Honest Comparison

QueryGlow vs Drizzle Studio

Drizzle Gateway — the free, self-hosted edition of Drizzle Studio — is a great way to run a database UI in your browser. QueryGlow is a dedicated self-hosted database GUI — a full SQL editor with AI, a visual EXPLAIN plan and production-grade security, across six engines.

Try Live DemoGet QueryGlow – $79 Lifetime

Two good tools, built for different jobs

They overlap — but they are not the same tool. Here is the honest version.

Drizzle Studio / Gateway

Free, self-hosted data UI

Drizzle Studio is a polished database UI; Drizzle Gateway is its free, self-hosted, browser-based edition that you deploy on your own infrastructure to browse, edit and query PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite. It is free and genuinely good — Drizzle helped prove database tools can be beautiful.

Two ways to run it: the classic npx drizzle-kit studio command starts Studio locally on localhost as part of a Drizzle ORM project, while Drizzle Gateway runs as its own self-hosted service — no ORM setup required, just a connection string.

QueryGlow

Self-hosted database GUI

QueryGlow is a dedicated database GUI you self-host with Docker and open in a browser. It pairs a full SQL editor and AI text-to-SQL with a visual EXPLAIN plan for tuning queries, 9 layers of self-host security, and support for six engines — built for daily query, edit and admin work that stays on your own infrastructure.

What QueryGlow brings to the table

Everything below is built into QueryGlow today.

A full SQL editor

A Monaco editor (the VS Code engine) with schema-aware autocomplete for tables and columns, and Ctrl+Enter to run.

AI text-to-SQL, schema-only

Describe a query in plain English and QueryGlow drafts the SQL. Bring your own OpenAI, Claude or Gemini key — and only your schema is ever sent, never a row of data.

A visual EXPLAIN plan

A visual EXPLAIN/ANALYZE plan tree that flags sequential scans and missing indexes — with concrete CREATE INDEX suggestions.

9-layer self-host security

Encrypted credentials (AES-256-GCM), built-in SSH tunnels, Safe Mode that blocks destructive queries, and Basic Auth — built for self-hosting in production.

Six database engines

PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, CockroachDB and TimescaleDB — one self-hosted interface for all of them.

Full data admin

Inline cell editing, CSV import and export, saved queries, and persistent query history — the everyday database chores in one place.

QueryGlow vs Drizzle Studio at a Glance

Price

Drizzle Studio / Gateway

Free (Studio CLI & Gateway)

QueryGlow

$79 once — unlimited users & servers

How it runs

Drizzle Studio / Gateway

npx drizzle-kit studio (localhost) or self-hosted Gateway

QueryGlow

Self-hosted with Docker, opens in your browser

AI text-to-SQL

Drizzle Studio / Gateway

—

QueryGlow

Bring your own key — schema-only, never your data

Visual EXPLAIN plan

Drizzle Studio / Gateway

—

QueryGlow

Flags seq scans & missing indexes

Safe Mode

Drizzle Studio / Gateway

—

QueryGlow

Blocks destructive queries

SSH tunnels

Drizzle Studio / Gateway

—

QueryGlow

Built in

Database engines

Drizzle Studio / Gateway

PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite

QueryGlow

PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, CockroachDB, TimescaleDB

Drizzle Studio / Gateway feature status as of June 2026 — see the official Drizzle docs for the latest.

Which one fits you?

Drizzle Gateway is a great fit if…

  • You want a free, self-hosted browser for your data
  • You work mainly with PostgreSQL, MySQL or SQLite
  • Browsing, editing and running SQL cover what you need

Consider QueryGlow if you want…

  • You want a visual EXPLAIN plan to find and fix slow queries
  • You want AI that drafts SQL while only ever seeing your schema
  • You want one GUI across six engines, including MariaDB, CockroachDB and TimescaleDB
  • You want a hardened self-hosted deployment — SSH tunnels, Safe Mode, encrypted credentials

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Drizzle Studio require Drizzle ORM?
Drizzle Gateway — the free, self-hosted edition of Drizzle Studio — is a browser-based database UI you deploy on your own infrastructure, distinct from the older drizzle-kit studio CLI. QueryGlow is also standalone: you connect with standard database credentials, no ORM involved.
Is Drizzle Studio / Drizzle Gateway free?
Yes, both are free. The classic drizzle-kit studio runs locally from the CLI (npx drizzle-kit studio) and serves on localhost; Drizzle Gateway is the self-hosted, browser-based edition you deploy on your own server. QueryGlow is a one-time $79 license — unlimited users and servers, full source code.
Can QueryGlow work alongside Drizzle?
Yes. QueryGlow connects directly to your database, independent of Drizzle. You can use Drizzle ORM for your application code and QueryGlow for day-to-day database work — they do not conflict.
How is QueryGlow different from Drizzle Gateway?
Both are self-hosted, browser-based database UIs. QueryGlow is a full database workbench: a SQL editor with AI text-to-SQL (your own key, schema-only), a visual EXPLAIN plan that flags slow queries and missing indexes, 9-layer self-host security (SSH tunnels, Safe Mode, AES-256-GCM), and support for six engines including MariaDB, CockroachDB and TimescaleDB.
Does QueryGlow have a Safe Mode?
Yes. Safe Mode stops destructive queries before they execute — something neither drizzle-kit studio nor Drizzle Gateway focuses on. It is one of QueryGlow’s 9 self-host security layers, next to AES-256-GCM credential encryption, built-in SSH tunnels and Basic Auth.
Can QueryGlow connect through SSH tunnels?
Yes. QueryGlow ships with built-in SSH tunnels, so you can reach databases that are not exposed publicly — together with Safe Mode and AES-256-GCM credential encryption, made for running production databases on your own infrastructure.

A self-hosted database GUI, end to end

Full SQL editor, AI text-to-SQL, a visual EXPLAIN plan and 9-layer security. $79 once, on your own infrastructure.

Try Live DemoGet QueryGlow – $79 Lifetime

Try the demo first. No signup, no credit card.

Compare QueryGlow with Others

See how we stack up against the alternatives.

Prefer to skip installs entirely? QueryGlow also runs as a web-based SQL client — access any database from your browser.

← Back to Homepage

Related comparisons