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Oracle SQL Developer vs dbForge Studio for SQL Server comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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
Oracle SQL Developer
Ranking in IDE
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the IDE category, the mindshare of dbForge Studio for SQL Server is 4.5%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SQL Developer is 7.3%, up from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IDE Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle SQL Developer7.3%
dbForge Studio for SQL Server4.5%
Other88.2%
IDE
 

Featured Reviews

Shakti Gupta - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Vikram_Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Architect at Ontario Power Generation
Has improved development efficiency through reusable components and intuitive programming features
When errors occur while programming, they are very generic. Even when searching the internet, the errors remain generic and it takes considerable time to understand the fix. This was predominantly felt because we were mostly working on writing code and developing features. Error handling needs to be improved. The patches and upgrade process is very long. In the last year and a half, I haven't upgraded, so we don't know if latest features have arrived. Another issue is with sessions. If we were working on code and then switch off our laptop for two to three days, the session would keep running. This consumes many resources and flags to the team that a user has been continuously using Oracle SQL Developer. There should be a timeout period for inactive sessions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The features that I find are the most valuable are easy querying, screen objects, relational diagram creation, and simplicity."
"I like the ease of use and quick data usage."
"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."
"If you do SQL for a living you need a robust productivity tool."
"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."
"It's quite easy to install and use from a local machine or laptop, as well as on a server."
"It's a no-cost license and it offers outstanding functionality on that basis."
"Technical support is great; they are extremely responsive and helpful with issues and questions."
"I like it because it's very similar in output to SQL *Plus, and it has many convenience features that make it easier to read the data and use the basic reporting features it provides."
"You can install it on every platform. It just works. The other thing is that it's free. And Oracle is committed to the development of the tool, so it has been improving."
"I assess the benefits of Oracle SQL Developer's reporting framework for data-driven decision making by stating that Oracle is the most efficient database for relational databases in my opinion."
"It's free, it's very easy to use, and has a nice GUI."
"Ability to analyze performance, using Explain Plan statement."
"It's easy to deploy, I can copy it onto the system and run it without having to install it and this makes it a very good solution for quick use."
 

Cons

"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."
"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 once had a problem stopping a long running query, not sure whose fault was, mine, the server or something else."
"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."
"Could be made to load faster."
"It should be more Mac friendly."
"They were not supportive. I didn't get a solution."
"The downsides of Oracle SQL Developer include hard typing."
"Scalability has room for improvement. Often if you have to do a heavy load of queries or are getting large result sets you have to be careful not to overload the Java virtual machine that's running."
"If they had something on the Web then you wouldn't need to install it, just query, like Enterprise Manager."
"But after many years, when I tried to use it again, against the more advanced Oracle Database, it did not work."
"The stability depends on what version you're using. There are more successful versions and are less successful versions. For example, 17.3 is less successful. There were many bugs. Now, we are trying to pull all the developers to upgrade to 17.4."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Because it's 2012 version, it's a one-off enterprise license that we have never had to upgrade."
"It has the advantage that it's free. The next best competitor would cost several thousand dollars."
"It's a no-cost license and it offers outstanding functionality on that basis."
"It is basically free."
"It's a free tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Retailer
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Marketing Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Devart dbForge Studio for SQL Server?
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...
What is your primary use case for Devart dbForge Studio for SQL Server?
My main use case for dbForge Studio for SQL Server is monitoring and troubleshooting all SQL servers. I use it as a productive tool for day-to-day database administration and development tasks to r...
What advice do you have for others considering Devart dbForge Studio for SQL Server?
I would advise others to use dbForge Studio for SQL Server. I rate dbForge Studio for SQL Server a seven point five out of ten because it is very useful for SQL Server performance and monitoring.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle SQL Developer?
The pricing of Oracle SQL Developer depends on the size of the company and the project. I cannot use Oracle or other solutions if I am just starting. If I start with MySQL, it depends on the size o...
What needs improvement with Oracle SQL Developer?
I want to address performance issues with large amounts of data. When I run queries that return lakhs or millions of rows, Oracle SQL Developer sometimes freezes, takes time to load, or even crashe...
What is your primary use case for Oracle SQL Developer?
In my current project at Cognizant, Oracle SQL Developer is one of the targets to load the data after extracting and transforming it, so this is our use case for my project. For example, I was at a...
 

Interactive Demo

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Boeing, Sony, Honda, Oracle, BMW, Samsung
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Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle SQL Developer vs. dbForge Studio for SQL Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.