| Feature | pgquery | pgweb | DbGate | pgAdmin 4 | CloudBeaver CE | Adminer | Supabase Studio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted as | One Go container | One Go binary or container | Node.js server (container or npm); also desktop | Python web app | Java web app | One PHP file | Part of the Supabase stack |
| Databases | PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL | Many (some Premium) | PostgreSQL | Many | Many | PostgreSQL |
| Own login and user accounts | NoPut it behind a VPN or auth proxy | PartlyHTTP basic auth | Yes | Yes | Yes | PartlyDatabase login only | PartlyBasic auth when self-hosted |
| SSH tunnel | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| SQL editor with autocomplete | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | PartlyPlain text area | Yes |
| Edit table rows | YesRuns directly | NoWrite the UPDATE yourself | YesPreviews the SQL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ER diagram | YesExports SVG / PNG | No | Yes | Yes | PartlyDepends on edition | PartlyBasic schema view | Yes |
| Visual EXPLAIN | YesTree with time share | PartlyEXPLAIN as text | Not in its feature list | Yes | Yes | PartlyEXPLAIN as a table | Yes |
| Row Level Security editor | Yes | No | Not in its feature list | Yes | NoWrite the SQL | No | Yes |
| Performance and security advisors | Yes | PartlyActivity and settings views | No | PartlyActivity dashboards | No | No | YesMore checks than pgquery |
| Backup and restore | NoUse pg_dump | Partlypg_dump export, no restore | PartlyImport / export, NDJSON archives | Yes | PartlyData export | PartlySQL export / import | PartlyPlatform backups |
| Import CSV | No | No | YesAlso Excel, JSON, XML | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Schema compare / diff | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| PL/pgSQL debugger | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Previews SQL for schema changes | YesEvery schema form | NoNo schema forms | YesAlso for row edits | YesSQL tab in dialogs | Partly | Partly | Partly |
| License | MIT | MIT | GPL-3.0 (paid Premium) | PostgreSQL License | Apache 2.0 | Apache 2.0 or GPL 2 | Apache 2.0 |
| Maturity | New (2026), one maintainer | 10+ years, small team | Very active, company-backed | 10+ years, PostgreSQL community | Mature, backed by DBeaver | Mature, slow-moving | Large company, very active |
Where pgquery wins
- More than a query explorer: RLS policies, roles, indexes, functions, triggers, extensions and settings, which pgweb doesn’t cover.
- Postgres-specific depth DbGate doesn’t focus on: Row Level Security, performance and security advisors, pg_stat_statements.
- EXPLAIN ANALYZE as a tree that points at the slowest node and flags bad row estimates.
- Small and stateless: one container with a Go binary, nothing stored on the server.
- Schema changes made through forms (CREATE, ALTER, GRANT, policies) are shown as SQL first, and you run them yourself.
Where pgquery loses
- No SSH tunnels. pgweb, DbGate, pgAdmin and CloudBeaver connect through a bastion host where pgquery cannot.
- No login of its own. pgweb has basic auth, DbGate, pgAdmin and CloudBeaver have accounts; pgquery needs a VPN or an auth proxy.
- PostgreSQL only. DbGate, CloudBeaver and Adminer also speak MySQL, SQLite, SQL Server and more.
- No backup / restore, CSV import or schema diff. DbGate and pgAdmin have them, and DbGate previews even row edits as SQL.
- Not a single binary: pgweb runs without Docker on Mac, Linux and Windows.
- It is young. pgweb and pgAdmin have more than ten years of bug reports behind them.
Which one to pick
- pgquery
- You want a fast, modern Postgres GUI you can run anywhere in one command, and you will put it behind your own access control.
- pgweb
- You want a lean, proven query explorer as a single binary, with SSH tunnels and no Docker.
- DbGate
- You work with several databases and want a full-featured manager: import / export, schema compare, query designer.
- pgAdmin 4
- You need the most complete PostgreSQL administration: backups, debugging, schema diff, many servers, user accounts.
- CloudBeaver
- Your team works with several database engines and wants one web tool with logins for all of them.
- Adminer
- You need something tiny on a PHP server for occasional edits, across database types.
- Supabase Studio
- You run on Supabase. It is the best-integrated choice there, with auth, storage and functions alongside the database.
Desktop apps are a separate category: see pgquery vs DBeaver.