6 free alternatives to drawDB

DB Designer's free Starter plan gives you access to 2 database models and 10 tables per model, and it keeps the full editor feature set available, including collaboration, reverse engineering, forward engineering, templates, exports, validation, and revision history. That makes it a strong free choice when you want a browser-based schema editor that still supports team workflows and the usual diagramming extras. It is more limited than drawDB on raw local capacity, but it goes further on shared editing and model management. If you want a free online ER tool with more collaboration and workflow features, this is the closest fit.

• Beats drawDB: Collaboration and shared-workflow features
• Falls short: Unlimited local diagrams with no account required
• Who should switch: Switch here if you want a browser-based schema tool with team features and can live within small free model limits.

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ToDiagram's free tier lets you create and edit diagrams, store and share up to 10 diagrams, export to PNG and JPEG, and use API and MCP access. It is aimed at teams working with structured data and schema-like content, so it can be a useful free workspace when you want something more than simple static drawing. Compared with drawDB, it is weaker on database-specific export breadth and local-unlimited use, but it offers a clearer shared workspace model and developer-oriented access. If your diagrams need to be stored and shared online rather than kept purely local, this is worth a look.

• Beats drawDB: Cloud storage and sharing
• Falls short: SQL-focused import and export formats
• Who should switch: Switch here if you care more about sharing diagrams in a hosted workspace than about database-specific export formats.

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Gleek's free plan includes the full set of basic diagramming features, with up to 5 diagram files, up to 40 diagram objects per file, PNG export only, and diagrams stored locally in the browser. It is better than drawDB if you prefer a text-driven, developer-oriented diagramming style and want a local-first editor that stays simple. It falls short on drawDB's broader SQL dialect support and its database schema export and import formats. If your main need is quick local diagram drafting in a keyboard-centric workflow, Gleek can be a good free alternative.

• Beats drawDB: Text-driven diagram authoring workflow
• Falls short: Database schema import/export breadth
• Who should switch: Switch here if you like keyboard-first diagramming and do not need drawDB's SQL and DBML workflow.

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Excalidraw's free tier gives you the full editor, one infinite scene for unlimited content on a single canvas, unlimited real-time collaborators, exports to PNG or SVG, reusable libraries, and browser-based local E2EE. It is a better free pick when your work is more about sketching, whiteboarding, and live collaboration than database-specific modeling. It falls short of drawDB on SQL dialect support and structured schema import and export, since it is not built around relational database design. If you need a shared visual canvas more than an ERD tool, this is the strongest switch.

• Beats drawDB: Unlimited collaborators for real-time teamwork
• Falls short: Relational database schema tooling
• Who should switch: Switch here if your priority is collaborative whiteboarding rather than ER diagrams and SQL generation.

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Edraw.AI's free plan includes 500 AI tokens, a drag-and-drop editor, 100 MB of cloud storage, up to 2 pages per document, 100 templates, and limited team/project support. It is more generous than drawDB if you want hosted storage, some AI usage, and a broader visual-collaboration workspace. It falls short on drawDB's database-specific strength, including all SQL dialects and direct import and export for SQL, DBML, and JSON. If you want a more general diagramming app with small but real cloud and AI allowances, this is a practical free option.

• Beats drawDB: Cloud storage and AI usage
• Falls short: Database-specific export and import formats
• Who should switch: Switch here if you want a general diagramming workspace with AI tokens and cloud storage, not a schema-only editor.

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Ilograph's free tier gives you a cloud-based personal workspace with unlimited public diagrams, unlimited private diagrams, no diagram size limits, and a $0 monthly cost. That is a stronger free ceiling than drawDB if your work involves large architecture diagrams that need to stay online and grow without an obvious size cap. It loses to drawDB on database-specific formatting and SQL workflow, since it is built for architecture documentation rather than schema generation. If you need unlimited hosted diagrams more than relational design tools, Ilograph is the best free alternative.

• Beats drawDB: Unlimited hosted diagram capacity
• Falls short: SQL and database schema editing focus
• Who should switch: Switch here if you need unlimited cloud diagrams and are not tied to database schema design.

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