Skeema vs sqldef
Skeema
skeema.iosqldef
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Skeema | sqldef |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $54.08/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 1 |
| Spec score · Database Schema Comparison Tools | 7.9 (#7) | 7.6 (#12) |
| Intended users | Skeema Community is described as free open-source software, while Premium Plus is positioned for startups and smaller teams and Max for larger organizations. | The project describes sqldef as a tool for managing schema changes across supported relational databases using SQL. |
| Purpose | 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. | sqldef is a CLI tool for diffing SQL schemas and managing relational database migrations with regular SQL DDLs. |
Plans
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
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.
sqldef
sqldef is a free command-line tool for managing relational database migrations with SQL DDLs. Users maintain a SQL file describing the desired schema; sqldef compares it with the current database schema to generate and apply changes. It lists support for MySQL, MariaDB, TiDB, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and SQLite3. The workflow can export the current schema and use a dry run to preview migrations before execution. It can also compare two SQL files without a database connection, for schema validation, CI/CD, and migration script generation. Repeated runs are safe: when the database matches the desired schema, another run shows no changes. Rename annotations are documented for tables, columns, indexes, and ENUM values. Each database tool is distributed as a single binary without dependencies. Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted availability are listed. Linux binaries and Docker images are available, but Debian packages are not; a Homebrew tap is listed for four database tools. Source files use the MIT License, while the parser uses Apache License 2.0.