DbSchema vs SchemaSpy

DbSchema is a desktop tool for designing, documenting and working with SQL and NoSQL databases on Linux, macOS and Windows. It connects to more than 70 databases through JDBC and can download the needed driver. Users can build interactive schema diagrams, split designs into subsystem diagrams, or create physical schemas while offline and save them as local.dbs files. For connected databases, schema synchronization compares the model with the database and can produce migration SQL for review. The SQL editor offers schema-aware autocomplete, and a visual query builder lets users arrange tables, joins and filters and inspect generated SQL before execution. DbSchema can also publish interactive HTML5 schema documentation that opens in a browser without an installation or license. Connections run directly from the user's computer to the database, with configured SSL and SSH tunnels available. Community Edition is free forever. Pro Monthly is $29.40 a month, and Architect Monthly is $47.04 a month, plus taxes. The shared installer requires no registration and includes a 15-day Architect trial that can be extended by 15 days.

SchemaSpy is a free, open-source command-line application that reads database metadata and creates shareable HTML documentation. It generates entity-relationship diagrams from an existing database, collects structural statistics, and can export those statistics to Excel or CSV. Reports can identify design anomalies such as missing indexes, implied relationships, and orphan tables. The project says it supports over a dozen databases directly and can work with others through JDBC drivers. Documentation generation can be placed in a CI/CD workflow, and SchemaSpy can run against an empty database replica because it reads structural information. There is no graphical interface: distribution is through a JAR file or Docker image. Installation requires Java, a database JDBC driver, and viz.js or Graphviz for relationship diagrams. The JAR excludes drivers, while the Docker image includes drivers for MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and jTDS for MSSQL. The listed plan price is free.