience, and we made the switch. Switched from [MySQL](https://www.capterra.com/p/11482/MySQL/) MySQL's interface is terrible, unstable, and lags. Review Source Jhonathan D. Lead Developer Financial Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "It is a necessary tool for professionals" April 22, 2020 4.0 Pros Intellisense is fantastic. You considerably reduce the amount of words typed Cons For large and complex queries, hardware consumption is something that needs to be improved. Alternatives considered [Redgate Monitor](https://www.capterra.com/p/141452/SQL-Monitor/) Reason for choosing dbForge Edge I believe it is a product that delivers value even if it costs less. Review Source Derek B. CTO Hospitality Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Don’t bother looking at anything else" October 20, 2020 5.0 Pros Easy to use. Stable Feature full Showing the foreign key table when clicking the foreign key is awesome. Cons The database diagram tool could be improved. More like the “cat” competitor would be great. This one is for the postgresql one only, but in its current state it is not for daily use because it is only 50% complete. I really hope that changes soon. Reason for choosing dbForge Edge I have tried them all and this is by far the most powerful. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Head of Software Development Facilities Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "dbForge Studio " April 22, 2020 5.0 We do not have the capacity to do replicated server but with dbForge, everything seems to be a breeze. Pros The DATA and SCHEMA Compare-Synchronization feature is an absolute game-changer. The T-SQL Debugger really saves us a great deal of development time in building our server-side data processing logic. Cons Nothing I should say as the least, other than releasing a MAC version. Review Source Richard S. Data - Technical Lead Architect Tobacco Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Perfect tool for schema&data comparisions" June 15, 2020 4.0 I'm a long term user of their SQL Complete plugin for SSMS, and utilise the additional features in dbForge Studio for managing deployments and migrations. I find the tools much more effective and reliable that the equivelent features built into Visual Studio. Pros schema compare data compare refactoring/intellisense database diagramming Cons occasional instability, crashes (but no worse than any other comparable tool SSMS etc) Reason for choosing dbForge Edge Redgate were significantly more expensive for directly comparable products. Review Source Robert K. Technical Manager Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent for the reluctant developer" October 20, 2020 4.0 I use it for working on cloud databases; designing and testing the schema and designing APIs. Pros It is easy to get started with minimal database skills. Provides a point-and-click interface and you get to see the actual SQL being generated. Excellent for running queries on tables with lots of records. Cons I am only an occasional user and it is a bit expensive. I used to like the version that integrated with Visual Studio but that seems to be no longer available. Review Source Catalin G. CTO Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "My superpower replacement to go for SSMS" October 21, 2020 5.0 Pros User friendly, fast. Has features not available, at least not available at your fingertips, in other tools. The compare schema feature is invaluable. Cons Maybe do not like that is another product, I would love SSMS to do all these and to do them as good. But good that someone did a product that does all these. Review Source JM Jeffrey M. Software Security Analysts Insurance Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "dbForge assisting in data auditing" March 22, 2019 5.0 Pros This product is easy to use to connect to Oracle dbs which we have running. The trial versions are complete enough to be able to complete coding tasks and monitoring. The intelliisense built in makes working with oracle a bit more easy with less resource intensive operations. You can also use the built in 'unit testing' modules to create and run tests efficiently. All settings and previous worked on files are automatically saved. Cons Not many cons a bout using the software. Integration with current software suite is fast. Hoping to get the full suite of dbForge through company. Review Source MH Maarten H. Managing Director Computer Software Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "dbForge for MySql and MariaDB makes your life much easier" April 22, 2020 4.0 The software works easily from the start and mostly needs no explanation. The enterprise features gives you more control, like copying databases. The visual query builder helps with quickly building complex queries. Pros This software give you total control over the MySql and MariaDB environment. It is extremely easy to create a database, export and import data. Cons It would be nice if the software supported more database platforms. Now you have to buy dbForge for every platform. Reason for choosing dbForge Edge dbForge has more options specifically for Mysql and is native to Windows. Review Source JR Jesus R. Developer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Fast and intuitive" April 22, 2020 5.0 I’m using several products from Devart and the support is great. Pros Completely up to date, fast and good support, easy to use Cons Referring to all products, Really nothing. The only negative thing is the customer portal. It could be a little bit user friendly. Reason for choosing dbForge Edge Professional,look,stable and the fast support Review Source KS Ki S. Director of Ecommerce Sporting Goods Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "It just works" October 20, 2020 5.0 Pros This application just works. We purchased it a couple years ago and we have no problems with it. It just works. Cons We wish it could be a little cheaper, but other than that, we are very happy with the product. Review Source MC Mariano C. Manager Furniture Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best database utilities ever" June 17, 2020 5.0 Dbforge studio has been for us (our IT Dept.), a life saver in multiple occasions, let's say for example that we need to make a risky change in our database or something that we are not sure how it’s going to work or if it going to work at all, we first export schema of tables and data, make the changes and then in case something went wrong or sideways, we have a way to restore things the way they were, other scenarios include when you make a copy of an empty database a you need to populate it with data to make some tests Pros Exporting/Importing data with absolutely no effort, the code completition feat is also a time saver and an excellent thing, source control a feat we also use a lot when developing scripts, and the schema comparer have come on handy several times, all the other feats we have been used less but it take trust that we have them in case we need them Cons If I have to forcibly say something, Id' say is kind of expensive though Review Source Konstantin T. Database Architect Civil Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "dbForge Studio - one of the best alteranative to SSMS" May 26, 2020 5.0 One of the best management software for SQL Server Pros Data generation one of the most killer feature Cons Some bugs happened during using some features. Review Source DK David K. Sys Admin Computer Networking Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Quality with Functionality" May 11, 2020 5.0 Again, nothing but quality software. Pros The sheer power it provides in a quality package. There appears to be some skilled coders behind the product and I suspect they enjoy their challenges. Cons Nothing comes to mind. If I don't use it often I find myself having to relearn some of the cooler functions. Review Source FG Francis G. Tech Lead Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "The universal GUI for developing and managing MySQL database" February 20, 2020 5.0 dbForge Studio for MySQL makes everything I need to develop MySQL databases. For developers, there are such features as code completion, automatic syntax checking, and code snippets as well. Visual query builder, database designer, database refactoring or even debugger tool that allows SQL developers to step over lines of codes, use breakpoints and check variable values. Pros you don't need to use multiple tools. dbForge will help you with database development, management, and administration. Cons haven't found yet. works perfectly, as for me. Review Source GH Graham H. Web Developer Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Excellent product shame about the price" October 20, 2020 5.0 Very good product. Pros Ease of use. The interface with regards the returned datasets is impressive. The ease of editing data. Cons Cost for the pro version (need to use that with Azure databases) Cannot export connections to SSMS/back them up. Has problems with changing the database on an existing tab, to a different database in Azure Review Source DM David M. Used the software for: ### "Great SQL GUI" October 4, 2016 5.0 This has a ton of features and very friendly. We never have any problems and support is very responsive. Review Source LY Larry Y. IT Manager Mining & Metals Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "All the features of Redgate for a Fraction of the price" December 17, 2020 4.0 As noted above, we obtained dbForge solely for the database schema synchronization feature. That feature gives us the ability to migrate database changes from DEV to QA to PROD environments quickly and efficiently. However, it didn't take long before we found other benefits to the dbForge Studio product. We found that migrating test data with the data sync feature saved a ton of time when we had good working data in DEV and needed a similar set of good working data in QA for testing. The biggest hidden gem in dbForge Studio was the data pump feature. How many times have you had to import CSV data and found that SSMS just made a mess out of things? dbForge's tool analyzes the full data set of the CSV file and correctly assigns data types and data sizes to the resultant fields on import. So much better than any other CSV import that I've ever used. Pros The database schema comparison and synchronization tool was the big draw for us. We needed an efficient way to migrate schema changes from DEV to QA to PROD environments. dbForge met this need and made doing so a breeze. It even generates the SQL code necessary to accomplish the sync and lets you preview/edit the code if you disagree with the way that it intends to sync. Cons If there were one thing that I find a tiny bit lacking in dbForge, it is the way in which you define data sources. You have to redefine the server name, username, password for each database even if those databases exist on the same SQL server. This differs from SSMS where you connect to a single server and it attempts to use the same credentials to access every database on that server. It would be nice if the system had a copy/clone data source button to make adding new data sources from the same server a little more efficient. Reason for choosing dbForge Edge dbForge's solution is a fraction of the cost of similar tools offered by Redgate. dbForge doesn't hide the cost of its solutions and openly posts those prices on its website. Obtaining a demo of the dbForge product was as easy as downloading the program from their website. No need to go through high pressure salesmen just to vet the product. Review Source JB Jon B. President Computer Software Used the software for: 2+ years ### "One of the few tools I can't do without!" June 25, 2020 5.0 I love it. I've used everything from SQuirreL SQL Client (not bad, open source java) to SSMS to TOAD and this is far and away the best product I've used. It's not even close. Pros dbForge Studio is essential for my team as it saves time and money for all of our developers no matter how much experience they have with SQL, Database maintenance and development (DDL), function & view creation/modification, etc. For my novice developers, dbForge has great tools to allow the developers to visually create a query using an intuitive UI. Once they create the query, they can examine the SQL dbForge creates to better understand how to write SQL using industry Best Practices. For experts, dbForge saves time (and typos) by giving us the ability to type a few characters instead of fully typing out the entire fiend name (for example typing 'usqd' instead of UserSurveyQueryData). It also has great tools for exporting so I can write and reuse an export query to dump data to pretty much any format (usually Excel 2007+) with consistent formatting. I also perform complex options like comparing the development and test databases to see not only structural differences (DDL) but even data differences upon demand. Once I've gone through and set the rules for SQL formatting, I can share them with the team and all of our SQL is consistently named and formatted. Cons We are restricted to installing on one machine. All of my developers use more than one computer. I myself have three. It's just the nature of the business and it's a real hassle not to be able to install on as many machines as I, as a single developer, use daily. Reason for choosing dbForge Edge Functionality. This product saves me time both in creating/updating DDL & functions and in catching typos/errors before they make it into testing. Review Source SA Sundar A. Chief Delivery Officer Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Daily Usage Tool" October 20, 2020 5.0 The Test Data Loading is a wonderful tool where we can just load about 100K to 500K Records without any issues. This feature has helped us performing some initial tuning to the Queries. Various Editions really help the features that each members uses. Pros This tool became a part of daily used product for members of our company. Few team members really complemented me for showing them such a powerful and amazing tool. The easy of usage of this tool is making our team save anywhere between 2 to 3 Hours every day. Some of our Developers now can't live without this tool. The Express Edition is very helpful for small companies QA Team. As they just need to see the data and don't really need to write any complex Queries. Cons When we have one product such as SQL Server and we want to buy MySQL Database tool. It would be nice if we can get some discount. If we need to buy all the Four Database tool, we need to buy them separately. If they can be bundled, that would be great. Reason for choosing dbForge Edge An awesome product with such great features. Review Source RS Rudy S. Founder Used the software for: ### "dbForge Studio provides lots of features at a competitive price" June 16, 2015 5.0 Devart (formerly CoreLabs) has been expanding from their roots in the database driver business (I've used their MySQL .NET data provider for years) into providing a complete suite of database management tools. dbForge Studio for MySQL Standard is their mid-tier product for MySQL management (also available for SQL Server and Oracle). The standard edition includes all the basic features you'd expect in a DB management tool like a good SQL editor with syntax highlighting and code completion, SQL formatting, a query profiler, backup/restore as well as data import/export. But it also includes some features you might not expect. For the less experienced, there's a powerful visual query editor (even supports sub queries). I prefer to write my queries by hand--but it's a feature that might be important to some. There's a visual design tool that lets you build ERD diagrams. It's not as capable as TOAD, but it's great to have it included without a separate purchase. The interface is consistent between their tools , so once you learn it, you know it. A split pane view lets you see both the SQL and the GUI view of the object at once. Wizards are used for most of the task based functionality (like backup or schema comparison). I mostly use MariaDB rather than MySQL now and it supports MariaDB, Sphinx and Percona. They list support for MySQL 5.6 and 5.7 but I've used it with 5.5 as well and haven't had problems. It can also manage remote databases. I use SSH tunneling offsite (there is, of course, some performance cost). To me, the real value comes in the Professional edition. Here you get all the standard edition features plus: -- Database refactoring: this makes things like renaming fields MUCH easier as it correctly propagates changes to related fields, indexes, etc.. -- Schema and Data Comparison and Sync is a big one for me. I have a product that customers frequently want customized and merging their customization back into our core product is a frequent need. --Command line support for lots of things like backup/restore, import/export, schema sync, etc... --Pivot tables and reporting --and more! I like EMS, Redgate, TOAD too, but when you compare everything in dbForge, you are getting comparable tools at a very competitive price. They have 30-day trials and a basic freeware version too. Devart DbForge Studio is a great value for SQL developers or administrators. Review Source AB Akos B. backend developer Information Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great tool overall" October 20, 2020 5.0 Overall, the best DB manager I found so far and I'm sticking to for years. Pros Have been using different DB managers over years and tried all existing major ones for Windows, and stuck with dbForge. It's versatile enough and most importantly, has great UI and works with minimal errors, unlike some other products. It has also great tools for data export/import. Cons Glitches can be still found here and there, especially in error handling. Some more tools for copying, restoring databases would be good to see in the Standard version. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.