Best Navicat Alternative for Windows

DbForge Studio for SQL Server shares many features with Navicat, but it also offers a range of additional tools that could prove invaluable in your day-to-day work.

Jordan Sanders

Mar. 22, 23 · Review

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If you're familiar with database development and administration, you've heard of Navicat. It's a popular software product with a large user community, offering all the essentials for managing databases. However, if you're searching for a more advanced alternative specifically for SQL Server, you've come to the right place.

One such alternative is dbForge Studio for SQL Server. While it shares many features with Navicat, it offers a range of additional tools that could prove invaluable in your day-to-day work. These include:

A broader range of SQL development tools, such as context-sensitive code autocompletion, advanced formatting options, and intelligent refactoring capabilities
Sophisticated tools for comparing and synchronizing data and schema
A Visual Query Builder that allows you to create complex queries without coding
Built-in generators for realistic test data, a database documenter, and unit testing tools
A 30-day trial period, twice as long as Navicat's
A completely free Express Edition with essential database development and management tools

Overall, dbForge Studio for SQL Server is an excellent alternative to Navicat, offering powerful tools that can help you streamline your work and achieve better results.

SQL Development Tools

With dbForge Studio for SQL Server, you can significantly increase your coding speed up to four times faster. The software provides context-sensitive code autocompletion, object suggestions, and multiple formatting profiles to choose from. Additionally, the tool offers a vast collection of SQL snippets that are both rich and easily adaptable. With smart refactoring capabilities, dbForge Studio automatically corrects references and provides a T-SQL Debugger for stored procedures, triggers, functions, and scripts. The software also includes code navigation features and other productivity enhancements to make your coding experience even more efficient.

Data and Schema Comparison

dbForge Studio for SQL Server is equipped with a distinctive array of tools that facilitate the comparison of database schemas and actual data, followed by synchronization. With a remarkable set of features, dbForge Studio stands out from the rest:

Differences are displayed in an easy-to-read format
Comparison results can be filtered for convenience
Automation of comparison and synchronization is possible through CLI
Reports comparisons can be generated to aid in the analysis

Visual Database Designer

The Database Designer provides valuable tools that enable users to visualize, create, and edit SQL Server databases without coding. By simply dragging and dropping a database onto a diagram, users can clearly understand its fundamental objects and the relationships between them. The tool also offers the ability to create scalable database diagrams, track logical relationships between tables, quickly print large diagrams, and export diagrams as images.

Query Builder

The Query Builder integrated within dbForge Studio for SQL Server is designed to facilitate the creation of visually complex queries without requiring coding expertise. Users can effortlessly build queries that involve intricate table joins, sub-queries, and conditional expressions with its assistance.

The tool offers advanced visualization capabilities that enable users to understand the query structure easily. Additionally, it allows for combining multiple queries, empowering users to derive insights from vast datasets. Complex conditions can also be included, enabling users to tailor queries to their specific requirements.

To help users stay organized, the Query Builder provides a comprehensive overview of the query structure in the Document Outline window. Users can preview and print query diagrams, facilitating effective communication and collaboration.

Moreover, the tool provides a range of functionalities to edit and export query results, enabling users to easily fine-tune their queries and share their findings.

Data Generator

dbForge Studio provides an intelligent Data Generator that lets users quickly populate their database with large amounts of realistic test data. With over 200 customizable generators, the tool offers various options to meet specific needs. Additionally, it supports all essential column data types and ensures SQL data integrity. With real-time preview functionality, users can preview generated data before saving it to their database. The software also features a convenient Command Line option for saving generated data.

Query Profiler

One of the useful features offered by dbForge Studio is the Query Profiler tool that enables the identification of performance bottlenecks and optimization of slow query execution.

This tool facilitates the search for performance bottlenecks by providing a quick jump to any step of query optimization, allowing the user to easily review, execute, or save queries. Additionally, it tracks session statistics for queries and visually compares profiling results, making it easier to identify and resolve performance issues.

The Query Profiler also maintains a profiling history, which enables the user to track changes in query performance over time and identify trends or recurring issues. This feature is particularly useful for monitoring database performance and promptly addressing any performance issues.

Overall, the Query Profiler is a handy tool for developers and database administrators, providing valuable insights into query performance and facilitating the optimization of slow queries.

Feature-By-Feature Comparison

The following table has been created with detailed information to compare dbForge Studio for SQL Server 6.1.14 (Enterprise Edition) and Navicat Premium 15.0.26. To quickly navigate through the comparison, kindly use the side menu.

SQL Editing & Execution	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Automatic SQL syntax check	Yes	Yes
Code outlining	Yes	No
Code snippets	Yes	Yes
Customizable SQL formatting and code beautifier	Yes	Yes
Wide range of SQL formatting options and profiles	Yes	Limited
Execute current statement	Yes	Yes
Parameter information for stored routines	Yes	No
SQL editor with syntax coloring	Yes	Yes
Quick access to favorite templates from the SQL editor	Yes	Yes
Bookmarks	Yes	Yes
Select block	Yes	No
Text search	Yes	Yes
Document Outline window for quick navigation through large scripts	Yes	No
Execution of scripts, selected SQL fragments and statements	Yes	Yes
One-step access to the database object editor from the code (go to definition)	Yes	Yes
SQL execution history window	Yes	Yes
Execution warnings	Yes	Yes
GUI transaction support	Yes	Yes
Command-line interface for script execution	Yes	No

Code Completion	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Context-sensitive code completion	Yes	Yes
One-click access to schema object definitions	Yes	No
On-the-fly renaming of database objects	Yes	Limited
Auto-generation of table aliases	Yes	No
Quick information about database objects	Yes	Yes
SQL refactoring with automatic correction of references to renamed objects	Yes	Limited

T-SQL Debugger	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Script debugging	Yes	No
Step Into, Step Over, and Step Out commands for step-by-step execution	Yes	No
Breakpoints support for procedures, functions, triggers, and scripts	Yes	No
Breakpoints window	Yes	No
Call Stack window with navigation	Yes	No
Watches window for variable evaluation	Yes	No

Visual Query Builder	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Support for the SELECT statement	Yes	Yes
Support for the INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements	Yes	No
Common table expression	Yes	No
State-of-the-art diagram	Yes	No
Zooming	Yes	Yes
Keyboard support	Yes	Yes
Diagram preview	Yes	Yes
Diagram printing	Yes	No
Visual addition of sub-queries to any part of the main query	Yes	No
Query outline (displayed in the Document Outline window)	Yes	No
Visual editing of sub-queries	Yes	No
Expression builder for creating complex conditions	Yes	No
Drag-and-drop required tables	Yes	Yes
Copy/Paste for tables on the diagram	Yes	No
Undo/Redo support	Yes	No

Database Designer	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Visual Database Designer	Yes	Yes
Visualization of tables	Yes	Yes
Visualization of stored procedures and functions	Yes	Yes
Visualization of views	Yes	Yes
Easy access to database objects for viewing their properties	Yes	Yes
Support for IDEF1X and IE notations	Yes	Yes
Customizable diagram look and feel with skin support	Yes	Limited
Smart ER Diagram layout	Yes	Yes
Diagram export to different image formats	Yes	Yes
Arrangement of diagram shapes using containers	Yes	Yes
Customizable diagram printing with a rich set of options	Yes	Limited
Optional display of table constraints, indexes, and triggers	Yes	No
Integration with the Document Outline window	Yes	No
Diagram navigation with the Diagram Overview window	Yes	Yes
Notes for adding comments to a diagram	Yes	Yes
Export to image only	Yes	Yes
Zoom in/out	Yes	Yes
Save/Load diagram	Yes	Yes
Forward engineering of physical database designs	Yes	Yes

Data Editor	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Copying data with column headers for quick pasting to a spreadsheet	Yes	Yes
Custom data filters of any complexity	Yes	Yes
Data Viewer window for browsing images, RTF, and binary cell values	Yes	No
Date/Time editor with a visual interface	Yes	Yes
Foreign key lookup editor for easy editing of fields referencing other tables	Yes	Yes
Free copying of any block of data to clipboard	Yes	Yes
Full-text search (Ctrl+F) in the data grid	Yes	Yes
Single row values view	Yes	Yes
Graphical card view	Yes	No
Grouping by arbitrary columns	Yes	No
Incremental search (Ctrl+I) through the data grid	Yes	Yes
Large objects (LOB) editor	Yes	No
Multi-table query result set editing	Yes	Yes
Paginal data browsing for large result sets	Yes	Yes
Data printing	Yes	No
Quick filter available for each data cell	Yes	No
Record numbering option	Yes	No
Read-only state indication	Yes	Yes
Report and pivot building directly from the data editor	Yes	No
Server-side sorting and filtering for large data sets	Yes	Yes
Visible columns dialog	Yes	Yes
Editing of multiple execution results of one script on separate tabs	Yes	Yes
Autocommit mode	Yes	Yes
Export selected data to CSV, HTML, and XML	Yes	No
Export selected data to JSON	Yes	No
Export selected data to SQL	Yes	No
Export selected data to a file	Yes	No

Database Explorer	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Multiple database connections	Yes	Yes
Filter objects in the objects folder	Yes	Yes
Browse and navigate through objects	Yes	Yes
Detailed object properties and data browsing in the Object Viewer window	Yes	Yes
Dependency tree browsing for each object	Yes	No
Quick template script generation for selected objects: SELECT, INSERT, etc.	Yes	Yes
The 'Send To' command for quick sending of tables to Query Builder, Data Report, and other tools	Yes	Yes
Search box	Yes	Yes
Duplicate objects (tables, views)	Yes	Yes
Duplicate structure/structure and data	Yes	Yes
Duplicate objects (procedures, functions)	Yes	No

Table Designer	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Flat table editor	Yes	Yes
Convenient editor for foreign keys	Yes	Yes
Partitioning support	Yes	No
Preview of schema changes before updating a database	Yes	No
Heuristics that helps define data types of new columns	Yes	No

Object Editor	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Visual editor for database objects	Yes	Yes
Backups	Yes	Yes
Undo option for the object editor	Yes	No

Schema & Data Comparison	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Comparison and synchronization of data in databases of virtually any size	Yes	Yes
Comparison of assemblies, procedures, functions, triggers, user types, sequences, synonyms, rules, defaults, plan guides	Yes	Yes
Comparison of external resources: tables, data sources, file formats	Yes	No
Service broker comparison (service, route, remote service binding, queue, message type, event notification, contract, broker priorities)	Yes	No
Storage comparison (full-text catalogs, partition schemes, partition functions, full-text stoplist, search property list)	Yes	No
Comparison of tables and views	Yes	Yes
Custom comparison keys	Yes	Yes
Comparison results filtering	Yes	Yes
Data synchronization script generation	Yes	Yes
Viewing of data differences per record	Yes	Yes
Exclusion of tables and records from synchronization	Yes	Yes
Saving and loading of comparison settings	Yes	Yes
Command-line interface for data comparison and synchronization	Yes	No
Generation of accurate comparison reports in HTML and Excel	Yes	No
Generation of comments	Yes	No
Specific options for tables, script objects, triggers, indexes, and constraints	Yevs	No
Include\Exclude objects by mask in Data Compare	Yes	No
Include\Exclude objects by mask in Schema Compare	Yes	No
Schema comparison with script folders	Yes	No
Scheduled data synchronization	Yes	Yes
Save as Command Line	Yes	No
Comparison of directories	Yes	No
Support for Azure DW	Yes	Yes
Support for Azure Synapse	Yes	No
Support for SQL Server 2022	Yes	Yes

Data Export	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
CSV	Yes	Yes
XML	Yes	Yes
Text	Yes	Yes
XLS	Yes	Yes
XLSX	Yes	Yes
PDF	Yes	No
DBF	Yes	Yes
HTML	Yes	Yes
RTF	Yes	No
JSON	Yes	Yes
Google Sheets	Yes	No
MDB (Microsoft Access)	Yes	Yes
ODBC	Yes	No
SQL	Yes	Yes
Data export using the command-line interface	Yes	No

Data Import	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
CSV	Yes	No
Text	Yes	Yes
XML	Yes	Yes
JSON	Yes	Yes
XLS	Yes	Yes
XLSX	Yes	Yes
Google Sheets	Yes	No
DBF	Yes	Yes
MDB (Microsoft Access)	Yes	Yes
ODBC	Yes	Yes
Paradox file	Yes	Yes

Schema Export & Import	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Copy database	Yes	No
Database snapshots	Yes	No
Native backup/restore	Yes	Limited
Scheduled backup	Yes	Yes
Database script folders	Yes	No
Generation of database scripts	Yes	Yes

Source Control	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Integration with Azure DevOps (Git, TFVC)	Yes	No
Integration with Git (GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket)	Yes	No
Integration with SVN	Yes	No
Working folder with SQL scripts	Yes	No
Shared and dedicated database development models	Yes	No
Commit, Get Latest, Undo Changes	Yes	No
Resolve conflicts: Get Local and Get Remote	Yes	No
Preview changes and differences before committing	Yes	No
Version-control static data	Yes	No
View the history of changes (who, when and why made each change)	Yes	No

Administration	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Server Event Profiler	Yes	No
Server Monitor	Yes	Limited

User & Session Management	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Visual editors for users, logins, and roles	Yes	Yes
Visual editors for schemas	Yes	Yes
Visual editors for object level permissions	Yes	Yes

Data Analysis	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Display of table data representing parent-child dependencies (Master-Detail Browser)	Yes	Yes
Data report generation wizard	Yes	No
Data report designer	Yes	No
Pivot table designer	Yes	No
Сhart availability	Yes	Yes
Chart building wizard	Yes	Yes
Data search on a live database	Yes	Yes
Automated report generation and distribution using CLI	Yes	No

Test Data Generation	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Support for all SQL Server column data types	Yes	Yes
Multiple generators with data customization	Yes	Yes
SQL data integrity support	Yes	No
Multiple ways to populate data	Yes	No
Meaningful generators	Yes	Yes
User-defined generators	Yes	Yes
Real-time preview of generated data	Yes	Yes
CLI wizard	Yes	No

Database Documenter	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Broad picture of database structure	Yes	No
Rich customization features	Yes	No
HTML format	Yes	No
PDF format	Yes	No
Markdown format	Yes	No
Text format	Yes	No
Documentation customization with style templates	Yes	No
View inter-object and inter-database dependencies	Yes	No
Command-line interface	Yes	No

Performance Tuning	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Visual SQL explain plan	Yes	Yes
Session statistics displayed in the UI	Yes	Yes
Query plan displayed in the tree view for easy reviewing	Yes	No
Profiling history that can be saved for further analysis	Yes	Yes
Comparison of profiling results with the highlighting of differences	Yes	Yes
Printing of profiling results	Yes	No
Top performance reports	Yes	No
Query Profiler with comparison results	Yes	No

Search	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Search for database objects	Yes	Yes
Search for table data	Yes	Yes
Preview found pieces	Yes	No
Navigate to the object in Database Explorer	Yes	No

Unit Testing	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Unit testing based on the tSQLt framework	Yes	No
Command-line interface	Yes	No

DevOps Automation	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
PowerShell cmdlet collection	Yes	No
Jenkins plugin for SQL Server	Yes	No
TeamCity plugin for SQL Server	Yes	No
Azure DevOps plugin for SQL Server	Yes	No
Bamboo plugin for SQL Server	Yes	No

User Interface	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Start Page with quick access to main features	Yes	No
Rich user settings	Yes	Yes
UI skins	Yes	Yes
Customizable window layout	Yes	Yes
Tool windows with the auto-hide mode	Yes	Yes
Tool windows with the float mode	Yes	Yes
Multiple shortcut schemes with full shortcut customization	Yes	Yes
Syntax highlighting customization	Yes	Yes
Tabbed groups for documents	Yes	Yes
Toolbar customization	Yes	Yes
Wizard for sharing common code standards and templates	Yes	No
GUI font	Yes	Yes

Database Connectivity	dbForge Studio	Navicat Premium
Azure SQL Application ID	Yes	No
Connection coloring	Yes	Yes
Connection categories	Yes	No
Read-only connection	Yes	Yes
Multiple sessions for one connection	Yes	Yes
Export/Import of connections	Yes	No
SQL Server 2000 or later	Yes	Yes
Microsoft Azure SQL	Yes	Yes

Final Thoughts

After comparing the features of dbForge Studio for SQL Server and Navicat, it is clear that dbForge Studio has several functional benefits that set it apart as the better choice. These advantages include its advanced SQL development tools, schema and data comparison tools, test data generator, documenting, query building, and unit testing tools. Additionally, dbForge Studio is also more affordable than Navicat.

Overall, dbForge Studio for SQL Server is an exceptional development environment offering great support for SQL developers, administrators, and data analysts. Its free Express Edition also provides a great starting point for beginners, non-profit organizations, and anyone who requires a basic set of features.

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