Comparing IDEA and Navicat for Executing Large SQL Files: Performance Test and Analysis

The author discovered that executing large SQL files with IntelliJ IDEA is surprisingly more efficient than using the professional tool Navicat, challenging common assumptions.

Because direct network migration was impossible, several SQL dump files up to 1.83 GB had to be exported and then executed locally on the target environment.

Navicat test: Running a 90.1 MB file caused severe lag, high CPU temperature, and the program froze. CPU usage breakdown was 194.6+118.9+54.5=368 , execution time 20.5 minutes, yielding a speed of 4.4M/min . The process also frequently stalled.

IDEA test (98.8 MB): CPU consumption was much lower (IDEA 44 % versus Navicat 194.6 %). Execution completed in 17 minutes with a speed of 5.8M/min , a 32 % improvement, and no freezing occurred.

IDEA test (1.83 GB): Total CPU usage remained modest ( 49.6+47.3+44.0=140.6 ). The massive file finished in 1 hour 19 minutes, achieving a speed of 23.47M/min , roughly a 300 % increase over Navicat, and the process stayed stable.

Conclusion: For large‑file SQL execution, IDEA outperforms Navicat in both speed and stability, making it the preferred choice.

Possible reasons: Navicat may employ multithreading and log each statement individually, incurring extra overhead, while IDEA batches logs (e.g., printing after every 1,000 statements) and avoids thread‑management costs, resulting in lower CPU usage and higher throughput.