pgAdmin vs DBeaver
These are the two default answers to 'what should I use with PostgreSQL', and they are not really competing for the same job. One is the official administration tool for a single database. The other is a universal IDE for eighty of them. Both are free.
Short answer: Use pgAdmin if PostgreSQL is your only database and you administer it: roles, tablespaces, configuration, and monitoring are its purpose and DBeaver covers them only partly. Use DBeaver if you connect to other engines as well, or if you want a native desktop app rather than a browser. Many teams install both, which is a reasonable outcome rather than an indecisive one.
Written by the PgDeck team. We make a PostgreSQL client, so we have a stake in this — the comparison below is about the two tools in the title, and where we fit is set out at the end.
The differences that change which tool you should install, rather than the ones that only lengthen a feature list.
| pgAdmin 4 | DBeaver CE | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, open source | Free, open source |
| Databases supported | PostgreSQL only | 80+ engines |
| Runs as | Web app in a browser | Desktop app on Java |
| Roles, privileges, tablespaces | Yes | Partial |
| Server configuration editing | Yes | No |
| Server activity dashboard | Yes | No |
| Backup and restore UI | Yes | Yes |
| ERD relationship diagram | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-engine data transfer | No | Yes |
| Mock data and advanced tooling | No | Partial |
| Requires a Java runtime | No | Yes |
| Where credentials are stored | Server-side config | Local, on your machine |
Compared September 2026 against pgAdmin 4 and DBeaver Community Edition. DBeaver PRO adds paid features not assessed here. Neither project is affiliated with PgDeck, who wrote this page.
Do you connect to any database that is not PostgreSQL? If yes, DBeaver, because pgAdmin will never do it and running two tools to cover two engines is worse than running one that covers both. If no, the question becomes whether you administer the server or query it, and that is what the rest of this page is about.
Roles and privileges with a real editor, tablespaces, editing postgresql.conf parameters from the UI, the activity and session dashboard showing what is running and what is blocking, and a full backup and restore interface. DBeaver can see much of this and can run the SQL, but it does not present it as a managed surface. If your job title includes the word database, this section decides it for you.
Eighty-plus engines through a plugin architecture, and more importantly the tooling that spans them: data transfer between different databases, schema comparison, and a consistent interface whether you are in PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Oracle. For a team whose stack accumulated engines over a decade, this is not a nice-to-have, it is the entire reason the tool exists.
pgAdmin is slow in a specific way: it is a web application, so panels reload, tab state is fragile, and large result sets feel heavier than the query behind them. DBeaver is slow in a different way: it starts a Java runtime and the Eclipse platform before it shows you anything, and memory use grows with open connections. Neither is a bug and neither can be configured away — they are consequences of how each tool is built.
DBeaver stores connection details locally on your machine. pgAdmin stores them in its own configuration wherever it is deployed, which is fine on a laptop and becomes a shared-secret problem the moment someone hosts it for a team. If you are considering a shared pgAdmin deployment for production databases, that is a security decision, not a convenience one.
These tools are clients. Neither installs anything into PostgreSQL and neither conflicts with the other, so the cost of having both is disk space. A common working setup is pgAdmin open when administering the cluster and something else open for daily querying. If you are stuck choosing, notice that you may not have to.
More on choosing, comparing, and running a PostgreSQL desktop client.
pgAdmin is better if PostgreSQL is your only database and you administer it — roles, tablespaces, server configuration, and the activity dashboard have no real equivalent in DBeaver. DBeaver is better if you also use other engines, or if you want a native desktop application instead of a browser-based one.
Yes. pgAdmin is free and open source with no paid tier. DBeaver Community Edition is free and open source; DBeaver PRO is a separate paid product. Cost is not a useful way to choose between them.
They are slow in different places. pgAdmin is a web application, so navigation and large result sets carry browser overhead. DBeaver starts a Java runtime and the Eclipse platform, so start-up is slower and memory use is higher, but interaction afterwards is native-app quick.
Not for administration. DBeaver can run any SQL you write, including DDL for roles and grants, but it does not offer pgAdmin's managed interfaces for privileges, tablespaces, server configuration, or session monitoring. For querying and data work it replaces pgAdmin entirely.
Yes. Both are clients that connect over the standard PostgreSQL protocol and neither installs anything into the database. Running them side by side is common and costs nothing beyond disk space.
PgDeck is not affiliated with pgAdmin, DBeaver, TablePlus, DataGrip, Beekeeper Studio, or their respective owners. All product names, trademarks, and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. Comparisons describe each tool as we understand it at the date noted on the table; if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.