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I am looking for an alternative to the free pgAdmin III that works on windows. I basically need it for managing my tables / views / SP / etc. If it did ER diagrams, that is a huge plus, and I like them to make sure all my tables are linking together.

I am used to SQL Server Management Studio and Workbench, so I am looking for for something updated to that. pgAdmin III works, but lacks key things. Example, if I update a SP (function), I have to actually refresh the app so it notices it. Else if I go to re-edit it, it loads my old SP. This caused me to mess up several times. Also ER diagrams is a huge feature it's lacking.

While I do not mind a commercial alternative, I am not looking for a $500 bill. I would really like to keep under 250 is possible.

Please note, I have already tried PostgreSQL Maestro. It works nice, but commonly locks up. I would prefer something a bit more stable and thread safe. Example, once a query is running I can't cancel. It has the option but says, its already running so I have to end the process to stop it. I am also aware of [http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Community_Guide_to_PostgreSQL_GUI_Tools] however I am looking for feedback by people who actually used the tools. I really do not want to try our 15 different options.

Thanks all in advance!

Anthony Greco
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    upvote for the question. I would gladly pay a few hundred USD for an admin interface that worked well. pgAdminIII is so bad that even the "Bug Report" menu item under Help has a bug. TERRRRRRIBLE. – David S Mar 13 '13 at 03:50
  • https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Community_Guide_to_PostgreSQL_GUI_Tools –  Jun 03 '15 at 22:19
  • I am now using Dbeaver, it is good enough for me, to say that it is better than PgAdmin. – Gh111 Sep 10 '18 at 11:42

4 Answers4

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DataGrip/ IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition

If you are already a user of Jetbrains tools, you may try DataGrip (or the database plugin, when you are an IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate edition user). This is quite new, but suitable for most use cases.

https://www.jetbrains.com/datagrip/

DBVisualizer

DBVisualizer is a very good solution for connecting to "any" DBMS with lots of features. There is a free version avaible, but the pro version is really worth the money:

http://www.dbvis.com/

HeidiSQL

A free and very good client for MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQL Server. It really evolved the last years.

http://www.heidisql.com

Squirrel SQL

Another quite good tool is Squirrel SQL. It's not the most intuitiv and beautiful tool, but has many useful features too:

http://squirrel-sql.sourceforge.net/

DBeaver

Another open source tool with a free community edition. This is something for Eclipse users, as it is build upon Eclipse and can be installed as Eclipse plugin as well.

https://dbeaver.io

MySQL Workbench

This is not for PostgreSQL, but my answer is quite generic, so I wanted to add this as well.

MySQL Workbench is the officiel tool from Oracle for connecting to MySQL. It is really good for working with MySQL.

https://www.mysql.de/products/workbench/

Others:

Adrian
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this is a very good alternative to PgAdmin, cross platform:

http://navicat.com/en/products/navicat_pgsql/pgsql_overview.html

Hope this helps (approx. $100-$200).

rogerdpack
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Sergey Pak
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Recently JetBrains released a so-called Database IDE called DataGrip. DataGrip support most major RDBMSs like PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL. And it's commercial:

enter image description here DataGrip User Interface

Ali Dehghani
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I also come from a SQL Server Management Studio background so I know how you must feel. Give this one a trial run. I have liked it when I use it.

http://www.sqlmanager.net/en/products/postgresql/manager

Also check out the studio version which bundles a bunch of apps into a suite.

http://www.sqlmanager.net/en/products/studio/postgresql

Kuberchaun
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    Unless there is a specific reason why you need this tool, its kinda hard to justify spending over $500 for a commercial license when pgAdmin is free. – atrain Oct 12 '11 at 14:31
  • That's subjective to the user. The question states they don't want to use the free pgAdmin. Also just the editor on that site is $275, not cheap but close to the $250 Anthony is worth paying. – Kuberchaun Oct 12 '11 at 14:38
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    Absolutely, but OP also want advanced features such as ER diagrams, features that appear to be only in the more expensive versions of the product, which OP is trying to avoid. – atrain Oct 12 '11 at 16:09
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    Either way, I appreciate the suggestion. $500 is still in realm of what I may spend, even though at the very very high end. Basically every hour I spend with inefficient tools, cost me money, so over a good 3 months, this $500 is justified. I will look into both options. Thanks! – Anthony Greco Oct 12 '11 at 20:31