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JetBrains IDEs vs dbForge Studio for SQL Server comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

dbForge Studio for SQL Server
Ranking in IDE
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
JetBrains IDEs
Ranking in IDE
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the IDE category, the mindshare of dbForge Studio for SQL Server is 4.5%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of JetBrains IDEs is 7.1%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IDE Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
JetBrains IDEs7.1%
dbForge Studio for SQL Server4.5%
Other88.4%
IDE
 

Featured Reviews

SG
SQL server database administrator at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Database work has become more efficient while performance analysis still needs improvements
One area I would like to see improved in dbForge Studio for SQL Server is the performance when using schema and data comparison for large databases, as the comparison can take some time and require more visual review. I would prefer more built-in guidance around generated synchronization scripts to quickly understand what will change before including the script.
reviewer2014131 - PeerSpot reviewer
DevSecOps Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Long-term coding has benefited from intuitive UI and tools but now needs lighter performance
I am using the code completion feature in IntelliJ, and it helps me with my development processes. I use advanced debugging tools. The advanced debugging tools are useful for resolving code issues. The integration with version controls is seamless. GitHub is what I use. For my professional role, I need to use GitHub Enterprise, and the way it is set up in my enterprise, it does not allow linking it with IntelliJ. That is where I am stuck using the CLI. GitHub itself has a very robust CLI, so I have no complaints there. For personal use, GitHub integrates really well with IntelliJ. The UI is pretty good and very intuitive. I actually use the new UI which IntelliJ provides, and that is very intuitive and good.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution is very scalable; if you set up a very large database, billions of records or so, if you have enough memory and enough disk space, it's quite easy to do."
"dbForge Studio for SQL Server has positively impacted my organization by making routine database development and troubleshooting more efficient, leading to improved DBA productivity, faster troubleshooting, and reduced manual efforts, rather than directly reducing staffing or infrastructure costs."
"The features that I find are the most valuable are easy querying, screen objects, relational diagram creation, and simplicity."
"If you do SQL for a living you need a robust productivity tool."
"I like the ease of use and quick data usage."
"It's quite easy to install and use from a local machine or laptop, as well as on a server."
"Fast, and I never had a crash."
"Having the complete development environment in Linux in the same way as in Windows is already the best."
"From the very beginning to the deepest thing I could possibly want to develop, I believe I could do it all using JetBrains IDEs."
"Good support for refactoring."
"The UI is pretty good and very intuitive."
"It seems to me as one of the best IDEs in the market, they are always releasing new versions with positive improvements, and in my opinion, I recommend it in its entirety."
"The best features offered by JetBrains IDEs include a super attractive set of language-specific tools including debuggers, symbol monitors, and the extensions that come with it, which helps me get a much more in-depth view of my code rather than relying on print or log statements."
 

Cons

"One area I would like to see improved in dbForge Studio for SQL Server is the performance when using schema and data comparison for large databases, as the comparison can take some time and require more visual review."
"The lock files and login are two features we've had issues with. As far as I can see, there's no way to switch off the login in SQL Servers. If there could be a way to switch off the login, for transactions, or in operations, or tables, that'd be great."
"I once had a problem stopping a long running query, not sure whose fault was, mine, the server or something else."
"The only issue that I have is that it depends on hardware resources, it takes a lot, that is the only set back with the solution."
"I have noticed that when I switch to less powerful machines, IntelliJ seems to use up the RAM and the machine gets really slow and really hot quite quickly, which is not the case with Visual Studio."
"One of the main issues with JetBrains IDEs is that it is very heavy, taking a lot of time to load and using a lot of memory."
"One of the most important things to improve is the consumption of resources, mainly memory."
"I see as a disadvantage the high prices of the license purchase that is almost $ 500 per year since this limits the use of IDE and especially for those developers who work on their own since it requires a large investment."
"Sometimes, plugins (from third parties) are not updated."
"One thing I think could be improved in JetBrains IDEs is the integration with ChatGPT, which I feel could be deeper."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Because it's 2012 version, it's a one-off enterprise license that we have never had to upgrade."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Insurance Company
8%
Wholesaler/Distributor
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for JetBrains IDEs?
I have no issues at all with pricing, setup cost, and licensing.
What needs improvement with JetBrains IDEs?
JetBrains IDEs could be improved with even better integration of AI tools. I would also like it to make it easier to detect new features.
What is your primary use case for JetBrains IDEs?
My main use case for JetBrains IDEs is Java development and technical writing. I have a lot of ongoing open-source projects. I also do a lot of technical writingAzul, which is done in AsciiDoc or i...
 

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Sample Customers

Boeing, Sony, Honda, Oracle, BMW, Samsung
Citi, Siemens, Salesforce, Twitter, HP, New York Times, Pintrest, Airbnb, Expedia, Samsung, Volkswagen, Wikipedia, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about JetBrains IDEs vs. dbForge Studio for SQL Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.