DataGrip
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 12 database clients
Recommended for SQL work across most databases, with inline query results. Critics most often say it is heavy, slow and memory-hungry.
Recommended for SQL work across most databases, with inline query results. Critics most often say it is heavy, slow and memory-hungry.
40 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 27
- criticize it
- 13
- approval share
- 68%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 27 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Works with most common databases
“I really like datagrip when working with SQL. It works on most common databases, and allows for inline query results”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “No More JetBrains Products for Me” “it allows me to work with every database type imaginable in one place”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “A History of IDEs at Google” Better than other database clients
“I still haven't found a database client that I like better than Datagrip”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Anthropic silently downgraded cache TTL from 1h → 5M on March 6th” “nothing comes close to their database tool. Works so well.”
Comment from 24 Oct 2026 in “ThinkRail from JetBrains” Inline query results and heatmaps
“I really like datagrip when working with SQL. It works on most common databases, and allows for inline query results”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “No More JetBrains Products for Me” “lets you apply heatmap colors to dataframes and database tables”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Your hex editor should color-code bytes” Stays useful to long-term users
“Then there is the DataGrip stuff, I use it all the time.”
Comment from 24 Oct 2026 in “ThinkRail from JetBrains” “I still very much love DataGrip”
Comment from 24 Oct 2026 in “ThinkRail from JetBrains” “I'm still happy with DataGrip”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “No More JetBrains Products for Me”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Heavy on memory and resources
“it big, slow, memory-hungry, and presents an unfamiliar paradigm to me”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “PgAdmin 4 9.13 with AI Assistant Panel” “it became unbearable slow and started crashing due to memory”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “No More JetBrains Products for Me” “heavy enterprise desktop apps (like DataGrip/Workbench)”
Comment from 19 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: Visual Database Schema Designer (Angular 21 and .NET 10)” - Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: TablePro – open-source native database client for macOS”
- Comment from 18 May 2026 in “No More JetBrains Products for Me”
- Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “SQL Studio”
Slow performance
“it became unbearable slow and started crashing due to memory”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “No More JetBrains Products for Me” “Their products are really, really slow.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “No More JetBrains Products for Me” “DataGrip (which is really slow)”
Comment from 8 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: What are tools you have made for yourself since the advent of AI” Feels outdated and unfamiliar
“it big, slow, memory-hungry, and presents an unfamiliar paradigm to me”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “PgAdmin 4 9.13 with AI Assistant Panel” “now they all feel outdated and unnecessary”
Comment from 25 Oct 2026 in “JetBrains Thinkrail”
Other database clients people recommend
The four most recommended other database clients, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 12 database clients, rankedWhat people said
35 of the 42 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I have been using DataGrip in the past, it is heavy.”
“now they all feel outdated and unnecessary”
“nothing comes close to their database tool. Works so well.”
“I still very much love DataGrip”
“Then there is the DataGrip stuff, I use it all the time.”
“As a very heavy user of IDEA, DataGrip and PyCharm, I still appreciate the level of power and flexibility JetBrains offer”
“DataGrip is going to be hard to replace, but don't need anything more than the current version”
“I only use their DataGrip product. Compared to the competition they are iterating at lightspeed.”
“I agree on DataGrip and use its MCP weekly.”
“I like a completely separate tool for managing databases.”
“you don't need DataGrip if you already have Rider”
“DataGrip is seriously under-rated, IMO.”
“I've had two emails saying that they have cancelled their Jetbrains subscription for DataGrip”
“Try using Jetbrains Datagrip or the DB integration in Idea”
“very mature, but also completely indifferent to what you’re actually trying to do”
“DataGrip (which is really slow)”
“I really like datagrip when working with SQL. It works on most common databases, and allows for inline query results”
“I'm still happy with DataGrip”
“2-3GB of RAM for a sql runner is ridiculous”
“it became unbearable slow and started crashing due to memory”
“Their products are really, really slow.”
“it allows me to work with every database type imaginable in one place”
“lets you apply heatmap colors to dataframes and database tables”
“it is absolute dogshit when it comes to agentic coding”
“I still haven't found a database client that I like better than Datagrip”
“It's so convenient to just open Datagrip and have a look at all my PostgreSQL instances”
“it big, slow, memory-hungry, and presents an unfamiliar paradigm to me”
“heavy enterprise desktop apps (like DataGrip/Workbench)”
“it's a massive resource hog”
“JetBrains' excellent DataGrip IDE is free for non-commercial use”
“It was one of the things that brought me to DataGrid in the first place”
“they generally work very well for me at my day job and open source side projects”
“I go out of my way to personally pay for PyCharm Professional, DataGrip, Rider, and others”
“the only thing I'll miss is DataGrip since Zed is a code editor not a DB editor”
“I love Datagrip, but no free version.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.