Managing MariaDB databases is hard as it is. You have many things to consider and take care of - availability, performance, and security are always top of mind. What’s also top of mind is the environment you work in: good SQL clients will support your mission by giving you tools of the trade to complete your work and help your database with the areas outlined above as well as crafting SQL queries, visualizing data, and so forth. So what SQL client should you choose for MariaDB in 2025? Read on and find out.
Why Choose a MariaDB Client in 2025?
Before telling you all about MariaDB clients in 2025, we’ll let you in on a couple of secrets. First of all, why would you even choose to work with a MariaDB client in 2025?
Having a database client assisting you in your database operations is invaluable firstly because SQL clients are built upon the expertise of engineers having years (sometimes even decades) of experience in the field. Those engineers know how issues arise and how to fix them and so, they put all of their expertise into a solution which is then packed into a database client.
When it comes to database clients that are specific to one database management system, you will find them coming with the DBMS in question: PostgreSQL has pgAdmin, MySQL has phpMyAdmin, while database clients usually support tens or at least a couple of different database management systems and solutions, and as such, there are a couple of solutions you can lay your eyeballs on. Not all of them are the same and not all of them solve the same problems, but we can bet that with SQL clients you will have fewer database-related problems than without them.
What are Some of the Best MariaDB Clients in 2025?
With that being said, what are some of the best MariaDB clients in 2025? We’ve evaluated the most popular options and came up with a list.
DbVisualizer
We couldn’t not include DbVisualizer in this list, could we? DbVisualizer is the best-rated SQL client in the world and that’s not without a reason.It supports over 50 data sources, comes with an SQL editor, lets you edit your data inline as if it were a spreadsheet, lets you export your data in a variety of formats, and comes with a variety of other features. The reason it’s so highly regarded in the database community has to do with its features as well: DbVisualizer can maintain multiple SQL scripts in one place, it supports multiple simultaneous database connections, and is reliable, lightweight, and easy to use.
As you can see, DbVisualizer can even automatically commit (save the results of) your queries if you allow it to. Cool, right?
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phpMyAdmin
Another MariaDB client of choice would, of course, be phpMyAdmin. While primarily meant for the installations of MySQL (hence the “My” in its name), phpMyAdmin can also be perused with MariaDB if we just select “MariaDB” in the dropdown before logging in to the client:
Most of you will already know your way around phpMyAdmin: on the most basic level, the tool looks like so:
As you can see, the tool displays databases and the tables within them on the left-hand side, while the rest of the tool is dedicated to working with the tables in the database in question. The tool also has a neat SQL client, the ability to import or export data, work with privileges, set up routines or events, and perform operations on data (alter, move tables, etc.) What’s really nice of phpMyAdmin is that once you run SQL queries within the tool, you automatically see the available columns within a table on the right-hand side as well:
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MySQL Workbench
While primarily touted as a tool for MySQL database administrators, MySQL Workbench can connect to MariaDB-based databases as well. Apart from connecting, MySQL Workbench can help us with a variety of things including, but not limited to designing database schemas, administering MariaDB instances, or even crafting SQL queries that look nice even to an untrained eye.
MySQL Workbench Connected to a MariaDB Instance. Source: ClearLinux
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DBeaver
The next one on the list would be DBeaver. DBeaver offers two versions of its tool for use to developers and DBAs: there’s the open-source free community version and then the regular, paid, version of the tool. DBeaver is able to connect to a variety of data sources, though not all databases may be supported in the community (free) edition of the tool, and has a other restrictions if you elect to use the free version of the software. For the complete list of databases supported by DBeaver, please head over to the documentation of DBeaver, then head over to Databases Support on the left-hand side.
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DbSchema
Next up, we have DbSchema. As usual, DbSchema comes with a visual data editor, SQL client, CLI features, but it also has some features unique to itself, those being related to the ability to draw lines pointing to columns, the ability to create foreign keys by dragging and dropping one column over a column with a primary key, and a set of others. Similarly to DBeaver, DbSchema also comes with a free community edition as well as a professional (pro) edition available for a monthly fee.
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DbGate
Last but not least, we also have DbGate. It is not a client exclusive to MariaDB per se (it supports many database management systems), but it’s known for dubbing itself “The smartest SQL & NoSQL database manager.” Its internal structure may seem a little complex for those not familiar with database clients (see below), but it does its job well.
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Summary
This blog has walked you through some of the best MariaDB clients in 2025. There are indeed many choices you can make, but we’ve outlined a couple:
| SQL Client Title | Description |
|---|---|
| DbVisualizer | A versatile database management tool & SQL client facilitating the work with 50+ data sources. |
| DBeaver | Offering a free license and a variety of features of interest to both developers and DBAs, DBeaver is a fit for both beginners & professional database administrators. |
| DbSchema | Another versatile database tool supporting more than 70 data sources. DbSchema is also able to craft database designs for us if we so desire. |
| phpMyAdmin | A free software tool written in PHP allowing us to manage MariaDB & MySQL installations. With a variety of tools at its disposal (SQL client, data export & import capabilities, the ability to set up triggers & more) phpMyAdmin is a tool that’s loved by many. |
| DbGate | DbGate is a database client dubbing itself to be “The smartest SQL & NoSQL database manager.” While its UI may be overwhelming to some, it’s safe to say that it is also a good choice both for beginners and advanced database administrators alike. |
| MySQL Workbench | MySQL Workbench provides a variety of database administration tools helping us administer, configure, backup, and secure our MySQL or MariaDB database servers and while it is primarily a tool for MySQL database administration, MySQL Workbench can be easily set to work with MariaDB too. As it is a rather gigantic tool though, it may have a learning curve. |
Regardless if those tools come with a learning curve or not though, we’re confident that neither of them should let you down if you use them properly. Give them a whirl and we’ll see you in the next blog!
FAQ
What MariaDB Client Do I Choose?
There’s no specific “good” or “bad” choice here. Weigh your requirements against what each of the tools can do and make an appropriate choice.
Can I Try MariaDB Clients for Free Before Making a Purchase?
Yes: many of the MariaDB clients in the list, including DbVisualizer, allow you to try them for free for a period of time before you have to make a decision whether to pay for them or not.
Where Can I Learn More About MariaDB or MySQL?
To learn more about MariaDB, we recommend attending seminars, conferences, and workshops, as well as staying updated by reading blogs such as TheTable. Reading books is also a good place to start - Hacking MySQL: Breaking, Optimizing, and Securing MySQL for Your Use Case by Lukas Vileikis should put you and your databases on the right track.
