Comparing EMS SQL Manager and dbForge Studio for SQL Server

Here's yet another research of ours that comprises a feature-by-feature comparison of two SQL Server database tools: this time it's EMS SQL Manager vs dbForge Studio for SQL Server. This comparison is a perfect way to learn the capabilities of both tools in detail, and, of course, to see which one addresses your needs and requirements in a better way.

Before we proceed to the actual comparison, let's briefly list the most sought-after features, the modern-day essentials of effective database development, management, and administration. Naturally, we will be examining these thoroughly in our comparison.

  • Coding assistance to achieve simultaneously high coding speed and output quality
  • Streamlined management, comparison, and analysis of table data
  • Coding-free query building
  • Easy data reporting
  • Simplified database administration and maintenance
  • Task automation and integration with CI/CD

What is dbForge Studio for SQL Server?

dbForge Studio for SQL Server is an IDE designed to provide the user with every possible tool they might need for SQL Server databases. In a nutshell, its main features are as follows:

  • Context-aware SQL code completion with instant syntax check
  • Smart code formatting, refactoring, and T-SQL debugging
  • Visual query builder
  • Advanced tools for data management
  • Database comparison and synchronization
  • Integrated source control and unit testing tools
  • Test data generator
  • Database administration and server management tools
  • Seamless integration with database DevOps

dbForge Studio for SQL Server

What is EMS SQL Manager?

EMS SQL Manager for SQL Server is a solution for designing, exploring, and maintaining SQL databases, building SQL queries of different complexity, managing user rights and permissions, and manipulating data in multiple ways. Its main features include:

  • Code completion, formatting, and debugging
  • Simple management of database and server objects
  • Visual query builder
  • Advanced data viewing modes
  • Data export and import to multiple formats
  • Easy database maintenance
  • Data reporting
  • Integrated source control

EMS SQL Manager

Feature comparison

The following table provides a detailed comparison of dbForge Studio for SQL Server 6.3.9 and EMS SQL Manager 5.9.

SQL Editing & Execution

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Automatic SQL syntax check
Yes
Yes
Code outlining
Yes
No
Code snippets
Yes
Yes
Customizable SQL formatting and code beautifier
Yes
No
Wide range of SQL formatting options
Yes
Yes
Predefined formatting profiles
Yes
No
Execute current statement
Yes
Yes
SQL editor with syntax coloring
Yes
Yes
Incremental search
Yes
Yes
Quick access to favorite templates from the SQL editor
Yes
Yes
Bookmarks
Yes
Yes
Text search
Yes
Yes
Document Outline window for quick navigation through large scripts
Yes
No
Execution of scripts, selected SQL fragments, and statements
Yes
Yes
One-step access to the database object editor from the code (Go to Definition)
Yes
Yes
SQL Query History
Yes
Yes
Execution warnings
Yes
Yes
GUI transaction support
Yes
Yes
Command-line interface for script execution
Yes
No
Command-line interface for code formatting
Yes
No

Code Completion

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Context-sensitive code completion
Yes
Yes
One-click access to schema object definitions
Yes
Yes
Renaming database objects in a script on the fly
Yes
Yes
Auto-generation of table aliases
Yes
Yes
Quick information about database objects
Yes
Yes
SQL refactoring with automatic correction of references to renamed objects
Yes
No

T-SQL Debugger

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
T-SQL Debugger
Yes
Yes
Debugger framework for embedded stored routines
Yes
No
Step Into, Step Over, and Step Out commands for step-by-step execution
Yes
No
Breakpoints for procedures, functions, triggers, and scripts
Yes
No
Breakpoints window
Yes
No
Call Stack window with navigation
Yes
No
Watches window for variable evaluation
Yes
No

Visual Query Builder

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Support for the SELECT statements
Yes
Yes
Support for the SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements
Yes
No
Common table expression
Yes
Yes
State-of-the-art diagram
Yes
Yes
Zoom in/out
Yes
No
Keyboard support
Yes
Yes
Diagram preview
Yes
Yes
Diagram printing
Yes
Yes
Visual addition of sub-queries to any part of the main query
Yes
Yes
Query outline (displayed in the Document Outline window)
Yes
No
Visual editing of sub-queries
Yes
Yes
Expression builder for creating complex conditions
Yes
Yes
Drag and drop required tables
Yes
Yes
Copy/Paste for tables on the diagram
Yes
No
Undo/Redo support
Yes
No

Database Designer

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Visual Database Designer
Yes
Yes
Visualization of tables, stored procedures, views, and functions
Yes
Yes
Easy access to database objects for viewing their properties
Yes
Yes
Support for IDEF1X and IE notations
Yes
Yes
Smart ER Diagram layout
Yes
Yes
Diagram export to different image formats
Yes
Yes
Arrangement of diagram shapes using containers
Yes
No
Customizable diagram printing with a rich set of options
Yes
Yes
Optional display of table constraints, indexes, and triggers
Yes
No
Integration with the Document Outline window
Yes
No
Diagram navigation with the Diagram Overview window
Yes
Yes
Notes for adding comments to a diagram
Yes
Yes
Export to image only
Yes
Yes
Zoom in/out
Yes
Yes
Save/Load a diagram
Yes
Yes

Data Editor

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Data copying with column headers for quick pasting to a spreadsheet
Yes
Yes
Custom data filters of any complexity
Yes
Yes
Data Viewer window for browsing images, RTF, and binary cell values
Yes
Yes
Date/Time editor with a visual interface
Yes
Yes
Foreign key lookup editor for easy editing of fields referencing other tables
Yes
No
Free copying of any block of data to the clipboard
Yes
Yes
Full-text search (Ctrl+F) in the data grid
Yes
Yes
Single-row value view
Yes
Yes
Graphical card view
Yes
Yes
Grouping by arbitrary columns
Yes
Yes
Incremental search (Ctrl+I) through the data grid
Yes
Yes
Large objects (LOB) editor
Yes
Yes
Multi-table query result set editing
Yes
Yes
Paginal data browsing for large result sets
Yes
Yes
Data printing
Yes
Yes
Quick filter available for each data cell
Yes
Yes
Record numbering option
Yes
Yes
Read-only state indication
Yes
Yes
Report and pivot building directly from the data editor
Yes
Yes
Chart building directly from Data Editor
Yes
No
Server-side sorting and filtering for large data sets
Yes
Yes
Visible columns dialog
Yes
Yes
Editing of multiple execution results of one script on separate tabs
Yes
Yes
Autocommit mode
Yes
Yes
Export of the selected data to CSV, HTML, and XML
Yes
Yes
Export of the selected data to JSON
Yes
No
Export of the selected data to SQL
Yes
Yes
Export of the selected data to a file
Yes
Yes

Database Explorer

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Multiple database connections
Yes
Yes
Browse and navigate through objects
Yes
Yes
Detailed object properties and data browsing in the Object Viewer window
Yes
Yes
Dependency tree browsing for each object
Yes
None
Quick template script generation for the selected objects: SELECT, INSERT, etc.
Yes
Yes
The 'Send To' command for quick sending of tables to Query Builder, Data Report, and other tools
Yes
Yes
Duplicate structure/structure and data
Yes
Yes

Table Designer

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Flat table editor
Yes
Yes
Convenient editor for foreign keys
Yes
Yes
Partitioning support
Yes
Yes
Preview of schema changes before updating a database
Yes
Yes
Heuristics that helps define data types of new columns
Yes
No

Object Editor

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Visual editor for database objects
Yes
Yes
Undo option for the Object Editor
Yes
No

Schema & Data Comparison

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Comparison and synchronization of data in databases of almost any size
Yes
Yes
Comparison of tables and views
Yes
Yes
Comparison of procedures, functions, events, and triggers
Yes
Yes
Custom comparison keys
Yes
No
Comparison results filtering
Yes
No
Data synchronization script generation
Yes
No
Viewing of data differences per record
Yes
No
Exclusion of tables and records from synchronization
Yes
No
Saving and loading of comparison settings
Yes
Yes
Command-line interface for data comparison and synchronization
Yes
No
Generation of accurate comparison reports in HTML and Excel
Yes
No
Generation of comments
Yes
No
Specific options for tables, script objects, triggers, indexes, and constraints
Yes
No
Include\Exclude objects by mask in Data Compare
Yes
No
Include\Exclude objects by mask in Schema Compare
Yes
No
Data comparison using script folders
Yes
No
Schema comparison using script folders
Yes
No
Scheduled data and schema synchronization
Yes
Yes
Save as Command Line
Yes
No

Data Export

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
CSV
Yes
Yes
XML
Yes
Yes
Text
Yes
Yes
XML
Yes
Yes
XLS
Yes
Yes
XLSX
Yes
Yes
PDF
Yes
No
DBF
Yes
No
HTML
Yes
Yes
RTF
Yes
Yes
JSON
Yes
No
Google Sheets
Yes
No
ODBC
Yes
No
SQL
Yes
Yes
Data export from multiple tables at once
Yes
No
Data export from the command-line interface
Yes
No

Data Import

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
CSV
Yes
Yes
Text
Yes
Yes
XML
No
Yes
JSON
Yes
No
XLS
Yes
Yes
XLSX
Yes
Yes
Google Sheets
Yes
No
DBF
Yes
Yes
ODBC
Yes
No
Data import from the command-line interface
Yes
No

Backup/Restore

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Copy Database
Yes
Yes
Native backup
Yes
Yes
Native restore
Yes
Yes
Backup as a scripts folder
Yes
Yes
Backup from the command line
Yes
No

Administration

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Service control for starting and stopping the server
Yes
Yes
Table maintenance
Yes
Yes
Server Variables window
Yes
Yes
Flush objects (tables, locks, query cache, etc.)
Yes
No

User & Session Management

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Security Manager to manage user accounts and permissions
Yes
Yes
Session manager for monitoring active server connections and tracing user sessions
Yes
Yes
Application roles
Yes
No
Dynamic privileges for GRANT and REVOKE
Yes
No

Data Analysis

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Display of table data representing parent-child dependencies (Master-Detail Browser)
Yes
Yes
Data report generation wizard
Yes
Yes
Data report designer
Yes
Yes
Pivot table designer
Yes
No
Chart building wizard
Yes
None
Data search on a live database
Yes
Yes
Display query results as a chart
Yes
None
Automated report generation and distribution from the command line
Yes
None

Test Data Generation

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Support for all SQL Server column data types
Yes
No
Multiple generators with data customization
Yes
No
SQL data integrity support
Yes
No
Multiple ways to populate data
Yes
No
Meaningful generators
Yes
None
User-defined generators
Yes
No
Real-time preview of generated data
Yes
No
CLI wizard
Yes
No

Database Documenter

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Broad picture of database structure
Yes
Yes
Rich customization features
Yes
Yes
HTML format
Yes
Yes
PDF format
Yes
Yes
Markdown format
Yes
Yes
Text format
Yes
Yes
Documentation customization with style templates
Yes
Yes
View inter-object and inter-database dependencies
Yes
No
Command-line interface
Yes
No

Performance Tuning

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Visual SQL explain plan
Yes
No
Display session statistics
Yes
No
Query plan displayed in the tree view for easy review
Yes
Yes
Profiling history that can be saved for further analysis
Yes
No
Comparison of profiling results with the highlighting of differences
Yes
No
Printing of profiling results
Yes
No

Search

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Search for database objects
Yes
Yes
Search for table data
Yes
Yes

Unit Testing

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Unit testing based on the tSQLt framework
Yes
No
Command-line interface
Yes
No

DevOps Automation

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
PowerShell cmdlet collection
Yes
No
Jenkins plugin for SQL Server
Yes
No
TeamCity plugin for SQL Server
Yes
No
Azure DevOps plugin for SQL Server
Yes
No
Bamboo plugin for SQL Server
Yes
No

User Interface

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Start Page with quick access to main features
Yes
Yes
Rich user settings
Yes
Yes
UI skins
Yes
Yes
Customizable window layout
Yes
Yes
Auto-hide mode for windows
Yes
No
Float mode for windows
Yes
Yes
Multiple shortcut schemes with full shortcut customization
Yes
No
Syntax highlighting customization
Yes
Yes
Tabbed groups for documents
Yes
No
Toolbar customization
Yes
Yes
Wizard for sharing common code standards and templates
Yes
No
GUI font
Yes
Yes

Database Connectivity

dbForge Studio
EMS SQL Manager
Connection coloring
Yes
No
Connection categories
Yes
No
Multiple sessions for one connection
Yes
Yes
Export/Import of connections
Yes
No

Price comparison

dbForge Studio for SQL Server

At its lowest price, dbForge Studio comes in the Standard Edition (1 year of access to the product with support and upgrades included). Further editions, Professional and Enterprise, deliver far more advanced functionality for a higher price ($299.95 or $429.95, respectively, with bulk discounts for multiple licenses). You can start with a free 30-day trial of the top-tier Enterprise Edition or get a completely free Express Edition with a basic set of features.

from $199.95

EMS SQL Manager

The price of EMS SQL Manager in Business Edition starts from $520. Additionally, you need to choose between 1, 2, or 3 years of maintenance. You can also start with a free 30-day trial; however, unlike the dbForge Studio, EMS SQL Manager does not offer a free edition for beginners and non-profit organizations to benefit from.

from $520

Your ultimate IDE for SQL Server databases

dbForge Studio for SQL Server is a versatile IDE that has proved to be an exceptional assistant for SQL developers, administrators, and data analysts alike. The Studio is one of the top players on the market and a functionally superior alternative to EMS SQL Manager and a diversity of other SQL Server database tools. Check it out!

Get dbForge Studio for SQL Server today!

Download dbForge Studio for a FREE 30-day trial
to evaluate all of its powerful capabilities
hidden under a sleek user interface.
Download

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