Windows developers and data pros don’t need expensive licenses to manage databases. We hand‑picked 12 completely FREE SQL clients that install cleanly on Windows 10/11—from Microsoft’s own SSMS to open‑source favorites like HeidiSQL—and ranked them by features, ease of use, and community love.
Whether you wrangle MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, or SQLite on your Windows machine, a capable SQL client is mission‑critical. The good news: plenty of powerful editors cost exactly $0. Below you’ll find our 2025 favorites, complete with release history, core highlights, and honest pros & cons.
SSMS is Microsoft’s flagship GUI for SQL Server and Azure SQL. It remains the gold standard for Windows‑centric DBAs.
Pros
Cons
ADS (built on Electron) targets both SQL Server and open‑source engines via plug‑ins, offering notebooks, Git integration, and a modern UI.
Pros
Cons
DBeaver CE supports every major JDBC database—MySQL, Postgres, Oracle, SQL Server, ClickHouse—making it a Swiss‑army knife on Windows.
Pros
Cons
HeidiSQL is a Windows‑native, lightweight GUI celebrated for speed and a tiny installer (<20 MB).
Pros
Cons
Beekeeper offers an Electron‑based, dark‑themed interface with encrypted connection storage and tab recovery.
Pros
Cons
pgAdmin is the canonical GUI for PostgreSQL, shipping a native Electron wrapper for Windows users.
Pros
Cons
MySQL Workbench bundles modeling, query editor, and admin tools for MySQL & MariaDB—fully free on Windows.
Pros
Cons
A must‑have for developers working with local SQLite files.
Pros
Cons
Old‑school Swing client that still supports Oracle, Postgres, MySQL, DB2, and more via JDBC.
Pros
Cons
If VS Code is already your editor of choice, SQLTools turns it into a multi‑DB client with snippets, history, and multi‑tab support.
Pros
Cons
DbVisualizer’s free tier covers ad‑hoc query editing, table browsing, and explain plans across many DBs.
Pros
Cons
While aimed at ClickHouse, Tabix Desktop is worth mentioning for OLAP analysts on Windows.
Pros
Cons
Galaxy already powers developers on macOS. A native Windows desktop wrapper—with offline mode and system tray presence—is slated in the coming months. Join the waitlist to help shape the beta!
SQL remains the lingua franca of structured data; mastering the right tools accelerates analysis and application development.
Install a free editor like galaxy.io" target="_blank" id="">Galaxy or DBeaver, connect to a sample database, and practice basic SELECT queries.
Start free; upgrade when you need collaboration, AI assistance, or enterprise security.