Comparison
Inlet vs TablePlus
TablePlus is a paid native client for many engines on Mac, Windows, Linux and iOS, with years of releases behind it. Inlet is free, Mac-only and new, covers five engines, and has more PostgreSQL tools built in.
Updated 9 October 2026
In short
TablePlus is a native database client for Mac, Windows, Linux and iOS. It connects to more than a dozen engines and, as of October 2026, costs from $99 for a perpetual licence with a year of updates. Inlet is a free native Mac app for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite and MongoDB, with more PostgreSQL tools built in. It’s new (version 0.1) and needs macOS 26 Tahoe or later.
If you’re looking for a free TablePlus alternative for Mac and your databases are among Inlet’s five engines, Inlet reads your saved TablePlus connections in one step. If you rely on SQL Server, Oracle, Redis or another engine, or work on Windows or Linux too, TablePlus covers more ground.
At a glance
As of October 2026, from TablePlus’s website and documentation.
| Inlet | TablePlus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free: no account, no trial | One-time: $99 for one device, $129 for two (marked down from $198), or $79 per seat for teams of 3 or more; 1 year of updates included; free version limited to 2 open tabs, 2 windows and 2 advanced filters |
| Platforms | macOS 26 Tahoe or later (Apple silicon and Intel) | macOS 12 or later, Windows, Linux, iOS |
| Built with | Swift (SwiftUI and AppKit) | A native build for each platform |
| Engines | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, MongoDB | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, SQL Server, Redshift, Oracle (Mac only), CockroachDB, Snowflake, Cassandra, Redis, Vertica, MongoDB (beta), BigQuery, ClickHouse, Turso |
| Production safety | Production connections open read-only; destructive statements ask you to type the table’s name | Safe mode: warn, or ask for a password, before queries are sent |
| Query plans and activity | EXPLAIN drawn as a tree; Activity monitor with locks and blocking (PostgreSQL) | Process List to see and kill running queries |
| Users and roles | PostgreSQL roles and grants; MySQL and MariaDB accounts | User management for MySQL |
| Plugins | None | JavaScript plugins (still in development, per the docs) |
| AI | Optional, with your Anthropic key; sends schema, never rows | LLM plugin (on by default in the website download) for OpenAI, Anthropic, GitHub Copilot or a local model; sends structure, never rows |
| Data collection | No telemetry | Anonymous crash reports through Microsoft App Center, can be turned off |
Where TablePlus is stronger
- Many more engines. SQL Server, Oracle, Redshift, Snowflake, Cassandra, Redis, BigQuery, ClickHouse and others sit beside PostgreSQL and MySQL in the same app. Inlet has five.
- More platforms. TablePlus runs on Windows and Linux, and has an iOS app; a licence covers a device on any OS and includes mobile seats. Inlet is Mac-only.
- Older Macs. TablePlus supports macOS 12 or later. Inlet needs macOS 26 Tahoe.
- Track record. TablePlus has years of releases behind it (its public issue tracker dates from 2017). Inlet is at version 0.1, so it has had far less real-world use.
- Extras around the core. JavaScript plugins, a Metrics Board for simple dashboards, backup and restore for its engines, and an AI plugin that works with several providers, including a local model.
- Licences for teams. A Team plan with a licence manager, and connections you can export to a password-protected file and import on another machine. Inlet has no team sharing or sync.
Where Inlet is stronger
- Price. Inlet is free, with no account and no trial limits. TablePlus’s free version stops at two open tabs, two windows and two advanced filters; beyond that, a licence costs $99 or more.
- Production connections start read-only. Tag a connection as production and it opens read-only: the
server refuses writes until you unlock it, and the unlock lasts ten minutes. On protected connections,
DROP,TRUNCATE, andDELETEorUPDATEwithoutWHEREask you to type the table’s name first. TablePlus’s safe mode works differently: it warns, or asks for a password, before queries go out. - More PostgreSQL tools. EXPLAIN and EXPLAIN ANALYZE drawn as a tree, with the slowest step and badly misestimated row counts highlighted; an Activity monitor that shows locks and which query blocks which, with cancel and terminate; roles and grants; a health check; schema compare that writes the differences as SQL; an ER diagram; and a structure editor that warns when a change rewrites or scans the table. TablePlus’s documentation doesn’t describe a plan view, an ER diagram, schema compare or rewrite warnings, and its user management is MySQL-only.
- No telemetry. Inlet doesn’t collect usage data. TablePlus sends anonymous crash reports unless you turn them off.
Moving from TablePlus
Inlet imports TablePlus connections directly:
- Open Inlet’s Welcome window and choose Import Connections › From TablePlus.
- Pick the connections you want. Inlet reads TablePlus’s saved PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite and MongoDB connections, including each one’s environment tag, TLS settings and SSH tunnel.
- Connect. Passwords stay in TablePlus’s Keychain items, so Inlet asks for each one the first time and can save it in the Keychain.
Connections to engines Inlet doesn’t support (SQL Server, Redis and so on) are left out. Saved queries and
history stay in TablePlus. For a single connection, TablePlus can also copy it as a URL (right-click,
Copy as URL); paste a postgres://, mysql:// or mongodb:// URL into Inlet and it fills the form.
Which to choose
Choose TablePlus if you need engines beyond PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite and MongoDB, work on Windows, Linux or iOS as well as a Mac, use plugins, or want a tool with a long track record. It’s a one-time purchase, and you keep using your version after the year of updates ends.
Choose Inlet if you’re on macOS 26, your databases are among its five engines, and you want a free native client with read-only production connections and deeper PostgreSQL tools (query plans, locks, roles, schema compare). Because the import is one step and Inlet is free, you can try it beside TablePlus without giving anything up.