Alembic vs db-migrate
Alembic
alembic.sqlalchemy.orgdb-migrate
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Alembic | db-migrate |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Database Migration Tools | 7.9 (#12) | 8.5 (#5) |
| Installation | Alembic can be installed with pip and is commonly installed in a project-local Python virtual environment. | The project documents global installation with npm install -g db-migrate and local installation with npm install db-migrate. |
| License | The repository license grants permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell the software, subject to its stated conditions. | The project is distributed under the MIT License. |
| Support | The project directs users to GitHub Discussions for bug and feature discussion and its GitHub issue tracker for bug reports and feature requests. | The repository invites users to seek project support through backer and sponsor contributions. |
Plans
In their own words
Alembic
Alembic has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
db-migrate
db-migrate is a free, open-source database migration framework for Node.js applications. It runs on Linux and can be self-hosted. The command-line interface provides up, down, reset, create, and db commands for applying, rolling back, resetting, creating, and managing migrations. Supported databases listed by the project include MySQL, PostgreSQL, sqlite3, MongoDB, and CockroachDB, with database drivers installed separately. Migration files support callback-based or promise-based interfaces, while the --sql-file option creates separate SQL files for migration-up and migration-down statements. Applied migrations are recorded in a migrations table. Environment settings can come from database.json, with command-line choices for the environment and configuration file. Database usernames and passwords can reference environment variables. Global and local npm installation are documented. Node.js 24 and newer are officially supported; package metadata specifies version 8.0.0 or later. Rollback is supported, and the format is mixed.