DataGrip is a full SQL IDE. SQL Gnome is a focused MySQL client. They're solving different problems — here's how to know which one is yours.
Try SQL Gnome Free →A direct comparison — including where DataGrip's IDE power genuinely earns its price.
| Feature | SQL Gnome | DataGrip |
|---|---|---|
| Platform & Architecture | ||
| Native macOS appNot JVM, not Electron | ✓ | ✗ JVM / IntelliJ platform |
| Lightweight & fast startup | ✓ | ✗ heavy IDE startup time |
| macOS look, feel & conventions | ✓ | cross-platform UI |
| Windows / Linux support | ✗ | ✓ |
| MySQL-only focus | ✓ | ✗ generalist IDE |
| Supports 20+ databases | ✗ | ✓ |
| Connections | ||
| SSH tunnel support | ✓ | ✓ |
| TLS support | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS Keychain for passwords | ✓ | ✗ |
| Favorite databases per connection | ✓ | ✗ |
| Color-tag & group connections | ✓ | color labels only |
| Legacy MySQL 5.5+ compatibility | ✓ | driver-dependent |
| Auto-retry idle connections | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table Content & Editing | ||
| Row browsing with paging & sorting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Filter builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Save & reuse table filters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Native date / time pickers in row editor | ✓ | ✗ |
| BLOB / binary placeholders | ✓ | inline preview |
| Copy rows as JSON / INSERT | ✓ | ✓ |
| Query Editor | ||
| Multiple query tabs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-statement script execution | ✓ | ✓ |
| Autocomplete | ✓ | ✓ best-in-class |
| Query refactoring & inspections | ✗ | ✓ |
| Git integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Query history | ✓ | ✓ |
| Saved query library | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto safety LIMIT on bare SELECTs | ✓ | ✗ |
| AI SQL assistant | ✗ | ✓ (AI Free / Pro tiers) |
| Export results as CSV / JSON / INSERT | ✓ | ✓ |
| Safety | ||
| Per-connection production safeguards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Row-count preflight for UPDATE / DELETE | ✓ | ✗ |
| Warn on DROP / TRUNCATE / WHERE-less deletes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Import & Export | ||
| CSV import with preview & duplicate handling | ✓ | ✓ |
| SQL / table dump export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing | ||
| Free to try | 14-day trial, full features | 30-day trial · free for non-commercial use |
| Paid price | $79 once | $109/yr individual |
| Annual renewal required | ✗ never | ✓ yes |
| Perpetual fallback license | ✓ own it forever | last version at expiry only |
Over 3 years, individual licenses.
| License (forever) | $59 |
| Year 2 renewal | $0 |
| Year 3 renewal | $0 |
| 3-year total | $59 |
| Year 1 (Individual) | $109 |
| Year 2 (10% loyalty discount) | ~$98 |
| Year 3 (20% loyalty discount) | ~$87 |
| 3-year total | ~$294 |
DataGrip is worth every dollar if SQL is your craft across many databases. The refactoring tools, deep code analysis, and multi-database support are genuinely powerful. JetBrains all-products subscription makes it even more compelling if you're already in their ecosystem.
If you're a Mac developer who mostly needs MySQL done well — fast, safe, and native — SQL Gnome is the sharper tool at a fraction of the ongoing cost. No JVM. No 10-second startup. No annual renewal just to open a query tab.
DataGrip is a serious tool for serious SQL work. But if MySQL is what you actually use, you don't need an IDE — you need a client that's fast, native, and doesn't charge you every January.
Download free for 14 days →