Systems6 of 6
Databases23 of 27
Connections and trust17 of 17
Tools18 of 29
Price17 of 21
database client · Beekeeper Studio Inc
Beekeeper Studio
Open-source database client for Windows, macOS and Linux, with a free Community edition and paid plans from $9 a month.
In short
- The Community edition is free and its code is public under GPLv31,3.
- Indie costs $9 a month billed yearly, which is $108 for the first 12 months1.
- The supported-databases page lists 26 engines, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, MongoDB and Snowflake2.
- Paying for 12 months lets you keep using the paid features of the versions released in that time1.
- Version 6.1.6 was released on 7 October 20265.
Beekeeper Studio suits developers who want one client for many engines, with a free edition they can read the code of2,3. Indie is $108 a year and keeps working on the versions you paid for if you stop1. The catch: import, the ER diagram and the AI Shell need a paid plan, and the vendor's pages show no query plan viewer, schema compare or visual query builder1,6,9,10.
Best for: Developers who want a multi-engine client with a free open-source edition.
Where the points come from
Systems 6 of 6 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Other systems | macOS, LinuxThe download page offers macOS builds and Linux AppImage, DEB and RPM packages7. | 6 / 6 |
Databases 23 of 27 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Main SQL engines | PostgreSQL, MySQL or MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle, SQLiteThe supported-databases page names all five; MySQL and MariaDB are listed separately2. | 15 / 15 |
| NoSQL and cloud engines | MongoDB, Redis, BigQuery, SnowflakeThe supported-databases page names MongoDB, Redis, Google BigQuery and Snowflake2. | 8 / 8 |
| JDBC or ODBC drivers | Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page6. | 0 / 4 |
Connections and trust 17 of 17 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| SSH tunnel | YesThe features page lists SSH tunnels; the pricing table shows them in the free Community edition1,6. | 8 / 8 |
| Open-source apps | YesMost of the repository is GPLv3; paid features sit in it under a commercial source-available licence3. | 6 / 6 |
| Recent release | YesVersion 6.1.6 was released on 7 October 2026; the release page lists 6.1.5 on 5 October5,4. | 3 / 3 |
Tools 18 of 29 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| SQL code completion | YesThe editor suggests tables after from or join, columns after a table alias, and keywords8. | 4 / 4 |
| Visual query builder | Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page6. | 0 / 3 |
| ER diagrams | YesTools, Open ER Diagram shows how tables connect in the active database; included in all paid versions9. | 4 / 4 |
| Schema or data compare | Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page6. | 0 / 4 |
| Import from CSV or Excel | YesPaid licences can import CSV, JSON, JSON Lines and Excel files into a new or existing table10. | 4 / 4 |
| Export formats | CSV, Excel, JSONQuery results can be downloaded as CSV, Excel, JSON and Markdown11. | 3 / 3 |
| Query plan viewer | Not publishedNot published on the vendor's features page or editor docs6,8. | 0 / 4 |
| AI assistant | YesAI Shell writes and runs SQL with permission, on paid plans. Docs mention beta only for provider choice, so we count it1,12. | 3 / 3 |
Price 17 of 21 points
| Rule | What is published | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Free edition | YesCommunity is free with no time limit. Intended for small businesses and individuals; larger firms are asked to pay, so we count it1. | 6 / 6 |
| Perpetual licence | YesPaying for 12 months lets you use the paid features of those versions forever, even after cancelling1. | 5 / 5 |
| Cheapest paid plan | $108/yrIndie, $9 a month billed yearly, one user for 12 months1. | 6 / 10 |
The rule behind each line: how we score database clients.
Plans and prices
As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.
| Plan | Price as listed | Per month | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CommunityIndividuals and small businesses | Free1 | $0 | Editor, SSH tunnels, unlimited connections; no import or export tools |
| IndieUp to 2 users per licence | $9/month billed yearly ($108/year)1 | $9 | Adds import, export, backup and editable results |
| ProfessionalUp to 20 users per licence | $14/user/month billed yearly1 | $14 | Adds AI Shell, cloud workspaces and email support |
| BusinessUnlimited users | $18/user/month billed yearly1 | $18 | Adds priority support |
Prices are per user per month when billed yearly. Monthly billing is higher and counts as 12 months after a year of payments1.
Strengths
Limits
- Community is meant for individuals and small businesses under 10 employees or $1m revenue; larger firms are asked to buy a licence1.
- Importing files and the ER diagram are paid features1,9,10.
- The feature list shows no query plan viewer, visual query builder or schema compare6.
- The AI Shell is only on Professional and Business, which start at $14 a user a month1.
What Beekeeper Studio Inc says
Vendor claims. We show them, but they earn no points.
- Beekeeper Studio says it offers full feature parity across all supported operating systems13.
Other database clients
- 1
DBeaverDevelopers and analysts who work with many database engines91/100$113/yrcheapest paid plan - 2
DbVisualizerDevelopers who connect to many engines and want a free edition for basic work84/100$199/yrcheapest paid plan - 4
DataGripDevelopers who write a lot of SQL and want an IDE-style editor81/100$121.93/yrcheapest paid plan - 5
DbGateDevelopers who want a free open-source client, with paid tools for query design and compare79/100$120/yrcheapest paid plan
Beekeeper Studio vs DBeaver · Beekeeper Studio vs DbVisualizer · All 12 database clients
Sources
- Beekeeper Studio pricing, Beekeeper Studio. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Supported databases, Beekeeper Studio. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- beekeeper-studio/beekeeper-studio, GitHub. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Beekeeper Studio releases, Beekeeper Studio. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Releases, beekeeper-studio/beekeeper-studio, GitHub. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Beekeeper Studio features, Beekeeper Studio. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Download Beekeeper Studio, Beekeeper Studio. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- SQL editor, Beekeeper Studio docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERD), Beekeeper Studio docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Importing Data (CSV, JSON, etc.), Beekeeper Studio docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Data Export, Beekeeper Studio docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- SQL AI Shell, Beekeeper Studio docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Beekeeper Studio documentation, Beekeeper Studio docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Website: www.beekeeperstudio.io · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with Beekeeper Studio Inc.