I'm in search of a database versioning solution suitable for a small team of under 10 developers. Our setup will be multi-tenant, meaning we anticipate having multiple databases—one for each tenant—alongside additional non-production databases for our developers. Although the total number of tenants will start small, scalability is key. I find Liquibase very appealing feature-wise, but I'm keen to hear about your experiences with these tools. Here's a quick rundown of the features I'm looking for: maintaining versions of a database, migrations, roll-backs, and drift detection.
Flyway seems to have a migration format of SQL/Java, but many of these features are only available in their paid versions except for drift detection. Pricing info is a bit vague as they don't readily advertise Flyway Teams, and enterprise solutions seem to start around $5k for 10 databases. On the other hand, Liquibase offers more database-agnostic configurations with options like XML/YAML/JSON for migrations and includes advanced features such as diff generation and preconditions. Their pricing also appears to be on the higher side, starting at $5k for 10 databases. Has anyone here worked with Bytebase? Any insights would help. Thank you!
3 Answers
If your project is going to involve a lot of different database dialects and frequent changes, Liquibase is your best bet. But honestly, if it's more straightforward and you don't need drift detection, Flyway might suffice. Just ask yourself, do you really need drift detection?
I think there's a bit of confusion about what these tools do. They really help with schema control, like setting up tables, adding columns, or inserting data into lookup tables. They're not designed just for upgrading databases like from version 10.5 to 11.2.
I've been using Liquibase for a few years now, and it's a solid choice if you're okay with learning its intricacies. The good news is that you likely don’t need to go for the paid subscription to get what you need.
Exactly! They’re focused on managing your database schema changes rather than just version upgrades. It’s important to keep that in mind when choosing the right tool.