Top 5 Free Database Diagram Design Tools (Updated) - Holistics

A database schema is the blueprints of your database, it represents the description of a database structure, data types, and the constraints on the database. And designing database schemas is one of the very first and important steps to start developing any software/website.

To help you determine the right tool for you to design database schema diagrams, we've curated a list of 10 of the best free ERD  tools to do it.

Top 10 Free Database Diagram (ERD) Design Tools

dbdiagram.io

Pricing: Free for up to 10 diagrams. After that, it’s $9/month.

• dbdiagram.io is a quick, simple & free ER diagram tool to help you draw your database diagrams using their own Domain-specific language (DSL).
• Designed for developers, DBA and data analysts.
• They have a simple language to define, you can easily edit/copy without leaving the keyboard.
• They focus exclusively on drawing database relationship diagrams. You can also quickly generate your diagrams from SQL dump files.
• Allow you to save and share your diagrams online. Real-time collaborative editing is also available.
• Version control available allowing you to freely experiment your ideas with different schema versions. Roll back to a past version whenever you want.
• Their UI looks simple and neat, with pretty diagrams.
• You can also make your diagrams private, protect them with Password protection for internal sharing only.

Diagrams.net (formerly Draw.io)

Pricing: Free for web-based usage, paid for Atlassian (Confluence/JIRA) apps.

• Diagrams.net (formerly Draw.io) is a free online ER diagram software for making flowcharts, process diagrams, etc.
• Allows different types of charts like flowcharts, org charts, UML, ER and network diagrams.
• Allows saving your diagrams to cloud storage services like GDrive, Dropbox and OneDrive, or to your own computer
• Visual interfaces are not as nice as Lucidchart.

Lucidchart

Pricing: Free with limited objects, $4.95-$9.00/user/month

• Lucidchart is cloud-based and collaborative ER diagram tool. Lucidchart helps your team create not only database diagram but also flowcharts, process maps, UML models, org charts,.. on any device across the platform you already use.
• Free plan comes with a limit of 3 diagrams and 60 objects per diagram
• Good experience and collaborative
• Integrated with G Suite, Microsoft Office...
• Good if you are more of a designer and want drag-and-drop interface

QuickDBD

Pricing: free for 1 public diagram and 10 tables, plans at $14/month for unlimited tables and private diagrams.

• QuickDBD helps you quickly draw a diagram using just text input.
• It quickly captures ideas, and you can draw schema diagrams using only the keyboard.
• Support exporting to SQL, PDF and Word

Read more:  Best Open-source Data Modeling Tools For Data Teams

ERD Plus

Pricing: free

• ERD Plus is a basic database modeling tool for creating Entity Relationship Diagrams, Relational Schemas, Star Schemas, and SQL DDL statements.
• Automatically convert ER Diagrams into Relational Schemas
• Export SQL
• Export diagrams as a PNG
• Save diagrams safely on our server

Cacoo

Pricing: Free for unlimited users for up to 6 sheets. After that, it’s $5/user/month.

• Cacoo is a web-based ERD tool built for everyone, not just designers and developers.
• Its Database Schema Importer tool allows you quickly import your schema directly into your diagrams.
• It has a diverse collection of templates and shapes for users to easily create database diagrams, including Entity-Relationship Model, Object-oriented Database Model, Relational Model, and Hierarchical Model.
• You can easily collaborate with team members, get feedback, edit, and share diagrams, all in real-time.
• You can efficiently organize your work with shareable project folders.
• Cacoo has security settings for team members that you can set up for shared projects to keep assets secure.
• You can integrate this app with multiple apps, including Google Drive, Dropbox, Google Docs, Adobe Creative Cloud, Confluence, Box, Visio, and Slack.
• You can also export your diagrams and files in various formats, including PDF, SVG, and PowerPoint, and embed them in your websites.

DrawSQL

Pricing: Free for one user, public diagrams, and 15 tables/diagrams. From $15 for private diagrams and more tables.

• DrawSQL is a web-based app specifically for entity-relationship diagrams.. It has a simple and intuitive editor that helps you visualize your database schemas without being distracted by unnecessary features.
• Users can import an existing SQL script of any database that they want to visualize and automatically generate diagrams.
• You can also export your diagrams in different formats - SQL (DDL) scripts to run in your database and images.
• DrawSQL allows you to generate Laravel migrations automatically from your diagram to build your database schema. It also supports other frameworks.
• You can also collaborate with your teammates on the same database diagram.
• There are over 200 database diagram templates that users can get inspiration from and even adapt to their diagrams.
• Users can create public diagrams that anyone can access and view using a shareable link.
• DrawSQL users can also make their diagrams private so that they do not appear in public searches, and only people in the team can view them.
• It has a presentation mode that allows users to present diagrams during important meetings. This feature could facilitate the inclusion of non-technical people.
• DrawSQL supports some relational Database Management Systems (DBMS), including popular ones like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL Server.
• Users can also clone and use existing diagrams as re-usable templates across apps.
• DrawSQL can display your public diagrams using beautiful preview cards on social networks.

Miro

Pricing: Free for unlimited team members and three editable boards. After that, it’s $8/user/month.

• Miro is a tool used for creating flowcharts, agile workflows, mapping, and diagramming.
• It can be used online and across various devices, including mobile, tablets, and desktops (iOS and Windows).
• Miro has an academy for hosting sessions with experts, answering users’ questions, and writing about new features.
• It has many ready-made templates for all kinds of diagrams.
• Miro also has an active community called ‘Miroverse’ where users can browse templates created by other users and build their templates.
• Its developer platform allows developers to create their custom integrations.
• It also has an extensive library, including basic shapes, connectors, and flowchart icons that you can use for basic flow charts, BPMN, UML diagrams, and complex network architectures.
• Users can import existing code into Miro to draw diagrams like UML.
• You can collaborate with team members by giving them access to your diagrams to make changes, leave comments, and ask questions.
• Users can also embed boards directly in tools like Confluence or Microsoft Teams.
• Miro allows integration with tools like Jira, Slack, Dropbox, Microsoft teams, Figma, Airtable, and Notion.
• You can also export your diagrams in image formats.

Gliffy

Pricing: Free for confluence and Jira apps for ten users, online app free for students for four years, paid from $8/user/month.

• Gliffy is a ER diagram software built by a pair of engineers and can be used online or in Atlassian apps - Confluence and Jira.
• Gliffy has an intuitive drag-and-drop user interface that gives users pixel-by-pixel detail as they work.
• Users can effortlessly document database structures, making it easy to find information.You can also search the texts within a diagram to find information quickly.
• Gliffy also securely manages your data and diagrams and ensures safe collaboration between team members.
• Version control allows team members to collaborate and track changes in each version of their diagrams. Users can make previous diagrams re-usable and use them as templates for others.
• You can also embed diagrams in other tools and apps like Slack.
• Users can link diagrams with other diagrams and embed them in other tools.
• Users can export diagrams in multiple formats, including JPEG, PNG, and SVG.

Creately

Pricing: Free with limited features, $6.95/user/month.

• Creately is a whiteboard & ERD  tool that supports UML, C4, Database, and infrastructure modeling.
• It adapts multiple modeling standards from Archimate, UML, SysML, boxes and arrows, and C4 to ensure adherence.
• It has over 50 standard diagram templates with over 1000 specially designed shapes and connectors to help users build diagrams quickly.
• Creately allows users easily search texts in complex diagrams to find information.
• Team members can collaborate and create, edit, and review diagrams together and creately shows in real-time how the number of people on the project.
• Creately also has a video conferencing feature that team members can utilize while working simultaneously.
• Its version history feature helps users keep track of changes to each iteration.
• Users can create multiple diagrams on different boards on the same canvas.
• It also allows the integration of other tools like Slack and Google workspace.
• Users can export diagrams as PNG, JPEG, or PDF files.

Conclusion

If you're a developer, DBA or data analyst that prefers to write code, go for dbdiagram.io or QuickDBD.

If you prefer GUI, go for Diagrams.net or Lucidchart.

What’s next?

After you've designed your database schemas, it's time to use a BI tool like Holistics.io to turn your data into insights automatically.

Holistics is a self-service BI platform that allows non-technical users to create their own charts without writing SQL or going to the data team. Data teams save time as they just have to define the data models once and they can use it everywhere, without writing the same SQL queries again and again.

And Holistics has an in-built relationship diagram that helps you map relationships between tables and models. Start a free 14-day with Holistics now! No credit card required.