A few things have changed in the database landscape since our Top 10 MySQL GUI Tools list was compiled--in particular the emergence of cloud services. Keep that in mind when searching for the right MySQL admin tool.
Many third parties create rich applications to facilitate database management, database development and database administration. Here are ten outstanding graphical interfaces for MySQL.
Manufacturer: Sun Systems/Oracle
Website: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench/
Price: FREE
License: GPL License
Supported platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux
MySQL Workbench is a visual database design tool that integrates SQL development, administration, database design, creation and maintenance into a single development environment. It is the successor to DBDesigner 4 from fabFORCE.net and replaces the MySQL GUI Tools Bundle. The current version is 6.3, the earliest version being 5.0, which emphasized the fact that MySQL Workbench was developed as the successor to DBDesigner4.
Manufacturer: Navicat
Website: http://www.navicat.com/en/products/navicat_mysql/mysql_overview.html
Pricing: As follows:
Windows version:11.2 Prices (USD) Navicat for MySQL (Windows) Enterprise Edition* US$ 199.00 Navicat for MySQL (Windows) Standard Edition US$ 149.00 Navicat for MySQL (Windows)Non-Commercial Edition US$ 159.00 Mac version:11.2 Navicat for MySQL (Mac OS X) Enterprise Edition # US$ 199.00 Navicat for MySQL (Mac OS X) Standard Edition US$ 149.00 Navicat for MySQL (Mac OS X) Non-Commercial Edition US$ 159.00 Linux version:11.2 Navicat for MySQL (Linux) Enterprise Edition # US$ 199.00 Navicat for MySQL (Linux) Standard Edition US$ 149.00 Navicat for MySQL (Linux) Non-Commercial Edition US$ 159.00 iOS version:1.1 Navicat for MySQL (iOS) US$ 19.99
* Enterprise version (Windows) is
packaged with Report Builder and Data Modeling Tool, and 2 Navicat Report
Viewer licenses.
# Enterprise version (Mac and Linux) includes the Data Modeling Tool feature.
A 14 day trial version is available.
License: Available under Commercial or Non-commercial licenses.
Supported platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and iOS
Navicat for MySQL is both a database administration and development tool. It works with any MySQL database server from version 3.21 or above, and supports most of the latest MySQL features including triggers, stored procedures, functions, events, views, and user management.
Features in Navicat are sophisticated enough to cater to professional developers’ specific needs, yet easy to learn for users who are new to MySQL.
Manufacturer: The Sequel Pro Project (open source)
Website: http://www.sequelpro.com/
Price: FREE (donations accepted via PayPal)
License: GNU GPL 2.0
Supported platforms: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or newer
Sequel Pro is a FREE open-source application. It is the successor of the CocoaMySQL Mac database management application. CocoaMySQL was the brainchild of Lorenz Textor, who was the main developer of CocoaMySQL from its early beginnings in 2003.
Sequel Pro is an application used to manage MySQL databases (locally or over the Internet). It lets you add and remove databases and tables, change fields and indexes, view and filter table content, add, edit and remove rows, perform custom queries, and dump tables or entire databases.
It is compatible with MySQL 3.x, 4 or 5 and now comes in 5 additional languages, including Russian, German, Swedish, French and Japanese.
Manufacturer: Ansgar Becker
Website: http://www.heidisql.com/
Price: FREE (donations accepted via PayPal)
License: GNU General Public License
Supported platforms: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 (can be run on any Linux with Wine)
HeidiSQL, previously known as MySQL-Front, is a FREE and open source client developed by German programmer Ansgar Becker and a few other contributors in Delphi. To manage databases with HeidiSQL, users must login to a local or remote MySQL server with acceptable credentials, creating a session. Within this session users may manage MySQL Databases within the connected MySQL server, disconnecting from the server when done. Its feature set is sufficient for most common and advanced database, table and data record operations but remains in active development to move towards the full functionality expected in a MySQL Frontend.
A version written in Java, jHeidi, which is designed to work on Mac and Linux computers, also exists. Unfortunately, the project has been discontinued since March 2010.
Manufacturer: The phpMyAdmin Project (on Sourceforge)
Website: http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/
Price: FREE (donations accepted via PayPal)
License: GNU General Public License, version 2
Supported platforms: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, PHP 4 - 5 and MySQL 3 - 5
phpMyAdmin is a FREE software tool written in PHP intended to handle the administration of MySQL over the Internet. phpMyAdmin supports a wide range of operations with MySQL, the most frequently used being the managing of databases, tables, fields, relations, indexes, users, permissions. You still have the ability to execute SQL statements directly as well.
Tobias Ratschiller, then an IT consultant and later founder of the software company Maguma, started to work on a PHP-based web front-end to MySQL in 1998, inspired by Peter Kuppelwieser's MySQL-Webadmin. He gave up the project (and phpAdsNew, of which he was also the original author) in 2000 because of lack of time. By that time, phpMyAdmin had already become one of the most popular PHP applications and MySQL administration tools, with a large community of users and contributors. In order to coordinate the growing number of patches, a group of three developers, Olivier Müller, Marc Delisle and Loïc Chapeaux, registered the phpMyAdmin project at SourceForge.net and took over the development in 2001.
Manufacturer: Webyog Inc.
Website: https://www.webyog.com/product/sqlyog
Schema and Data Sync, SSH and HTTP Tunneling, Scheduled Backups, Import External Data and more.
License: A full range of licensing options are available ranging from one to unlimited user commercial licenses with one year of free upgrades.
Supported platforms: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 10
There have been many complaints that MySQL Workbench hangs or fails to respond when put under a heavy load. SQLyog is a more robust product with many additional tools. It’s available in three major versions: Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. The main difference between the three versions is the number of included features. These include data migration, profiling, visual designers, analysis, batch scripting, backup scheduler, user manager, and database copy tools.
At this time, SQLyog is only available for the Windows platform, but, some of the community uses it on MacOS, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and Mageia using WINE.
A single user license costs $99 for the Professional Ed, $199 for the Enterprise Ed, and $299 for the Ultimate Ed. Multi-user packages are also available. A 14-day trial version of SQLyog is available for download from the Webyog's website.
Updated: April 28, 2017
Manufacturer: Nerocode
Website: http://www.sqlwave.com/
Price: $99.00 USD
License: shareware. See http://www.sqlwave.com/Content/Other/license.txt for more details.
Supported platforms: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
Nerocode SQLWave is a MySQL GUI Client tool designed to automate and simplify the database development process. It also provides an easier way to explore and maintain existing databases, design compound SQL statements, query and manipulate data in different ways. MySQL 4.x - 6.x compliant.
A 30 day trial version is available.
Manufacturer: devart
Website: http://www.devart.com/dbforge/mysql/studio/
Price: FREE for express edition, $59.95 (non-commercial standard edition), $124.95 (non-commercial professional edition), $119.95 (commercial standard edition), $249.95(commercial professional edition)
License: Commercial and non-commercial licenses available. Subscriptions are also offered as an efficient and quickest way to deliver product upgrades and technical support.
Supported platforms: Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10
dbForge Studio for MySQL offers visual MySQL development and administration.
There are three editions: Express, Standard, and Professional:
Express is a FREE application that provides basic functionality for working with schema objects, user accounts, SQL scripts, and queries.
Standard includes additional tools for database administrators and developers, such as a debugger, Query Builder, code templates, object search, various export and maintenance wizards.
Professional is the most full-featured version and adds the following functionality: database projects, accurate comparison and synchronization of database structures (schema comparison) or database content (data comparison), debugging stored procedures and scripts, complex query creation.
Other tools from dbForge include:
Manufacturer: DBTools Software
Website: http://www.dbtools.com.br/EN/dbmanagerpro/
Price: Standard Edition is FREE. Enterprise is $69.90 USD for a single license. Discounts are available for multiple licenses.
License: Standard Edition is licensed under standard freeware conditions. The enterprise version is licensed per unit sold.
Supported platforms: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7
Standard Edition
Specially designed for personal use, it has a minimum
set of features that makes it ideal for new database users to perform basic
database management. You can use this edition for FREE for non commercial use.
For commercial use you can purchase a license which will provide additional
features.
Enterprise Edition
Designed for Enterprise use, it is more suited for DBAs and developers
looking for an integrated application for database management. You can try it
before purchasing. The Enterprise Edition trial version comes with all features
enabled, so that you can try them all for 20 days and make your purchasing
decision based on the full experience.
Both include Support for MySQL 3, 4 and 5.
Manufacturer: H2LSoft, Inc
Website: http://www.mydb-studio.com
Price: FREE
License: freeware
Supported platforms: Windows, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
Our final entry is another studio containing a complete collection of tools for MySQL Server administration. Developers will appreciate its ability to create/edit/drop database objects, DB synchronization, and data export/import. DBAs can also use MyDB Studio to perform database migration, as well as backups and restores. It supports SSH tunneling to secure your connections, which allows you to connect even if your host doesn't allow you remote access connection, user and privilege management, and PHP script creation.
Of course not every beloved MySQL product could make it on the list. Here are a few more for your consideration:
I am confident that you will find a product to suit your needs in this group. They are in no particular order, so feel free to try any that catches your eye. I should also point out that I received absolutely no financial compensation from any of these companies. My assessment of each product is based on my unbiased opinion. As such, my top ten list may diverge slightly from the general consensus.
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