Three Free Tools That Can Replace Navicat for MySQL

DBeaver

DBeaver is a widely known, open‑source client that supports virtually every major database type. The author highlights its broad compatibility as the main reason for recommendation.

Installation is straightforward: download the community edition from https://dbeaver.io/download/, choose the version matching your OS, and follow the wizard. After installation you can switch the UI language to Simplified Chinese if needed.

When connecting, you select the target database type, the tool automatically downloads the required driver, and you can start using it immediately. The interface is fully Chinese after language change, making it easy for non‑English users.

MySQL Workbench

MySQL Workbench is the official MySQL client released by Oracle. It can be downloaded from https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/workbench/. The current version is 8.x, which works regardless of the MySQL server version you use.

After downloading, install the program. The UI is English only, but the author notes that the tool offers two major advantages: built‑in database monitoring and an ER‑diagram editor. Both features are free, unlike many third‑party tools.

The author, a performance‑testing engineer, finds the monitoring capability especially useful because it provides immediate performance data without setting up a separate monitoring environment.

HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is a lightweight, free client that supports MariaDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL and SQLite—five of the most commonly used databases in China.

The download package is about 40 MB, and the source code is available on GitHub. After installation the UI automatically switches to Chinese based on the system locale, and the language can also be changed via Tools → Preferences → Program Language.

The author praises its compact size and comprehensive feature set, noting that its interface is more pleasant than the other two tools.

Overall, the three tools provide free, functional alternatives to Navicat, each with its own strengths: DBeaver for universal database support, MySQL Workbench for built‑in monitoring and ER diagrams, and HeidiSQL for a small footprint with multi‑database compatibility.