Top 5 Open Source, Online SQL Editors You can Self-host

This post is maintained by Bytebase, an open-source database DevSecOps tools. We update the post ~2 times per year.

What are the criteria?#

1. Open source.
2. Web-based. Can be accessed via browser.
3. Can be self-hosted. Tools that don't offer a self-hosted version are not included.
4. General-purpose. Not specialized in a specific database type.
5. Actively maintained. Judged subjectively based on the project activities.

We pick SQL Editor, DbGate, CloudBeaver, Metabase, and Redash as the top 5 open source, online SQL Editors. They are categorized into 2 groups:

1. SQL Editor, DbGate, CloudBeaver are relative new and more focused on the SQL query and editing experience.
2. Metabase and Redash are more established and focused on the data visualization and dashboarding.

SQL Editor#

SQL Editor is a web-based SQL client built by Bytebase. It can run in 2 modes:

1. Stand-alone.
2. Embedded within other platform (white-label).

Unlike traditional SQL clients, SQL Editor enforces security and compliance by integrating access control, data masking, and audit logging into the SQL execution process.

Who is SQL Editor for?

SQL Editor is designed for developers, DBAs, and security teams who need a governed SQL execution environment. It’s ideal for teams in regulated industries or those following database access control and audit best practices.

Strengths

• Access Control: Enforce granular access control for different users and roles.
• Dynamic Data Masking: Mask sensitive data in the query results.
• Audit Logging: Log all SQL executions for compliance and security.
• Secure connection: Support integration with AWS IAM and GCP IAM auth, also support SSH and SSL connections.
• GitOps integration: Provide Terraform provider and API to codify the access control and data masking policies.

Open source license and monetization

SQL Editor is dual licensed. The community version is under MIT license. The enterprise version is under its own Enterprise license. SQL Editor offers Community, Pro, and Enterprise plan.

DbGate#

DbGate is designed for developers and database administrators who need a lightweight yet powerful tool for querying, editing, and managing databases from a web interface or as a desktop application.

Who is DbGate for?

DbGate is intended for developers, database administrators, and data analysts who need an intuitive SQL client with multi-database support. It’s suitable for both small teams and individual users who prefer a self-hosted, open-source alternative to commercial SQL clients.

Strengths

• Cross-platform: Works as a web app or standalone desktop application.
• Schema and data editor: Easy visualization and modification of database structures and data.
• SQL generator: Generate SQL statements from the UI.

Open source license and monetization

DbGate is licensed under GPL-3.0. It offers Community, Premium, and Team Premium plans.

CloudBeaver#

CloudBeaver is developed by the same team behind DBeaver, a popular desktop database tool.

Who is CloudBeaver for?

CloudBeaver is built for teams that need a collaborative, browser-based database management tool. It’s useful for database administrators, developers, and analysts who want a self-hosted, web-based SQL client.

Strengths

• Based on DBeaver: Benefits from the same robust database support and query capabilities.
• Secure connection: Support integration with AWS IAM and GCP IAM auth, also support SSH and SSL connections.
• Plugins: Extensible with plugins for additional functionality.

Open source license and monetization

CloudBeaver is licensed under Apache 2.0. It offers Community and Enterprise plan.

Metabase#

Metabase is an open-source business intelligence (BI) tool that allows users to query databases without writing SQL. It provides an easy-to-use visual query builder, dashboards, and automated reports, making it a popular choice for teams looking to analyze data with minimal technical expertise.

Who is Metabase for?

Metabase is designed for business analysts, product managers, and data teams that need a self-service analytics tool. It is ideal for SMBs, startups, and enterprises that want a lightweight, open-source BI solution without requiring deep SQL knowledge.

Strengths

• No-code query builder for non-technical users
• SQL editor available for advanced users
• Dashboard and reporting features for data visualization
• Scheduled reports and alerts
• Embeddable

Open source license and monetization

Metabase has three licenses. AGPL-3.0 is for the community edition, proprietary license is for the enterprise edition and a special license for the embeddable edition. Metabase offers four plans: Open Source, Starter, Pro, Enterprise.

Redash#

Redash is an open-source SQL-based data visualization and dashboarding tool. Redash has been acquired by Databricks.

Redash provides an SQL query editor, data exploration tools, and visualization capabilities, making it a favorite for analysts and engineers working with SQL-based data sources.

Who is Redash for?

Redash is intended for data analysts, engineers, and business intelligence teams who need a lightweight, self-hosted data visualization platform. It’s great for organizations with existing SQL expertise that want fast insights from databases.

Strengths

• SQL query editor: With saved query history.
• Dashboard and visualization tools: For creating data-driven reports.
• Scheduled refreshes.
• Email alerts.

Open source license and monetization

Redash is licensed under BSD 2-Clause License. It does not offer a paid plan.

Repository activity#

GitHub star wise, all projects have gained decent tractions.

Other than the GitHub star vanity metric, let's look at the monthly repository activities between Jan 24, 2025 and Feb 24, 2025.

Products	Merged PRs	Opened PRs	Closed Issues	New Issues
SQL Editor	217	0	4	10
DbGate	4	3	18	25
CloudBeaver	63	7	6	6
Metabase	1008	137	365	171
Redash	9	15	2	9

The stats could be misleading:

• Merged PRs could be very high if the project maintains many active release branches and need to cherrypick. This is the case for Metabase.
• Opened PRs only count the PRs that are opened in the same repo. For a public repo, it's quite possible that the PR is opened in a forked repo.
• If the team does not use GitHub Issues to manage the repository, then the Closed Issues and New Issues are not a good indicator of the project activity.

Overall, SQL Editor, CloudBeaver, and Metabase projects are more active than DbGate and Redash.