The short answer. pgModeler is the open-source modeller built for PostgreSQL: entities, relationships, and forward engineering into a real database. Navicat Data Modeler is the commercial one that covers several engines. MySQL Workbench includes modelling as part of the official toolchain. Visual Paradigm is the general modelling platform where a database diagram is one diagram among UML, SysML and BPMN. The dividing question is whether the model is the deliverable or the input, because a diagram that generates a schema is a different tool from a diagram that explains one.
This guide covers 4 database design tools for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MySQL Workbench | developer tool | not published | not published | 8.0.47 |
| Navicat Data Modeler | developer tool | not published | not published | 4.3.12 |
| pgModeler | developer tool | Open source | GPL-3.0 | 1.2.3 |
| Visual Paradigm | developer tool | not published | not published | 18.1 |
What actually decides this
- Generate or document. Forward engineering turns a model into DDL. Reverse engineering turns a database into a model. A tool that does both keeps the two in sync; one that does neither produces a picture that is true on the day it was drawn.
- Which engine the model targets. Types, constraints and index syntax differ between engines. A Postgres-specific modeller will use Postgres types; a general one will offer a common subset and lose the specifics.
- Whether the diagram can be read by someone else. Crow’s foot notation, colour conventions and layout are not decoration. A model that a colleague cannot read in a meeting has failed at the only job a diagram has.
- How it handles a change after the fact. A schema that already exists needs a diff, not a redraw. Tools that can compare a model to a live database and produce a migration are doing the work that matters in a real project.
- Whether it belongs to a wider modelling practice. If the team already draws UML and process diagrams, a database diagram inside the same tool is worth more than a better standalone modeller, because the model lives with the rest of the design.
- What the output file is. A native project file is editable and single-vendor. An exported SQL script or an image is portable and one-way. A team that has to review the model in a pull request needs the script, not the project file.
- Whether the notation is standard. Crow’s foot, Chen and UML class notation all describe a schema and none of them is universal. A tool that lets you switch notation is more useful in a team with mixed backgrounds than one that insists on its own.
Our picks
- pgModeler — Its record describes an open-source data modelling tool designed for PostgreSQL, which is the engine-specific case. Choose it when the target is PostgreSQL and you want open-source forward engineering.
- Navicat Data Modeler — Its record describes a database design tool for high-quality data models, which is the multi-engine case. Choose it when you want a commercial modeller across several engines.
- MySQL Workbench — Its record describes the official MySQL GUI, which is the official-toolchain case. Choose it when MySQL is the engine and you want modelling in the official tool.
- Visual Paradigm — Its record describes an all-in-one UML, SysML and BPMN modelling platform, which is the wider-practice case. Choose it when the database diagram is one part of a wider modelling effort.
The apps
MySQL Workbench
MySQL Workbench is a developer tool for macOS. The official MySQL GUI. Its pricing is not published.
MySQL Workbench is listed with current version 8.0.47.
Full profile and verified facts for MySQL Workbench →
Navicat Data Modeler
Navicat Data Modeler is a developer tool for macOS. Cost-effective database design tool for high-quality data models. Its pricing is not published.
What it does. Navicat Data Modeler allows users to create a conceptual model from an existing database and edit the structure of the database easily.
Navicat Data Modeler is listed with current version 4.3.12.
Full profile and verified facts for Navicat Data Modeler →
pgModeler
pgModeler is a developer tool for macOS. pgModeler is an open source data modeling tool designed for PostgreSQL. It is released under GPL-3.0.
What it does. Design, visualize and deploy PostgreSQL databases with ease. Powerful reverse engineering, SQL generation, and database diff tool for developers and DBAs.
pgModeler is listed with current version 1.2.3.
Full profile and verified facts for pgModeler →
Visual Paradigm
Visual Paradigm is a developer tool for macOS. All-in-one UML, SysML, BPMN modeling platform. Its pricing is not published.
What it does. The all-in-one platform for UML, BPMN, Enterprise Architecture, and Agile management. Now supercharged with Generative AI.
Visual Paradigm is listed with current version 18.1.
Full profile and verified facts for Visual Paradigm →
How to choose
- No licence fee, source available. pgModeler — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- Pricing not published in our data. MySQL Workbench, Navicat Data Modeler and Visual Paradigm — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.
Open source: pgModeler (1 of 4).
Common mistakes
- Drawing a model and never generating the schema, then letting the two diverge.
- Using a general modeller and losing engine-specific types.
- Producing a diagram nobody else can read and calling it documentation.
- Redrawing instead of diffing when the database already exists.
- Keeping the model in a project file that only one person can open.
- Drawing the model after the schema shipped and calling it documentation.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these database design tools?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 4 database design tools: MySQL Workbench, Navicat Data Modeler, pgModeler and Visual Paradigm. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these database design tools free?
Pricing across this group: not published (MySQL Workbench, Navicat Data Modeler and Visual Paradigm) and open source (pgModeler). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these database design tools are open source?
pgModeler (GPL-3.0) is open source.
Do these database design tools support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
