SQLlySQLly vs DataGrip
DataGrip is JetBrains’ database IDE, built on the IntelliJ platform and sold by subscription - and if you already live in JetBrains tools, it feels like home. SQLly comes at the job from the other end: a native Rust workbench that skips the IDE and spends its effort on your results, your guardrails, and the admin chores that usually send you to a second app.
Last reviewed: September 2026
The short version
A workbench, not an IDE
Native and GPU-rendered on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Deep on data-aware completion, result shaping, safety policy, and script-first DBA tools for the SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite families.
A full database IDE
JetBrains’ cross-platform IDE on the Java-based IntelliJ platform, with deep code intelligence, refactoring, version control, plugins, and support for a long list of databases.
Feature by feature
SQLly’s column uses the same honest status badges as the features page and the docs. DataGrip’s column sticks to well-established basics; JetBrains’ own site has the full story.
| Capability | SQLly | DataGrip |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on macOS, Windows & Linux | YesmacOS is signed and notarized; Windows and Linux are a supported beta. | Yes |
| How the app is built | NativeRust, rendered on the GPU. How it works | JVMBuilt on the IntelliJ platform. |
| Licensing | Free tier + licensesFree for hobbyists; Annual (updates subscription) or one-time Lifetime. Pricing | Subscription |
| SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite | YesPlus hosted and compatible engines - 20 in all. Full list | Yes |
| Oracle, Db2, Snowflake & others | PlannedModeled; live connectors still to come. | Yes |
| Schema-aware code completion | YesIncluding real column values and FK-driven joins. IntelliSense | Yes |
| Refactoring & code analysis | PartialLive GROUP BY check, DDL navigation, and a safe formatter - not a refactoring IDE. | Yes |
| Version control | PartialLocal DDL files overlay the live schema today; Git times and DDL blame are planned. Multi-modal schema | Yes |
| Execution plan viewer | In progressFindings, tree, diagram, and comparison. Query plans | Yes |
| Read-only connections & per-environment colors | YesInherited down a client / project / environment tree. Guardrails | Yes |
| ER diagrams | YesRelationship Graph | Yes |
| Plugins | No | Yes |
Where SQLly is different
DataGrip optimizes for writing SQL like code. SQLly optimizes for what happens around it: the data coming back, and the mistakes you’d rather not make.
Native from the ground up
One Rust codebase rendering straight to the GPU through Metal, Direct3D, or Vulkan - no JVM to install or tune - with results that stream to disk so a 50-million-row answer can’t eat your RAM.
The Rust engine βCompletion from your data
Ask for values inside a WHERE clause and SQLly completes from the column’s real distinct values, quoted correctly for its type. Start a join and it offers the ON clause from actual foreign keys.
Results you can shape
Pivot, chart, diff two result sets, mask columns that look like personal data, and export to a real .xlsx - all from the grid, with SQL comments that remember the setup.
DBA tools in the box
Activity monitor, SQL Agent, backup and restore, Query Store and pg_stat_statements insights, index analyzer, schema and data compare - destructive steps always open as reviewable SQL first.
Guardrails with teeth
Refuse UPDATE/DELETE with no WHERE, wrap writes in a transaction you can roll back, and require a “yes, really” before non-SELECT statements on the connections that matter.
A different way to pay
Use it free as a hobbyist, or buy an Annual license - cancel and every build you already have keeps working - or a one-time Lifetime license with a source-escrow promise.
Pricing βWhen DataGrip is the better choice
Honestly, DataGrip is probably the better fit if:
- You already live in JetBrains tools. Shared keymaps, settings, and muscle memory are worth a lot, and JetBrains’ other IDEs can carry much of the same database tooling.
- You treat SQL as a codebase - large script projects, rename refactorings across files, and deep version control integration. That’s IDE territory, and SQLly doesn’t try to be an IDE.
- You need an engine SQLly doesn’t connect to yet, such as Oracle, Db2, or Snowflake.
- You depend on plugins. SQLly has no plugin system.
- You want a graphical plan viewer that’s finished today. SQLly’s query plans are still marked in progress.
Questions
Is SQLly a lighter alternative to DataGrip?
SQLly is a native Rust app rather than an IDE on the Java-based IntelliJ platform, and it focuses on the SQL workbench itself: the editor, results, safety guardrails and admin tools. DataGrip is a full IDE with deep refactoring and version control integration, which SQLly does not try to match.
Does SQLly require a subscription?
No. There is a free tier for hobbyists and side projects, an Annual license that is a subscription for updates (builds you already have keep working if you cancel), and a one-time Lifetime license.
Which databases does SQLly connect to?
SQLly connects to 20 engines today across the SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite families, including Azure SQL, MariaDB, CockroachDB, Neon, Supabase and PlanetScale. Oracle, Db2, Snowflake, DuckDB and others are modeled, with live connectors still to come.
Other comparisons
Bring your databases home to the pig
Free on macOS, Windows, and Linux, no account required. Point it at the database you know best and see how it feels.