Atlas by Ariga is a schema-as-code tool supporting 15+ databases. PgDesigner is a visual PostgreSQL-specialized designer. They solve the same problem — schema management — with fundamentally different approaches.

Feature comparison

Feature	PgDesigner	Atlas CE	Atlas Pro
Visual ERD editor	Yes	No (CLI only)	Read-only ERD in Atlas Cloud
Database focus	PostgreSQL only	PG, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite	15+ databases
Schema format	.pgd XML (visual)	HCL / SQL	HCL / SQL / ORM
Diff/ALTER engine	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hazard detection	10 hazard codes	No (`migrate lint` not in CE)	Migration linting, incl. PG lock/rewrite checks
Schema lint rules	69 (15 autofix)	No	Policy & governance
Sample data generator	Yes (30+ heuristics)	No	Seed data (v1.1+)
Security as Code (RLS)	DDL generation	No	Yes (v1.1+)
CI/CD integration	CLI + scripts	CLI	Native (GitHub, GitLab)
Drift detection	No	No	Yes
Schema monitoring	No	No	Yes

Pricing: free vs recurring

	PgDesigner	Atlas
Individual	Free (Apache-2.0)	$9/dev/mo
CI/CD	Included	$59/project/mo
Per database	Included	$39/DB/mo beyond 2 per project
Team of 5, 1yr	$0	$540+/yr minimum
Free tier	Everything, Apache-2.0	Starter (limited)

Different philosophies

Atlas is code-first: define schema in HCL or SQL, run CLI, integrate with CI/CD pipelines. It's a DevOps tool — great for teams that manage schemas alongside infrastructure-as-code (Terraform-like workflow).

PgDesigner is visual-first: design in browser UI, see ERD diagrams, click to generate SQL. It's a designer's tool — great for teams that review schemas visually and want to see the ERD before writing migrations.

Where Atlas is stronger

Multi-database — 15+ databases including MySQL, SQL Server, ClickHouse, Snowflake, Oracle
Native CI/CD — GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Terraform provider built-in
Schema monitoring — drift detection, audit trails, change history (Pro)
Security as Code — roles, permissions, RLS policies as version-controlled code (Pro, v1.1+)
ORM integration — 16 ORM loaders across 6 languages (GORM, Ent, Django, SQLAlchemy...)
Atlas Copilot — AI assistance for schema design (Pro)
Enterprise features — SSO, air-gapped deployment, audit log forwarding

Where PgDesigner is stronger

Visual ERD — interactive canvas, auto-layout, minimap. Atlas renders read-only ERDs in its cloud, but has no visual editor
Price — free and open source (Apache-2.0) vs $9/dev/mo + $59/CI/mo + $39/DB/mo. For a team of 5 with 1 CI project: $0 vs $1,248/yr ($540 for seats + $708 for CI)
69 lint rules and hazard codes — structural errors, best practices, antipatterns, risky ALTERs. All in the open-source build. In Atlas, migration linting is a Pro feature; Community Edition has none
Sample data generator — FK-aware, 30+ heuristics, seeded. Atlas has no equivalent in CE
PostgreSQL depth — 70+ types, partitions, temporal, IDENTITY, domains. Atlas abstracts PG behind multi-DB HCL
Import from legacy tools — MicroOLAP .pdd, DbSchema .dbs, Toad .dm2
No vendor lock-in — .pgd is XML, readable by any text editor. No cloud account required

Honest assessment

Atlas is a more comprehensive platform — CI/CD, monitoring, drift detection, multi-database. If you manage schemas across multiple database engines with a DevOps workflow, Atlas Pro is hard to beat. PgDesigner is a focused PostgreSQL tool — visual design, deep linting, sample data — free and open source. If PostgreSQL is your only database and you want a visual workflow with no license costs, PgDesigner is the better fit.

PgDesigner vs Atlas