DbTree vs DBeaver: which one to explore related data?
DBeaver is one of the most popular database tools, and for good reason. But it is built around writing SQL and reading tables. If what you need is to follow a record through its relationships, a different kind of tool can save you a lot of clicks. This page explains the difference honestly, so you can pick the right tool for the job.
What DBeaver is great at
If you spend your day writing queries or administering databases, DBeaver (or a similar SQL client) remains the right choice.
- Writing and running SQL with autocompletion.
- Supporting dozens of databases, not only PostgreSQL.
- Editing data, managing schemas, importing and exporting.
- ER diagrams of your schema.
Where a SQL client gets in the way
Debugging a support ticket or understanding unfamiliar data usually looks like this: find a customer, open their orders, open the items of one order, check the related invoice, go back up. In a SQL client, every step is a new query or a new tab, and the results are flat tables that lose the hierarchy.
What DbTree does differently
DbTree is not a SQL IDE. It does one thing: show your PostgreSQL data as a tree that follows foreign keys in both directions. You select a record and expand it to see its parents and children, level after level, with no query to write.
Side-by-side comparison
- Main goal: DBeaver runs SQL and manages databases. DbTree explores data through relationships.
- Navigation: DBeaver shows tables of results. DbTree shows an interactive tree.
- Relationships: in DBeaver you follow them query by query. DbTree expands them automatically, incoming and outgoing.
- SQL required: yes for DBeaver, none for DbTree.
- Databases: DBeaver supports many. DbTree supports PostgreSQL 9.6+ today.
- Platform: DBeaver runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. DbTree runs on Windows for now.
- Price: DBeaver Community is free. DbTree is free up to 2 levels, then €29 one-time.
Use both
DbTree is designed to sit next to your SQL client, not to replace it. Use it for the moments where you need to understand how records connect, then you go back to SQL when you need to write or change something.
Frequently asked questions
- Is DbTree a replacement for DBeaver?
- Not entirely. DbTree focuses on exploring data through relationships and does not write or edit data. Many people use it alongside DBeaver.
- Does DbTree work with MySQL or SQL Server?
- Not yet. DbTree currently supports PostgreSQL 9.6 and above, including Amazon RDS, Supabase, Neon and Railway. Other databases are on the roadmap.