Altova DatabaseSpy vs Beekeeper Studio
Altova DatabaseSpy
altova.com
Beekeeper Studio
beekeeperstudio.ioSide by side
| Figure | Altova DatabaseSpy | Beekeeper Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $9/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 8 |
| Spec score · Database Client Software | 8.3 (#11) | 9.4 (#1) |
| Company | Altova says it was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, and Vienna, Austria. | Beekeeper Studio says it is built and maintained by Matthew Rathbone in Dallas, Texas, and that development started in 2019. |
| Database support | The product page lists support for 15 database types, including Firebird, DB2, MariaDB, Azure SQL, SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and Teradata. | The site lists support for databases including PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server, Oracle, MongoDB, Snowflake, Redis, and BigQuery, with availability varying by plan. |
| Data editing | Users can edit table content in an interactive preview and review changes before committing them. | Users can browse and edit table data in a spreadsheet-like interface, including directly editing SQL query results. |
| Founded | 1992 | The maker says the first repository commit was in 2019 and the product soft-launched in 2020. |
| SQL editor | The SQL editor provides color coding, customizable auto-completion, and query results in tabbed or stacked windows. | The editor provides syntax highlighting, autocomplete, saved queries, tabbed work, multi-query execution, and export to CSV, JSON, Markdown, or SQL. |
Plans
Altova DatabaseSpy
- Professional EditionPriced on request
- Enterprise EditionPriced on request
- DatabaseSpy 2026 Professional Edition€159, paid once
- DatabaseSpy 2026 Enterprise Edition€179, paid once
Beekeeper Studio
- CommunityFree
- Indie$18 a month
- Professional$28 a month
- Business$35 a month
- Indie$108 a year
- Professional$168 a year
- Business$216 a year
- Enterprise$4,999 a month
In their own words
Altova DatabaseSpy
Altova DatabaseSpy has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Beekeeper Studio
Beekeeper Studio is an open-source SQL client and database manager for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It works with databases including PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server, Oracle, MongoDB, Snowflake, Redis, and BigQuery, though availability varies by plan. Its SQL editor provides syntax highlighting, autocomplete, saved queries, query folders, and result visualization. Users can browse and edit table data in a spreadsheet-like view, including SQL query results. A no-code table editor and automatically generated ERD offer ways to explore database structure. The maker says the desktop app connects directly from the computer to the database, can run offline for air-gapped systems, and has no user or behavior tracking. Professional and Business plans add cloud workspaces for syncing connections and queries across devices and sharing with a team. Those plans also include AI Shell, which can use a user's Claude, OpenAI, or Gemini key and asks before running SQL. Community is free and intended for individuals, nonprofits, and organizations below stated size thresholds. Paid options are listed from $18 a month; pricing notes also state paid plans from $9/user/mo billed annually and a 14-day trial.