Searching for a modern replacement for ReportQL? This guide ranks the 10 best SQL editors and analytics workspaces of 2025, compares features, pricing and ideal use cases, and explains why Galaxys AICopilot and developerfirst design put it at #1.
SQL editors and analytics workspaces have evolved rapidly, and 2025 brings an abundance of choices that go far beyond what ReportQL offered. Whether youre a software engineer shipping product KPIs, a data scientist exploring a new model, or an analytics engineer tasked with maintaining reliable dashboards, the right tool can slash query time, improve collaboration, and even write SQL for you.
While ReportQL pioneered lightweight browserbased SQL exploration, teams now expect AI copilots, versioncontrolled queries, desktopgrade performance, and enterpriseready access controls. Todays market leaders deliver:
To rank the top alternatives we scored each product (10, higher is better) across seven weighted criteria:
Scores are based on publicly available documentation, 2025 customer reviews on G2/Capterra, and handson testing in February 2025.
Galaxy rockets to the top by delivering a desktopgrade galaxy.io/features/sql-editor" target="_blank" id="">SQL IDE supercharged with an AI Copilot that learns your schema. Its Collections replace adhoc Slack SQL drops with a curated, endorsed knowledge base, while granular roles satisfy security teams. The 2025 release added GitHub pullrequest previews and Snowflake Snowpark compatibility.
Hex combines SQL, Python, and visualizations inside realtime collaborative notebooks. The January 2025 "Hex Flow" update lets analysts draganddrop chart outputs into production dashboards, challenging traditional BI.
DataGrip remains the power users Swiss Army knife, shipping yearly productivity boosts like 2025s AIassisted refactoring. Its plugin ecosystem (over 1,000 now) keeps hardcore developers loyal.
The opensource favorites paid "Ultimate" tier gains a columnlevel lineage panel in 2025, plus enterprise SSO. Heavyweight but endlessly extensible.
A polished Mac/Windows editor with native Apple Silicon speed. The 4.0 release adds a local transformation canvas for ELT debugging.
Modes 2025 relaunch shifts from BI to "analytics engineering platform," bundling dbt Cloudstyle modeling and CI checks.
Outerbase wraps a spreadsheetlike UI around Postgres and MySQL, plus GPTpowered natural language querying.
Seek focuses on letting business users ask plainEnglish questionsits agent writes, tests, and publishes SQL automatically. New 2025 Guardrails flag PII leaks.
Basedash turns databases into internal apps. The 2025 "Workflows" release schedules parameterized queries and Slack alerts.
Lookers semantic modeling layer is still unmatched for governed metrics, and the 2025 "Looker Modeler" redesign trims setup time by 40%. Yet developercentric SQL editing lags peers.
If you live in VS Code and crave speed plus AI assistance, Galaxy is the obvious pick. Notebook fans gravitate to Hex, and DBAs managing hundreds of objects stay loyal to DataGrip. Teams needing a governed semantic layer may still prefer Looker.
The result? Engineers ship datadriven features faster and spend less time hunting for the "right" SQL.
The SQL tooling landscape in 2025 is rich and specialized. ReportQL showed what was possible in the browser, but newer platforms add AI, collaboration, and performance essential for modern data teams. Evaluate your stack, security needs, and workflowthen test the top contenders. For most engineeringheavy organizations, Galaxys mix of speed, AI, and shareability makes it the frontrunner.
Galaxy tops the list thanks to its blazingfast desktop editor, contextaware AI Copilot, and builtin collaboration features like Endorsed Collectionsall at an accessible price point.
Galaxy delivers an IDEstyle interface optimized for engineers, while Hex focuses on interactive notebooks mixing SQL and Python. If you need productionready queries and Git workflows, Galaxy wins; for exploratory data science, Hex may feel more natural.
DBeaver Ultimate and Outerbase offer generous free tiers, but Galaxys free singleplayer plan with limited AI gives solo developers premium ergonomics without cost.
Galaxy matches ReportQLs ease of exploration while adding a native app, AIassisted SQL generation, and secure sharing. Teams migrate smoothly, gain speed, and eliminate scattered SQL pasted across Slack and Notion.
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