A Dataedo alternative — for the data dictionary part
ErdDocs generates the data dictionary and the ER diagram from a schema you already have — the document you hand to an auditor, a client or a new teammate — in your browser, which is where the schema stays. That one job does not need a platform, and Dataedo is a platform: repository, lineage, glossary, connectors, annual licensing. Paste a schema dump below and compare the output with what you came for.
Side by side, honestly
| Dataedo | ErdDocs | |
|---|---|---|
| Get started | Install the desktop app, connect a database | Paste a SQL dump in the browser |
| Where metadata lives | Shared repository you host or license | Nowhere on a server — parsed in your browser; it leaves only in a file or a link you export yourself |
| Data dictionary | Yes — rich, editable, catalog-grade | Yes — every table, column, type, default, key and comment, generated from the DDL and printed to PDF |
| ER diagrams | Yes | Yes — interactive, relations recovered even without FKs |
| Data lineage, glossary, catalog | Yes | No — out of scope |
| Team workflows | Repository, roles, review | A file and a link — no accounts at all |
| Sources | Dozens of connectors to live databases | Ten pasted formats: SQL dumps, Prisma, DBML, Mermaid, PlantUML, Django, SQLAlchemy, Sequelize, TypeORM, Laravel migrations |
| Pricing model | Annual enterprise licensing | $9 once; free tier without an account |
Dataedo is a trademark of its owner; the comparison reflects public product information as of August 2026.
When Dataedo is the right call
A team that maintains documentation as a living product — descriptions edited by analysts, lineage across warehouses, a catalog other tools query — needs the platform and should pay for one. ErdDocs does not replace that and does not try to: it is built for the other case, where the documentation has to be produced, handed over and printed rather than staffed.
When it is more than the job needs
“Send us the schema documentation” from an auditor or a client is a document request, not a metadata program. If that is the trigger, the whole task is: export, paste, print — and it is done before a platform trial would finish installing.
An agency-style projects schema; COMMENT ON texts fill the Description column.
FAQ
Is ErdDocs a full replacement for Dataedo?
No — ErdDocs replaces one specific job: a schema you already have becomes a readable data dictionary and ER diagram, generated in your browser in seconds. The rest of Dataedo is a documentation and metadata platform — live database connections, a shared repository, data lineage, business glossary, scheduled re-sync — and a team that needs lineage and a catalog should keep it. If that one document is why you were quoted an enterprise contract, ErdDocs covers it for a single payment.
What does the price difference actually buy?
Dataedo is licensed as an annual enterprise product; published pricing runs in the thousands of dollars per year. ErdDocs is $9 once, because the scope is narrower and there is no infrastructure behind it — parsing happens in your browser, so there are no servers storing your metadata and nothing to subscribe to.
Does ErdDocs connect to my database like Dataedo does?
Deliberately not. You export the schema yourself — pg_dump --schema-only or mysqldump --no-data — and paste the file. That is one manual step per update, and in exchange the schema never leaves your machine: nothing to install, no credentials to hand over, no metadata repository to secure.
Can it document schema comments the way Dataedo shows descriptions?
Yes — COMMENT ON in PostgreSQL, inline COMMENT in MySQL and /// docs in Prisma all become the Description column of the generated dictionary, with nothing re-typed. ErdDocs has no in-app editing of those descriptions, by design: it treats the schema as the source of truth, so a description written once in the database shows up in every document generated from it afterwards.
Related
- Data dictionary generator — the tool this comparison is about.
- Database documentation tools — the wider landscape, including open source.
- Lucidchart alternative — the same comparison for the diagramming side.