ChartDB vs SchemaCrawler
ChartDB
chartdb.io
SchemaCrawler
schemacrawler.comSide by side
| Figure | ChartDB | SchemaCrawler |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $25/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 1 |
| Spec score · Data Modeling Software | 8.5 (#3) | 7.7 (#13) |
| Database support | The documentation lists PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server, MariaDB, ClickHouse, and CockroachDB as supported systems. | It supports almost any database with a JDBC driver, though some proprietary drivers must be downloaded separately. |
| Purpose | ChartDB is a database visualization and diagramming tool for visualizing, designing, and managing database schemas. | SchemaCrawler is a free database schema discovery and comprehension tool for database documentation and data governance. |
| Support | The free plan includes a community support forum, Pro lists 3-day email support, and Teams lists priority support. | Community support is available on Stack Overflow, while professional support packages provide direct access to the author and can cover project advice or consulting. |
Plans
ChartDB
- FreeFree
- Pro$25 a month
- Teams$59 a month
- CustomPriced on request
- ChartDB FreeFree
- ChartDB Pro$25 a month
- ChartDB Teams$59 a month
- Custom PlanPriced on request
In their own words
SchemaCrawler
SchemaCrawler is free, open-source software for discovering database schemas, documenting them, and supporting data governance. Its command-line tools output metadata as plain text, HTML5, HTML5 with embedded diagrams, JSON, or YAML. These formats are intended to make differences between database schemas easier to identify. SchemaCrawler can generate entity-relationship diagrams and execute JavaScript or Python against a live database connection. It supports almost any database with a JDBC driver, although some proprietary drivers require separate downloads. Integrations documented by the project include Apache Maven, GitHub Actions, GitLab pipelines, Docker, Graphviz, and several templating engines. The AI MCP Server allows natural-language exploration of database structures, table relationships, and SQL query generation. SchemaCrawler runs on operating systems supporting Java SE 17 or newer and can be self-hosted. The software is free; bundled JDBC-driver distributions are GPL v3, and commercial-use licensing terms can be arranged.