PostgreSQL teams often need to compare data across databases to ensure that migrations are accurate, environments remain consistent, and deployments do not introduce unexpected changes. Data comparison tools make it easier to validate migrated data, check staging against production, find missing or mismatched records, and verify that lookup and reference tables contain the expected values. They can also help detect data drift that develops over time as different environments receive independent updates.
In this comparison, we look at tools that help PostgreSQL teams identify data differences, validate changes, and synchronize selected data, with a focus on their key strengths and weaknesses and practical use cases.
Picking the right tool matters because "comparing databases" can mean very different things depending on the task at hand. A developer validating a migration script, a DBA who has to keep environments in sync, and a team managing an always-on disaster recovery setup may have different requirements for data comparison, which define the choice of tools.
PostgreSQL data comparison solutions generally fall into three categories:
These three terms get used interchangeably, but they describe distinct operations with different tooling.
Data comparison means identifying row-level differences between two datasets, typically tables, views, or query results, without changing anything.
Data sync goes a step further by applying selected changes to make the target data match the source.
Replication means continuously moving changes between systems as they happen, often as part of high availability, disaster recovery, or data integration architectures.
Data comparison tools find differences between two PostgreSQL databases by comparing table data, views, or query results and reporting which rows were inserted, deleted, or changed. They are best suited to migration validation, release checks between environments, keeping reference or lookup data consistent, and spotting data drift after a deployment. They may have data synchronization capabilities, but only apply changes when you explicitly choose to.
Synchronization tools use the comparison results to help you apply selected changes from a source database to a target. The important part of this category is control: a generated sync script should always be reviewed before it is executed, especially against a production database.
Replication tools are designed for ongoing, automatic change movement rather than a one-off or scheduled check. They support high availability, disaster recovery, and analytics pipelines that need a near-real-time copy of production data. They are also commonly used in distributed or multi-region systems. For a simple "compare PostgreSQL databases" task, a full replication platform is usually too infrastructure-heavy.
The right approach depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you need to inspect differences, validate a migration, compare environments, or synchronize data, a dedicated comparison and synchronization tool such as dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL can be a strong fit. It is designed as a full-featured data comparison and synchronization tool that enables controlled, reviewable comparison and synchronization. While perfectly suited for release validation and data management, dbForge Data Compare should not be considered a replacement for a dedicated high-availability, change-data-capture, or continuous replication platform.
The following list includes tools from all categories: dedicated data comparison and sync tools and replication solutions. It presents both GUI- and CLI-based tools, covering a variety of use cases.
dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL is a GUI tool for comparing and synchronizing PostgreSQL table data. It helps DBAs and developers detect row-level differences between two databases, review every change before it is applied, generate sync scripts, produce comparison reports, and automate recurring comparison tasks from the command line.
For teams that need controlled PostgreSQL data comparison rather than an always-on replication pipeline, dbForge Data Compare is a strong choice: it is purpose-built for exactly this job, with reviewable synchronization scripts and reporting on top of the comparison itself.
Supports all actively maintained PostgreSQL server versions (8.4 through 18), plus popular cloud and managed services: Supabase, Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, Amazon Redshift, Heroku, and more.
Paid: From $74.95 per year (or $149.95 for a perpetual license)
Free trial: 30 days
A powerful, fast, and easy-to-use data comparison and synchronization tool for PostgreSQL, on-premises and in the cloud
EMS Data Comparer for PostgreSQL is a dedicated tool for comparing and synchronizing table data between two PostgreSQL databases. It helps users identify differences between tables, review comparison results, and generate scripts to synchronize selected data. The tool provides a step-by-step graphical wizard for configuring comparisons and synchronization, while also offering a command-line utility for automating workflows.
Supports PostgreSQL 7.3 through 16.
Paid: Perpetual license from $60
Free trial: 14 days, limited to 10 tables
Navicat for PostgreSQL is a cross-platform PostgreSQL database management and development tool. It supports a broad range of tasks, including SQL development, data editing, database object management, data profiling, data transfer, and database comparison and synchronization. Rather than being a dedicated data-compare-only product, it is a comprehensive database client where comparison and sync are part of a wider administration toolset.
Supports PostgreSQL 7.3 and higher as well as major cloud-hosted databases, such as Amazon RDS, Amazon Redshift, Microsoft Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Google Cloud SQL, Huawei Cloud RDS for PostgreSQL, and others.
Paid: Standard Edition—perpetual license $299.00 or monthly subscription $14.99. Enterprise Edition—perpetual license $449.00 or monthly subscription $22.99.
Free trial: 14 days
DataGrip is a cross-platform database IDE designed for developers and database administrators who work with multiple database systems. It provides a unified environment for SQL development, database object management, data editing, query analysis, data and schema comparison, and database navigation.
It is primarily an IDE for database development rather than a dedicated synchronization product: the data comparison feature is a diff viewer for spotting differences, not a tool for generating a reusable data sync script.
Supports multiple PostgreSQL versions as well as Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, and other PostgreSQL-compatible cloud databases through standard drivers.
Free: Non-commercial use
Paid: Individual license from $10.90 per month; Organization license from $25.90 per month
Free trial: 30 days
pgCompare, maintained by Crunchy Data, is an open-source, developer-oriented command-line tool for validating data consistency across PostgreSQL and other database systems, including Oracle, MySQL, MariaDB, DB2, and SQL Server. It is designed for post-migration and post-replication validation rather than day-to-day GUI comparison work.
Supports data comparisons between PostgreSQL and Oracle, MySQL, MariaDB, DB2, and SQL Server databases.
Free: Open source (Apache License 2.0)
SymmetricDS is an open-source database replication and synchronization platform built for distributed and heterogeneous environments. It uses trigger-based change data capture to move data between more than 20 supported database platforms, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server.
SymmetricDS supports one-way and bidirectional synchronization, near-real-time data streaming, bulk data movement, filtering, subsetting, and transformation. Unlike traditional Postgres database comparison tools, SymmetricDS is primarily intended for ongoing data movement and replication, including multi-primary architectures, cloud integration, distributed databases, and zero-downtime migration scenarios.
Supports more than 20 database platforms for heterogeneous replication, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server.
Free: Community edition (GPL v3)
Paid: Standard, Pro, and Enterprise subscription tiers; pricing available on request
Free trial: 30 days for commercial tiers
PostgreSQL logical replication and pglogical are replication technologies designed to move selected data changes from a publisher/provider database to one or more subscriber/target databases. PostgreSQL's built-in logical replication is available as part of modern PostgreSQL releases, while pglogical is an extension that provides additional logical replication capabilities. Both approaches are intended for ongoing data movement and synchronization, rather than for interactively comparing two databases, reviewing row-level differences, or generating a sync script the way dedicated data comparison tools do.
Native logical replication requires PostgreSQL 10 or later; pglogical supports PostgreSQL 9.4 and later. Both tools are compatible with Amazon RDS/Aurora and Azure Database for PostgreSQL.
Free: Both tools are open source, with native logical replication as part of PostgreSQL core and pglogical under the PostgreSQL License
Bucardo is an open-source, asynchronous PostgreSQL database replication system designed primarily for multi-source and multi-target replication. It supports PostgreSQL-to-PostgreSQL replication and can also replicate PostgreSQL data to certain other database systems through its supported replication mechanisms. Bucardo uses a trigger-based approach to detect changes and can replicate selected tables rather than requiring an entire database to be copied. It is particularly known for supporting multi-master replication, where multiple PostgreSQL databases can accept changes and synchronize them with one another.
Bucardo is a replication platform, not a data comparison tool. Its purpose is to continuously or periodically propagate data changes between databases, whereas data comparison tools are designed to identify differences between existing datasets and let users review or selectively synchronize those differences.
Requires PostgreSQL 8.2 or later.
Free: Open source (BSD license)
The table below summarizes the details of the data comparison and synchronization tools we have reviewed.
| Tool | Best for | Data comparison/ Data sync |
Sync script | Ongoing replication | GUI | CLI | Cloud database support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL | Controlled PostgreSQL data comparison and synchronization | Yes/Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EMS Data Comparer for PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL table data comparison and sync | Yes/Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Navicat for PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL GUI with data sync features | Yes/Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| DataGrip | SQL IDE with database comparison features | Yes/Limited | Limited | No | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| pgCompare | Open-source or developer-focused PostgreSQL comparison | Yes/Limited | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| SymmetricDS | Distributed database synchronization and replication | No/Yes | No | Yes | Admin UI | Yes | Yes |
| PostgreSQL logical replication / pglogical | PostgreSQL-native logical replication | No/Yes | No | Yes | No | SQL/ CLI |
Yes |
| Bucardo | PostgreSQL asynchronous replication | No/Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Choosing the best PostgreSQL data comparison or synchronization tool depends on what you actually need to accomplish. A tool built for row-level comparison is the right choice when you need to find differences between two databases, while a PostgreSQL database synchronization tool is better when you need to turn those differences into controlled changes. If your goal is to continuously move data between systems, you are looking for a replication platform instead. When evaluating tools, focus on practical capabilities such as visual comparison, synchronization script generation, automation, cloud connectivity, replication support, and integration with your existing development workflow.
When you need to identify differences between two PostgreSQL databases or datasets at the row level, choose a dedicated data comparison tool, for example, dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL, Navicat for PostgreSQL, DataGrip, or pgCompare. These tools are particularly useful for the following purposes.
If you need to apply differences, rather than simply identify them, look for a tool that can generate and review synchronization scripts, such as dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL, EMS Data Comparer for PostgreSQL, or pgCompare. Data synchronization tools can be useful in the following cases.
When you need continuous data movement, high availability, disaster recovery, an analytics pipeline, or a distributed system, choose a replication tool: SymmetricDS, PostgreSQL logical replication, or Bucardo. Replication tools are the best fit in the following scenarios.
Before choosing a tool, verify that it works with the exact PostgreSQL versions and hosting environments you use. Also, it is important to check compatibility with your managed PostgreSQL provider and any SSL/SSH connection requirements. This matters especially for cloud services such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Heroku, Supabase, Neon, and TimescaleDB, where some tools and extensions have restrictions around superuser access or specific replication features.
If you are looking for the best tool to compare PostgreSQL databases, the choice largely depends on what you want to achieve. For teams that need visual PostgreSQL data comparison, controlled synchronization, shareable reports, sync scripts, and automation, dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL is the best overall fit. It combines an accessible GUI with command-line automation, so the same tool works both for a one-off release check and for a recurring, scheduled comparison job.
If your actual requirement is always-on data movement rather than comparison, for high availability, disaster recovery, or distributed systems, a replication platform such as native PostgreSQL logical replication, pglogical, SymmetricDS, or Bucardo is a better match.
dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL is a strong overall choice: it detects row-level data differences between two PostgreSQL databases, lets you review and generate synchronization scripts, produces comparison reports, and supports command-line automation. Other options, such as EMS Data Comparer for PostgreSQL or the open-source pgCompare, may fit better for teams with a smaller budget or a need for cross-database validation.
If you need to compare data in two databases, choose an efficient Postgres data comparison tool, for example, dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL, Navicat, DataGrip, or pgCompare. Connect to both databases, select the tables, views, or queries you want to compare, configure any comparison options such as ignored columns or row filters, and run the comparison. The tool then reports which rows are missing, added, or different, without changing any data until you choose to synchronize.
Data comparison identifies differences in the actual data stored in tables, such as missing, added, or changed records. Schema comparison identifies differences in database structure, such as tables, columns, indexes, and constraints.
Yes. Data sync tools such as dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL, EMS Data Comparer for PostgreSQL, and Navicat generate a script that inserts, updates, or deletes rows in a target database so that it matches a source. The script can typically be reviewed and edited before it runs.
No. Replication continuously moves changes between systems as they happen, usually for high availability, disaster recovery, or distributed systems, with no per-change review step. Data synchronization is typically a controlled, reviewed operation, run once or on a schedule, where a person or process decides which changes to apply.
A PostgreSQL data diff tool compares the data of two PostgreSQL databases or tables and reports differences such as inserted, deleted, or changed rows. It typically presents the results in a visual comparison grid so you can review each difference before deciding whether to synchronize it.
Yes. dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL automatically generates a synchronization script for the differences you select and lets you edit that script before running it, save it to a file for later use, or execute it immediately to deploy the changes.
For validating and syncing PostgreSQL database migrations with a reviewable script, dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL or EMS Data Comparer for PostgreSQL are practical choices. If you are looking for an open-source tool, check out pgCompare.
Yes. dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL and EMS Data Comparer for PostgreSQL both include a command-line interface that can be combined with Windows Task Scheduler for recurring, unattended comparisons. Open-source tools such as pgCompare are designed to run from the command line as part of a CI/CD pipeline.
If you need continuous, automatic data movement for high availability, disaster recovery, or a distributed system, choose a replication tool such as native PostgreSQL logical replication, pglogical, SymmetricDS, or Bucardo. If you need to check for and control specific data differences, for example, after a migration or a deployment, a data comparison tool, such as dbForge Data Compare for PostgreSQL, DataGrip, or Navicat, is the better fit.
Replication tools operate continuously: they monitor changes in the source database (via mechanisms such as CDC, binary logs, or WAL) and automatically apply those changes to the target, keeping it up to date in real time or with minimal latency. No user intervention is required.
Data comparison tools are triggered on demand, either manually or on a schedule. They take a snapshot of two databases at the moment of execution, identify differences in schema or data, and produce a report. Changes are not automatically applied to the target: synchronization based on comparison results is a separate step that the user initiates deliberately.
In short: replication is continuous automated synchronization; data comparison is on-demand diagnostic analysis.
Ganna Shargorodska
I’m a technical writer focused on creating content that helps readers succeed, even when working with complex tools and technologies. Taking a user-centric approach, I aim to write documentation that helps you get the most out of a product.
