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PeerSpot user
Ingeniero Especialista at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
​Helps us to test and to develop scripts for monitoring applications

What is our primary use case?

We use it for test queries, before implementing scripts for monitoring. Also, we use it for querying and getting data of the whole environment monitored with our products.

How has it helped my organization?

Helps us to test and to develop scripts for monitoring applications.

What is most valuable?

I only use it for connecting to instances and to do queries, I don't know details of the features.

What needs improvement?

Queries. 

Buyer's Guide
Oracle SQL Developer
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about Oracle SQL Developer. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No stability issues as of yet.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No scalability issues as of yet.

How are customer service and support?

I have not used it.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No, I've always Oracle SQL Developer.

What other advice do I have?

It's very easy to use.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Sócio Diretor at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 20
Easy to use, nice interface, helps me to do lots of query turning
Pros and Cons
  • "Using execution plan, I am able to do lots of query tuning."
  • "The initial setup is always a problem, it cannot find the Java SDK."

How has it helped my organization?

Using execution plan, I am able to do lots of query tuning.

What is most valuable?

  • Easy to use
  • Nice interface

What needs improvement?

Execution plan.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Because it is in Java, sometimes Java crashes the product, and of course there is the total dependence on Java.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have never stressed the product to find out.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have never needed to contact technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used Embarcadero and Toad. I gave up both because one is for every kind of database (I do not believe in this) and the other is only for Oracle, and its IDE is not good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is always a problem, it cannot find the Java SDK.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I have never paid for it, I use open source.

In Brasil, only big companies can use Oracle because of the price. I prefer NoSQL and open source databases.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

 Embarcadero and Toad.

What other advice do I have?

Take care during the initial setup and have patience. It can be too heavy and eat your memory.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Oracle SQL Developer
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about Oracle SQL Developer. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
IBM Message Broker Developer - Onsite Technical Lead at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Most valuable feature is the export option on query results

What is most valuable?

Export option on query results.

How has it helped my organization?

Faster access to DB tables.

What needs improvement?

Could be made to load faster.

For how long have I used the solution?

Five years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

Good.

Technical Support:

Good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Yes.

How was the initial setup?

It was easy.

What about the implementation team?

Good.

What was our ROI?

Good.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

No changes required.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user729174 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Transf & Migr Innov Sr Principal at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Facilitates very good integration with database features/options

What is most valuable?

Among the most valuable features is the tight integration with database features/options.

  • Being able to see all of the database objects.
  • Being able to create objects.
  • Being able to edit objects.
  • Being able to open data models.
  • Being able to review AWR and ASH reports.

How has it helped my organization?

Standardized tool.

What needs improvement?

The interface could be friendlier for the DBA by having dashboards, like Enterprise Manager.

For how long have I used the solution?

Since 2015.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There are occasional run time issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I did not encounter any issues with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is great. They are extremely responsive and helpful with issues/questions.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Yes, Toad. I changed because my new company didn’t have a Toad license.

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup is very easy. Download, unzip, and start using it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

A license is not needed for this product.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I did not evaluate other options. Invest some time on standardizing the preferences.

What other advice do I have?

Invest some time in standardizing the preferences.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user505650 - PeerSpot reviewer
Oracle architect & senior DBA, OBIEE data analytics, warehousing & ETL specialist at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Among the most valuable features is the automated unit test capability for PL/SQL development
Pros and Cons
  • "It allows us to implement a form of test driven development (TDD) for database-resident code."
  • "There are occasional runtime issues that are easily worked around, especially on a Windows deployment."

What is most valuable?

Among the most valuable features is the automated unit test capability for PL/SQL development. It allows us to implement a form of test driven development (TDD) for database-resident code.

How has it helped my organization?

We can switch between heterogeneous databases.

After installing a MySQL driver, for example, we can work with these row stores. It also supports Oracle Cloud legacy schema-as-a-service connections and the newer DBaaS connections.

What needs improvement?

I am not aware of any areas for improvement at the moment.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for eight years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

We did not encounter any issues with deployment.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There are occasional runtime issues that are easily worked around, especially on a Windows deployment. However, these have never been impediments and the installation is regularly updated with patches and fixes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We did not encounter any issues with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

This is a self-service offering so customer service is not relevant.

Technical Support:

I cannot comment with regard to the technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use a previous solution.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was very simple, using only point-and-click as long as your workstation meets the runtime JDK prerequisite.

What about the implementation team?

Not applicable.

What was our ROI?

I cannot comment on the ROI.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's a no-cost license and it offers outstanding functionality on that basis.

What other advice do I have?

For data architects, it offers the advantage of being part of the same tool set as the cost-free license for Oracle Data Modeler. Together, they form a nice tool kit for data architects as well as database developers and other specializations.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user538206 - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder & Oracle Database Consultant / Trainer at RebellionRider.Com at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
The Data Modeler helps me, and the Data Pump wizard relieves the developer from writing code.

What is most valuable?

This open-source GUI is feature-rich software. If I have to choose one most valuable feature, then I will definitely go with the Data Modeler feature. Modeling the structure of all the data and database objects along with their attributes has always been a challenging and time consuming task. Data modeling always helped me with several projects by being able to draw objects in the plane in no time.

Another interesting feature of SQL Developer is Data Pump. It makes exporting and importing data easier. The wizard form for Data Pump relieves the developer from writing a whole chunk of code, which is a huge relief.

How has it helped my organization?

As a database trainer, I would like to say that although SQL developer is an open-source software, yet it provides a lot of features that you can find only in paid versions of its counterparts. It is lightweight; hence, it takes up less memory space, which makes it more efficient and faster. Furthermore, it has an easy installation process that leads to the company spending less time and money on lengthy trainings for its employees; just a refresher course is enough! This single software can connect with other databases provided by different vendors such as Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL, etc.

What needs improvement?

While working with Data Pump, I have faced a few problems. For example, sometimes it won’t let me change the set file type. Although this was not that big of an issue, yet I think that the Data Pump feature could be further improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SQL Developer for the last three years on a daily basis.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Till now, I haven’t faced any stability issues while working with SQL Developer.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

To be frank, I haven’t had the chance to evaluate this software with respect to its scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

I didn’t get a chance to talk with technical support because whenever I faced any problem, I just tweeted about it and got the solution from the community. So, a great many thanks to them for helping me out!

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I often switch between SQL Developer and TOAD for Oracle depending on their suitability regarding the project that I am working on.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very simple. I just had to download and extract the files. That’s all!

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is an open-source software available for free from Oracle Corporation so no issues with pricing and licensing.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I evaluated TOAD for Oracle, but after using SQL Developer, I kind of grew a liking towards the latter.

What other advice do I have?

It is a great open-source software, power packed with features. The initial setup is simple, which means less mess in terms of training the employees. Moreover, it is fairly stable which makes it a wonderful choice.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Assistant Director, Applications Development Services in the Student Collaboration Center at Temple University
Real User
This product is delivered at no cost to us as Oracle users. We even have non-tech, functional users installing it on their own with only a little guidance from us.

What is most valuable?

  • The code editor
  • The tree view
  • The debugger
  • The support available for the product

How has it helped my organization?

Because I work in higher education, and budget dollars are always limited, the fact that this product is delivered at no cost to us as Oracle users is phenomenal. Only a small fraction of our in-house staff are using another solution to write code that affects our student information system (SIS). IT staff supporting the SIS could not do our jobs without SQL Developer.

What needs improvement?

Since the upgrade to 4.1.5, I have noticed improvement in functionality. I'm not freezing up any longer.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used it since 2011.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Deployment is VERY easy. We even have non-tech, functional users installing on their own with only a little guidance from us.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is very stable - no issues with version 4.1.5

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Personally, the product scales to my needs.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

10+

Technical Support:

Technical support is EXCELLENT. Both Jeff Smith and Kris Rice are extremely responsive and helpful for issues/questions, etc.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

When I first started working with Oracle, It was on a third-party product that my institution purchased. I was using the SQL Worksheet inside OEM to query the database for that one-off product. Once our whole SIS went to Oracle, and we all began using SQL Developer, it was like night and day. HUGE difference.

How was the initial setup?

Our DBA has created a directory on a shared drive that we can simply drag and drop SQL Developer onto local machines from; she's made it very simple for us. But I have also installed right from oracle.com and it's really easy.

What about the implementation team?

An in-house team implemented it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

SQL Dev is free; not sure of what Temple pays for Oracle licensing annually.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Before choosing this product, the institution probably did evaluate other options - but I was not involved in the decision making. Assuming we went with "the free one" which met our needs well, and that's why we chose SQL Dev.

What other advice do I have?

Don't hesitate and, to get the most out of the product, explore some of the free online tutorials and webinars around using the product. For example, lots of great info at www.thatjeffsmith.com.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
it_user521805 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager - Technical at Molina Healthcare
Real User
The product is simple, with easy to use functionality. UI is user-friendly.

What is most valuable?

I would say the number one feature is it’s easy to use functionality. It is an extremely simple product and the UI is user-friendly.

How has it helped my organization?

We use it for JD Edwards to SQL the queries on the SQL database side, so it gives us the results fast. In this way, we are able to help the business.

The process is that once we run it to get the results, we can optimize it and send them out to the business users.

What needs improvement?

One of the options that I would like to see is the cloud solution (if they have any) because we already implemented the HCM module last year.

We took out the HR part from JD Edwards and moved it into the cloud. That is one of the features that I would like to see, if there is some integration between cloud and organized applications.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I think it is quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

As our company keeps on growing, our data also keeps on growing.

Currently, we are a $12-billion company and this tool supports us.

Our projection in the future, is to grow from $12 billion to $20 billion in the next three years and I am not sure whether it might help then or not, as our data will also grow consequently.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support again, is related more for the other group. We don't deal with this aspect.

In regards to technical support, we just open a ticket in iServe Service Now and those guys, they do all the support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

By the time I joined this company, the solution was already in use.

How was the initial setup?

I was not extensively involved in the setup process but I think it was a low to medium level; not complex.

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely advise others to look into this tool and it’s solution.

The number one criteria whilst choosing a vendor, is support. If you get the right support; that is if you are able to meet the SLAs, the business SLAs, and in my opinion that is what the company looks at.

One of the reasons, as I said, it is quite simple, but has its own complexities. For example, when you pull more than 20 million records from the finance table, there is some performance impact.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Oracle SQL Developer Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: September 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Oracle SQL Developer Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.