# dbdiagram.io review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> Draw database ER diagrams by writing DBML code

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

dbdiagram.io turns text written in DBML, an open schema language, into entity-relationship diagrams as you type. It can import and export SQL, publish schema documentation through its sister product dbdocs, and map data lineage. It is aimed at developers and data analysts.

- **Category:** Whiteboards & Mind Maps
- **Made by:** Holistics Software
- **Website:** https://dbdiagram.io
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a whiteboard with sticky notes or freehand drawing.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, dbdiagram.io has a free plan, and paid plans start at $8 per month, billed monthly (annual billing saves up to 42%).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Up to 10 diagrams and doc projects, a single editor, SQL import and export, and PDF, PNG and SVG export.
- **Free trial:** 7-day free trial of the Team plan.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | $0 | Up to 10 diagrams and doc projects, unlimited viewers, one editor, public sharing and embeds. |
| Personal Pro | $8 per month for 1 editor, billed monthly | Unlimited diagrams, version history, private and password-protected sharing, limited collaboration. |
| Team | $75 per month for 3 editors, billed monthly | Everything in Personal Pro plus a collaborative workspace and unified billing; extra editors are $5 a month. |
| Custom Plan | Custom | 10 editors, SAML SSO, procurement review and custom payment terms; sold through sales. |

Read from https://dbdiagram.io/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with dbdiagram.io before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Save up to 42% with annual billing** (Annual discount): The pricing page has an annual billing toggle labelled as saving up to 42% compared with monthly billing. Source: https://dbdiagram.io/pricing
- **Free Personal Pro for education** (Education): Students, teachers and researchers get Personal Pro free for 12 months, renewable while they are still at an institution. Source: https://dbdiagram.io/pricing

## Key features

- **Diagrams from DBML:** Typing DBML produces an ER diagram as you write, so a schema is kept as text that can live in version control.
- **SQL import and export:** A schema can be imported from a database or SQL script and exported as SQL, PDF, PNG or SVG.
- **Published documentation:** dbdocs publishes a schema as a browsable web reference, with a schema changelog of 14 days on the free plan.
- **Data lineage:** Pipelines can be declared in DBML to show how one table is built from another, at table or column level.
- **AI assistant (beta):** Prompts generate and edit diagrams; usage is capped on Personal Pro and Team, and the plan table shows it as unlimited on Custom.
- **CLI and CI/CD:** A command-line tool lets a diagram or doc project be updated from a CI/CD pipeline.

## Good for

- Developers who prefer writing a schema as code over dragging boxes
- Teams documenting a database for new colleagues
- Students and researchers, who can get Personal Pro free

## Worth knowing

- This is a database diagramming tool, not a general whiteboard with sticky notes or freehand drawing.
- The free plan allows a single editor and 10 diagrams; version history needs a paid plan.
- The Team plan includes 3 editors, and each extra editor costs $5 a month.
- Annual prices were not shown in the page text; the figures here are the monthly-billing ones.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. dbdiagram.io draws an ER diagram as you type DBML, a text schema language, and it imports and exports SQL. The free plan stops at 10 diagrams and one editor, version history and private sharing need Personal Pro at $8 a month, and it only draws database schemas, so it won't stand in for a general whiteboard.

- **Value for money: C.** Personal Pro is $8 a month billed monthly, close to the $8.25 middle for whiteboard tools. Team is $75 a month for 3 editors, and extra editors are $5 each.
- **Free plan and trial: B.** Free covers 10 diagrams and doc projects, SQL import and export, and PDF, PNG and SVG export. One editor only, though, and version history is paid.
- **Features: C.** Does the one job of database diagrams fully: DBML, SQL in and out, published docs, a CLI. It is a smaller job than a whiteboard, and the listing says it has no sticky notes or freehand drawing.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. It is a web app where you have to learn DBML before you get a diagram.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web only, with dbdocs, a CLI and CI/CD hooks, plus Holistics. No desktop or phone app.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from dbdiagram.io's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among whiteboard and mind map tools

- dbdiagram.io's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 43 of the 98 other whiteboard and mind map tools we grade, and level with 14.
- It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 71 of 98) and worst on features (C, above 0).
- Its paid plans start at $8 a month, against a middle price of $8 for the category: 34 of the 69 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 14 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/whiteboards

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** Nothing dbdiagram.io does is plain enough to make in a weekend. The 3 things listed below take a company. It costs $96 a year.

- You could not: A diagram editor.
- You could not: It plugs into other products, dbdocs and Holistics among them, and has an API.
- You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

dbdocs, Holistics

**Tags:** Diagrams, Public API, AI features

## Alternatives

- [DrawSQL](https://toolgpa.com/tools/drawsql): Browser-based database schema diagrams for dev teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dbdiagram-io-vs-drawsql)
- [PlantUML](https://toolgpa.com/tools/plantuml): Draw UML and other diagrams from plain-text descriptions. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dbdiagram-io-vs-plantuml)
- [Eraser](https://toolgpa.com/tools/eraser): AI diagramming and docs canvas for engineering teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dbdiagram-io-vs-eraser)
- [Mermaid](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mermaid): Text-based diagramming platform with AI and a visual editor. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dbdiagram-io-vs-mermaid)
- [Structurizr](https://toolgpa.com/tools/structurizr): Open-source models-as-code tool for C4 architecture diagrams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dbdiagram-io-vs-structurizr)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026:

- https://dbdiagram.io/pricing

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/dbdiagram-io
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).