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Comparison

DrawSQL vs dbdiagram.io

Both turn your schema into an ER diagram. They differ in how you build it: you write DBML (dbdiagram) or drag tables on a canvas (DrawSQL). We build DrawSQL, so we’re biased. The breakdown below is straight anyway.

600,000+ developers — including teams at

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The short version

Pick dbdiagram

if you’d rather define your schema as code — .dbml files you diff and review in pull requests.

Pick DrawSQL

if you want a canvas to design on, with documentation and team review built into the diagram — not bolted on as separate tools.

The core difference

A canvas, not a text editor

dbdiagram is text-first: you write DBML and read the diagram it renders. DrawSQL is the canvas itself — a beautiful, fast surface where your team visualizes, discusses, and documents the schema.

dbdiagram — schema.dbml
Table customers {
id bigint [pk]
email varchar
}
 
Table orders {
id bigint [pk]
customer_id bigint
}
 
Ref: orders.customer_id > customers.id
DrawSQL — canvas
Orders
customers
idbigint
emailvarchar
orders
idbigint
customer_idbigint
order_items
idbigint
order_idbigint
Sarah — customers

The case for DrawSQL

Where DrawSQL wins

Five places the canvas pulls ahead. We’ve put dbdiagram’s approach beside each one, so it’s a fair look — not a strawman.

Schema editing — draw on a canvas, not a wall of text

dbdiagram

Text-based: You type in plain text. Any typo breaks the render until you track it down and fix it. Because a schema is deeply connected, renaming one column means tracking down every foreign key, index, and note that references it, scattered across the DBML. And with no bulk actions, grouping a dozen tables means typing each name out by hand.

DrawSQL

Visual canvas: A schema is spatial: tables you arrange, relationships you trace by eye. Text flattens that into a sequence. The canvas keeps it spatial, so you see how tables connect and edit them in place. Rename a table and its foreign keys follow automatically; select a dozen at once to move, group, or recolor in one pass.

Bottom line: Code is a fine way to define a schema — and a tedious way to maintain one when it grows.

Collaboration — live edit and async discussion, both on the canvas

dbdiagram

Multiplayer text editing — no discussions. Cursors track which line of DBML a teammate is on — not which table. Review happens a tab away: Slack, or a Git pull request on the .dbml file.

DrawSQL

Multiplayer canvas — with discussions. Cursors move across the tables themselves, like Figma, so you see exactly which one a teammate is editing. Pin a discussion thread to any table — reply, resolve, loop in someone who only needs to comment.

Bottom line: Live or async, your team works on the schema itself.

Documentation — built in, not billed separately

dbdiagram

Hosted docs come from dbdocs — a separate product with its own subscription and a manual publish step. Updating the diagram doesn’t refresh the doc until you rebuild it.

DrawSQL

A data dictionary built into the diagram, included in your plan instead of a separate subscription. It auto-syncs as you update the diagram on the canvas.

Bottom line: One source of truth, not two you reconcile.

Framework exports — migrations, not just SQL

dbdiagram

Exports SQL DDL and images (PDF, PNG, SVG). No framework-native migration output.

DrawSQL

Export the schema straight to Laravel, Rails schema.rb, or AdonisJS migrations, ready to drop into your project. Plain SQL DDL and image exports come standard too.

Bottom line: One less translation step between schema and code.

AI — on the diagram, not in a side tab

dbdiagram

Drafts DBML you accept or reject. It writes DBML into the editor and you approve the diff a tab from the diagram. Anything it explains comes back as chat text to apply yourself.

DrawSQL

Builds straight onto the canvas. Ask for tables and they land wired to the right keys, beside what they relate to, and review findings pin to the tables they flag. It draws on 200+ real-world schemas too, so it builds the way production apps are designed.

Bottom line: Built on the diagram itself, shaped by real schemas.

Plus, our canvas just feels better. More polished and thoughtfully designed down to the smallest interaction. Give it a spin ↓

Everything at once

The full feature table

A check marks the stronger side where there is a clear one. Plenty of rows are a genuine tie or just a matter of taste — those get no mark.

How you build

dbdiagram

Write DBML; the diagram renders from text

DrawSQL

Drag & edit direct on a canvas; no syntax

SQL import

dbdiagram

MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Rails, Snowflake, CSV, live DB

DrawSQL

MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, DBML, JSON

Real-time collaboration

dbdiagram

Multiplayer text editor

DrawSQL

Multiplayer canvas

Discussions

dbdiagram

None

DrawSQL

In-canvas threads, pinned to any table

Documentation

dbdiagram

dbdocs — separate subscription, doesn’t auto-sync

DrawSQL

Built-in, auto syncs — data dictionary + Markdown / AI-context

AI assistance

dbdiagram

Drafts DBML; accept/reject the diff

DrawSQL

Co-edits the canvas; grounded in real schemas

Framework export

dbdiagram

None

DrawSQL

Laravel & AdonisJS migrations

Image export

dbdiagram

PDF, PNG, SVG

DrawSQL

JPG, WebP, SVG

Template gallery

dbdiagram

2 official samples

DrawSQL

200+ curated templates

VS Code extension

dbdiagram

Yes — DBML syntax + live preview

DrawSQL

No

REST API

dbdiagram

Diagram CRUD (beta)

DrawSQL

None

CI/CD automation

dbdiagram

Scriptable via the API

DrawSQL

Not yet

Version history

dbdiagram

Paid plans only

DrawSQL

Paid plans only

Solo price

dbdiagram

$14/mo

DrawSQL

$19/mo

Team price

dbdiagram

$100/mo for 3 seats

DrawSQL

$59/mo for up to 5 seats

Pricing

What it costs

Plan dbdiagram.io DrawSQL
Free 10 diagrams, unlimited tables, public Unlimited public diagrams, 15 tables each
Solo Pro — $14/mo
+ Docs (dbdocs) from $20/mo, billed separately		 Starter — $19/mo
Docs included
Team Team — $100/mo, 3 seats
+ Docs (dbdocs) from $60/mo, billed separately		 Growth — $59/mo, up to 5 seats
Docs included
Larger team Enterprise — custom quote Large — $179/mo, up to 25 seats
Enterprise — custom quote

Solo, dbdiagram is cheaper: $14/mo against DrawSQL’s $19. For a team it flips: DrawSQL Growth is $59/mo for up to five seats, where dbdiagram Team is $100 for three. If you publish hosted docs, dbdiagram bills dbdocs separately on top from $20/mo; on DrawSQL it’s included. Past that, you’re choosing on workflow, not price.

The honest take

Where dbdiagram wins

We build DrawSQL, so the rest of this page is biased and we won’t pretend otherwise. This part we mean straight — here’s where dbdiagram is the better pick, written the way we’d want a competitor to write about us.

Text-first authoring

In dbdiagram your schema is DBML, so you type it instead of drawing it. If you prefer a pure code-based approach to diagramming without touching the canvas, then dbdiagram would be the better product. We went canvas-first on purpose: we believe it offers richer interaction when collaborating or working on the diagram.

VS Code extension

Their VS Code extension puts a live ERD next to your DBML as you edit. If you stay within the code editor, that’s a real convenience.

REST API

dbdiagram has a REST API (beta, paid) for creating and updating diagrams from your own scripts. It’s limited, though, an update means re-sending the whole DBML, not a differential change. Niche, but handy if you automate your tooling.

More import sources

dbdiagram imports from a longer list of sources, Oracle and Snowflake among them. If you’re starting from one of these DBMS, then dbdiagram might make sense.

Cheaper for a solo developer

$14/mo to our $19, so dbdiagram wins for one. With a team it flips, especially if you want docs - their dbdocs is a separate subscription

Don’t take our word for it

Still deciding? Go feel it.

Draw three tables, connect them, move them around. You’ll know.

01 · text-first

dbdiagram

Type DBML → the diagram renders.

Open dbdiagram

02 · canvas-first

DrawSQL

Visual canvas → the diagram is the source.

Open DrawSQL canvas

Take your time. We’ll be here.

One down

That was the text. Now the canvas.

Open DrawSQL and build those same three tables. That’s the whole dare.

Open DrawSQL canvas

Oh, you’re back

So, which one won?

No wrong answer.

Thought so

That feeling is the whole product.

The canvas getting out of your way — that’s what you’re paying for. Save what you just built before you lose it.

Save what you built Or keep playing in /draw →

Noted — thanks.

Switching

Already on dbdiagram? It’s a one-minute move.

Your schema’s already written in DBML. Copy it straight into DrawSQL. No export step, no format conversion.

  1. 1

    Copy your DBML from dbdiagram

    It’s the text your schema already lives in. No export needed.

  2. 2

    Open drawsql.app/draw

    Nothing to install, no signup to start.

  3. 3

    Paste the DBML into import

    Tables, columns, types, and foreign keys render instantly. Save to your workspace when it looks right.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

DrawSQL is the visual option: you design on a canvas instead of writing DBML, and renaming a table updates every foreign key automatically. The diagram doubles as documentation through a built-in data dictionary, with live multiplayer and pinned discussion threads that dbdiagram has no equivalent for. Its AI works the same way — editing the canvas directly, and grounded in 200+ real-world schemas so its output follows real conventions, instead of drafting DBML you accept in a diff. It also exports Laravel and AdonisJS migrations.
dbdiagram fits code-first workflows. Choose it if you want your schema defined as DBML in version control, a VS Code extension, a REST API you can wire into CI, more import sources such as Oracle, Rails, and Snowflake, or the lower solo price of $14 a month against DrawSQL’s $19. If writing schema as code is how you prefer to work, dbdiagram is the better fit.
To build or edit a schema in dbdiagram, yes — you write it in DBML, a small text format. You can drag tables around the canvas, but adding tables and columns happens in code. DrawSQL skips the syntax: click to add a table, drag to position, edit inline. If you already think in code, DBML is quick to pick up; if you’d rather not learn another mini-language, the canvas is the shorter path.
Yes, and it’s basically copy-paste now. DrawSQL imports DBML directly, so copy your schema out of dbdiagram, open /draw, and paste it in. Tables, columns, types, and foreign keys come across; the layout is generated for you and you can rearrange it by hand. Prefer SQL? A MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQL Server export imports just as well.
Both let people work at once, but at different layers. dbdiagram’s cursors live in the DBML text editor on paid plans — you see which line a teammate is on. DrawSQL’s cursors live on the canvas — you see which table someone is editing. For a team reading the diagram together, canvas-level presence is the difference.
No, and that’s deliberate. You can import DBML or SQL to get started, but once the schema’s on the canvas you work visually. There’s no DBML text mode you live in and keep editing. If writing code to get a diagram is genuinely how you prefer to work, dbdiagram is the better fit and we’d point you there.
dbdocs is a separate product from dbdiagram, with its own subscription and a manual publish step; by their own docs, changes to your diagram don’t automatically update the published docs. DrawSQL treats the diagram as the documentation — share one link, it’s always current, with a built-in data dictionary you can export as Markdown or AI-ready context.
For a single developer, dbdiagram is cheaper — its paid plan is $14/mo against DrawSQL Starter at $19/mo. For a team it flips: DrawSQL Growth is $59/mo for up to five seats, where dbdiagram Team is $100/mo for three. Past a few people, you’re choosing on workflow, not price.

The bottom line

Don’t write the diagram. Draw it.

Open it for five minutes — you’ll feel the difference. No signup to start.

Create a free account Try the editor
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