Altova DiffDog vs Skeema
Altova DiffDog
altova.com
Skeema
skeema.ioSide by side
| Figure | Altova DiffDog | Skeema |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $54.08/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 6 |
| Spec score · Database Schema Comparison Tools | 8.3 (#4) | 7.9 (#7) |
| Founded | 1992 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria; Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States | Northern New Jersey, United States |
| Intended users | Altova describes DiffDog as a technical diff/merge tool for developers and IT professionals. | Skeema Community is described as free open-source software, while Premium Plus is positioned for startups and smaller teams and Max for larger organizations. |
| Maker history | Altova says it was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, and Vienna, Austria. | The Skeema CLI was initially released in 2016, and its creator Evan Elias independently created the tool to bring declarative schema management to MySQL and MariaDB. |
| Purpose | DiffDog compares and merges text and source-code files, XML and JSON files, Word documents, directories, and database schemas and content. | Skeema is a declarative SQL-based schema management utility that applies changes expressed as CREATE statements in a repository to MySQL and MariaDB tables and routines. |
Plans
Altova DiffDog
- DiffDog 2026 Professional Edition$189, paid once
- DiffDog 2026 Enterprise Edition$269, paid once
Skeema
- CommunityFree
- Plus$124 a month
- Max$499 a month
- Skeema Cloud Linter$649 a year
- Plus$1,238 a year
- Max$4,988 a year
In their own words
Altova DiffDog
Altova DiffDog has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Skeema
Skeema is a declarative, SQL-based schema management utility for applying repository changes to MySQL and MariaDB tables and routines. It generates SQL DDL from schema files and provides diff, lint, push, and pull commands. Configurable linter rules identify unsafe changes, and Skeema verifies generated ALTER TABLE statements in a workspace before proceeding. For online schema changes, it supports database-native alterations and external tools including pt-online-schema-change and gh-ost, with execution configurable by environment and table size. Schema directories can map to multiple servers or schemas, and the utility can detect drift across shards. Listed compatibility includes MySQL 5.5–9.7, MariaDB 10.1–12.3, and Percona Server; AWS Aurora MySQL 5.7–8.4 is listed for Premium. Skeema Cloud Linter can provide automatic diff and lint output for related GitHub commits. All editions can use SSL/TLS, while Premium adds client certificates, CA verification options, and SSH tunnels. The Community plan is free at free. Plus costs $124 a month and Max costs $499 a month.