Your company stores a ton of data in their database or data warehouse. Regardless of your role, being able to access this data and make sense of it is, in fact, a superpower. 

SQL editors can help you access this data, but you'll have to know at least a bit of SQL to get started. If you don't know any, it might be worth learning the basics. Don’t have time? No problem. Actiondesk is here to help (we're biased, we made this product 😅). Actiondesk lets you access your database data without having to write SQL — you'll just use good old spreadsheet formulas and functionalities.

Want to learn more? Continue reading and check out our list of some of the most popular SQL editors and tools currently on the market:

1. Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 
2. Razor SQL
3. SQuirrel SQL
4. DBeaver
5. MySQL workbench
6. Adminer Editor
7. Heidi SQL
8. PopSQL
9. Actiondesk
   
   
   

The Best SQL Tools To Help You Manage Your Data Smarter

1. Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssms/download-sql-server-management-studio-ssms?view=sql-server-ver15

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Databases supported: Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) lets you monitor, query, design, and configure your local and online SQL databases, providing real-time insight into a database’s overall health as well as activity logs to help you keep track of changes. It also contains object explorers, script generation, and robust security options to help you keep your data protected at all times. 

If you’re thinking, “Microsoft SQL Server Management sounds powerful and is free to download...This seems a little too good to be true” you're not mistaken. But there is one downside — Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio runs only on Windows and does not support Linux or macOS. 

2. Razor SQL

https://www.razorsql.com/

Databases supported: Pretty much everything (including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server)

Razor SQL is more than just a visual SQL query builder — it also acts as a database browser and database administration software for developers seeking complete control over multiple databases. Thanks to the platform’s built-in database and multi-tab query display, you can avoid manual configuration and quickly begin filtering, searching, and sorting objects. Additional features like syntax color coding, function look-up, and auto-completion further simplify the code creation process.

Unfortunately, Razor SQL has a slightly steeper learning curve than the other SQL tools on this list. The software starts at $99.95 and is licensed per user, but you can test out its core SQL editing capabilities and more via a 30-day free trial.

3. SQuirrel SQL

http://www.squirrelsql.org/

SQuirrel SQL is a Java-based administration tool that allows users to view the structure of JDBC-compliant databases, issue SQL commands, and work with multiple directories on both local and remote devices. Within the tool, graphs and charts help you easily visualize data and analyze relationships between tables across different sessions. SQuirrel SQL also includes bookmarking and user-defined code features as well as an editor that offers code completion and syntax highlighting. 

Because it’s an open source SQL editor, free downloads for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS can be accessed on the SQuirrel website.

4. DBeaver

https://dbeaver.io/

DBeaver is compatible with all major databases and operating systems and offers core SQL capabilities like autoformat, auto-complete, and hyperlinks to simplify editing. It also renders entity relationship (ER) diagrams to help you compare in-depth database structures and offers color-coding to distinguish between different databases and servers. With additional features like powerful SQL scripts generation and execution plan shortcuts that explain query steps, DBeaver is well positioned as a robust open source database tool for seamless diagramming, SQL editing, and data transfer.

DBeaver is available for developers and database administrators as a free download and runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS systems.

5. MySQL Workbench

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

Databases supported: MySQL

MySQL Workbench makes it easy to move data between different servers and tables and is perfect for users looking to visually design, model, and manage databases in one interface. You can also optimize SQL performance by viewing the status of your queries, network latency, and index usage from the centralized dashboard. Color syntax highlighting and auto-complete features further facilitate the SQL writing process and the editor is even capable of reinforcing your server configuration and database backup tasks. 

Highly efficient, MySQL Workbench is available as a free download on Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

6. Adminer Editor

https://www.adminer.org/en/editor/?r=qal-sqle

Adminer Editor has an intuitive user interface and supports all popular database management systems, with the option to select an existing one or create a new one. This online editor is actually a part of the larger Adminer database management software and offers many capabilities as a result, including the execution of any SQL command from the text field or from files and extensive customization options for managing SQL projects.

An open source program, Adminer Editor is free to download.

7. Heidi SQL

https://www.heidisql.com/

Designed using MySQL server, Microsoft SQL databases, and PostgreSQL, Heidi SQL is a robust online SQL editor with a wide range of capabilities. Heidi SQL’s core SQL functions include writing queries with customizable syntax-highlighting and code-completion, but the platform takes it a few steps further — you can also browse and edit data and create and optimize tables in bulk. And wait — there’s more! Heidi SQL lets you export from one server database to another, look up specific text in all tables from all of the SQL databases in one server, and manage user privileges. 

Heidi SQL is an open source program offering free downloads for Windows. 

8. PopSQL

https://popsql.com/ 

PopSQL is a modern SQL editor that makes it easy to collaborate with your startup team as long as you know how to code. Use the tool to quickly write queries, visualize your data, and share results. If you’re still new to the world of code, PopSQL does provide some training features for SQL for beginners. 

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We like the modern look and collaboration feature of PopSQL! 

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Pricing: starts at $16 / month (and there's also a free plan, it's limited but that way you can try it out without starting to pay)

9. Actiondesk

https://www.actiondesk.io/

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Actiondesk is not really a SQL editor, and as such, is pretty different from the solutions presented above. If you're a SQL master, then Actiondesk is not for you. It might be for your colleagues though who are not as confortable as you.

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Actiondesk is the easiest way to let business users access, explore and analyze their database or data warehouse's data. It works like a spreadsheet so most users will know how to use it without having to learn anything. You can use spreadsheet fomulas, pivot tables and add graphs, same way you would in Excel or Google Sheets.

(by the way, we're biased, it's the product we built ;) )

Actiondesk is available at $15 per editor per month or $0 per viewer per month, but you can explore all of the features with its 14-day free trial.

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