# Bytebase vs. Flyway: a side-by-side comparison for database schema migration > Bytebase vs. Flyway compared across migration workflow, SQL review, access control, pricing, and CI/CD. Updated for Flyway Desktop and Bytebase 3.16. Cayden | 2026-04-07 | Source: https://www.bytebase.com/blog/bytebase-vs-flyway/ --- > If Flyway is Git, then Bytebase is GitHub/GitLab. Flyway and Bytebase both handle database schema migration, but they solve different problems. Flyway is a migration engine — you write SQL scripts, run `flyway migrate`, and it tracks what's been applied. Bytebase is an all-in-one database DevSecOps platform — migration is one part, alongside SQL review, approval workflows, access control, data masking, and audit logging. If your team needs a CLI to slot into existing CI/CD pipelines, Flyway does that well. If you need to control who can change what, enforce review before deployment, and keep an audit trail — that's the problem Bytebase solves. ## What They Have in Common - Native SQL support for defining schema changes. - GitOps integration — trigger migrations from pull requests. - Schema synchronization and diff capabilities. - Change history tracking. - Tiered pricing with a free community edition. - Both are open source — Flyway Community is Apache 2.0 (Redgate acquired Flyway in 2019). Bytebase is MIT licensed, with enterprise features under a commercial license. ![Star history of Bytebase and Flyway](/content/blog/bytebase-vs-flyway/star-history.webp) ## Key Differences Between Bytebase and Flyway | | Flyway | Bytebase | | ------------------------------ | ------ | -------- | | [Developer interface](#developer-interface) | CLI + Flyway Desktop (GUI) | Web GUI + API + Terraform provider | | [Supported databases](#supported-databases) | 30+ | 23 | | [Installation](#installation) | Java 17 + JVM | Single Go binary, Docker, or K8s | | [Change execution](#change-execution) | SQL scripts + CLI | Issue-based GUI or GitOps | | [Schema sync](#schema-sync) | Flyway Desktop (1-to-1 comparison) | GUI-based batch sync (1-to-many) | | [Batch change](#batch-change) | Manual scripting per target | Built-in multi-env / multi-tenant | | [SQL review / code analysis](#sql-review-and-code-analysis) | Enterprise only: 74+ rules (SQLFluff + Redgate rules) | 200+ rules (all tiers) | | [Approval flow](#approval-flow) | — | All tiers: manual rollout; Enterprise: custom approval | | [Rollback](#rollback) | Enterprise only: manual + auto undo scripts | Auto-generated rollback + sync to any version | | [CI/CD integration](#cicd-integration) | GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, Octopus Deploy, TeamCity | GitOps (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps) + API | | [Change history](#change-history) | flyway_schema_history table | GUI with diff view + issue linkage | | [Database access control & audit](#database-access-control-and-audit) | — | All tiers: workspace/project roles; Pro: SSO, audit log; Enterprise: + dynamic data masking, custom roles, just-in-time data access | | License | Apache 2.0 | MIT + commercial (Enterprise features) | ### Pricing Comparison | | Free | Paid | | --- | --- | --- | | **Flyway** | Community (Apache 2.0, CLI + Desktop, 30+ DBs) | Enterprise: contact for pricing (AI features, code review policies, state-based deployment, undo scripts, change reports, drift detection) | | **Bytebase** | Community (self-hosted, up to 20 users, 10 instances) | Pro: $20/user/mo (cloud-only, up to 10 instances); Enterprise: custom yearly (self-hosted or cloud) | ### Developer Interface **Flyway** offers two interfaces. The CLI is the primary tool — write SQL migration scripts, run `flyway migrate`, and it handles versioning and execution. **Flyway Desktop** (added after the Redgate acquisition) is a GUI application with a schema model view, built-in Git client, and visual diff tools. Desktop supports SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and MySQL. **Bytebase** provides a web-based GUI where developers submit changes, DBAs review them, and the platform handles rollout. It also exposes a full [API](https://api.bytebase.com/), a [Terraform provider](https://docs.bytebase.com/integrations/terraform/overview) for infrastructure-as-code workflows, and [GitOps workflow tutorials](https://docs.bytebase.com/tutorials/gitops-github-workflow) for Git-driven automation. ### Supported Databases **Flyway** supports 30+ databases including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MariaDB, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, CockroachDB, ClickHouse, MongoDB, DuckDB, and many more. Database support is modular — some engines are community-contributed extensions. **Bytebase** supports 25 database engines with deep integration: 9 RDBMS (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MariaDB, TiDB, OceanBase, CockroachDB, Spanner), 6 NoSQL (MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra, DocumentDB, DynamoDB, Cosmos DB), 9 data warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Hive, ClickHouse, Databricks, StarRocks, Doris, Trino), and Elasticsearch. Flyway covers more databases. Bytebase goes deeper on each one it supports — online schema change for MySQL, engine-specific SQL review rules for PostgreSQL, column-level data masking that understands each database's type system. ### Installation **Flyway** requires Java 17+ (JVM). Install the JVM, then install Flyway. Flyway Desktop is a separate installer for the GUI. **Bytebase** ships as a single Go binary with no external dependencies. Deploy via [Docker](https://docs.bytebase.com/get-started/deploy-with-docker) or [Kubernetes](https://docs.bytebase.com/get-started/deploy-with-kubernetes) in under 5 minutes. ### Change Execution **Flyway** uses versioned SQL migration scripts. Name them `V1__create_users.sql`, `V2__add_email_column.sql`, and run `flyway migrate`. Flyway tracks which versions have been applied in a metadata table and runs only the new ones. You can also use repeatable migrations (prefix `R__`) for views and stored procedures that get reapplied when their checksum changes. **Bytebase** uses an issue-based workflow. A developer creates an issue containing SQL statements, which goes through review and approval before execution. Issues can target a single database or batch across environments. Bytebase also supports online schema change for MySQL — large table migrations that would normally lock the table for hours complete in seconds with zero downtime. ![Bytebase issue-based change workflow](/content/blog/bytebase-vs-flyway/bytebase-issue.webp) ### Schema Sync **Flyway Desktop** provides visual schema comparison between a development database and a schema model. It generates migration scripts from the diff. This is a 1-to-1 comparison — you compare one source against one target. **Bytebase** has a built-in [schema sync](https://docs.bytebase.com/change-database/synchronize-schema) through the GUI. Pick a source database and one or more targets — Bytebase generates the DDL diff for each and applies them as a batch change issue, with SQL review, approval, and audit logging included. Useful for keeping staging in sync with prod, or syncing schema across dozens of tenant databases at once. ### Batch Change **Flyway** doesn't have built-in multi-environment orchestration. You run `flyway migrate` against each target database separately in your CI/CD pipeline. You can script this, but it's you writing the orchestration. **Bytebase** handles this natively. A single issue can roll out changes across [multiple environments](https://docs.bytebase.com/change-database/batch-change#change-databases-from-multiple-environments) (dev → staging → prod) or [multiple tenants](https://docs.bytebase.com/change-database/batch-change#change-databases-from-multiple-tenants). ### SQL Review and Code Analysis **Flyway Community** has no built-in SQL quality checks. **Flyway Enterprise** includes code analysis with 74+ rules — 60+ SQLFluff rules (open-source linter) plus 14+ Redgate-specific rules for code quality and security. Enterprise also includes a policy library and custom policy integration. **Bytebase** includes [SQL Review](https://docs.bytebase.com/sql-review/review-rules) with 200+ rules across MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, and more — available in the free tier. Rules are database-engine-specific, and you can configure error levels per environment (warn in dev, block in prod). SQL review triggers automatically in two places: 1. When a change issue is created. 2. In GitOps — when a new PR containing SQL is created. ### Approval Flow **Flyway** has no built-in approval workflow. Approval happens outside the tool — in your CI/CD pipeline, Jira tickets, or Slack messages. **Bytebase** Community and Pro include manual rollout — someone explicitly clicks "Deploy" to apply a change. **Bytebase Enterprise** adds [custom approval flows](https://docs.bytebase.com/change-database/approval). You define rules like "DDL on prod needs DBA approval" or "changes touching 3+ databases need manager sign-off," and the system routes each issue to the right reviewers. ### Rollback **Flyway Community** does not support rollback. **Flyway Enterprise** adds undo migrations — you write `U1__undo_create_users.sql` or use auto-generated undo scripts for common operations. **Bytebase** auto-generates rollback statements for DML changes and supports reverting to any previous schema version via [schema sync](https://docs.bytebase.com/change-database/rollback-data-changes). No manual rollback scripts needed. ### CI/CD Integration **Flyway** fits into any CI/CD pipeline as a CLI step — GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, Octopus Deploy, Harness, TeamCity. It's a command-line tool, so it works anywhere you can run a shell command. **Bytebase** offers [GitOps setup](https://docs.bytebase.com/gitops/overview) with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps. SQL files committed to a repo automatically create change issues in Bytebase, with SQL review running as a merge check. For other platforms, Bytebase's [API](https://api.bytebase.com/) lets you wire up any CI/CD pipeline. ### Change History **Flyway** tracks changes in the `flyway_schema_history` table — a record of which migrations were applied, when, and their checksums. You query it directly with SQL or run `flyway info` to see a summary. **Bytebase** provides a visual change history with schema diffs and links back to the originating issue, reviewer, and approval chain. ### Database Access Control and Audit **Flyway** doesn't cover this area. It's a migration tool — access control, data masking, and audit logging are outside its scope. **Bytebase** layers access control across its tiers: - **Community** — [workspace and project roles](https://docs.bytebase.com/administration/roles) (Owner, DBA, Developer) with built-in permissions, plus [SQL Editor](https://docs.bytebase.com/sql-editor/overview) for controlled query access. - **Pro** — adds SSO, [audit log](https://docs.bytebase.com/security/audit-log), and user groups. - **Enterprise** — [custom roles](https://docs.bytebase.com/administration/roles) with granular permissions, [dynamic data masking](https://docs.bytebase.com/security/data-masking/overview) at column level, enterprise SSO (OIDC, LDAP), 2FA, and just-in-time data access — developers request temporary query access, a reviewer approves it, and access expires automatically. ## When to Choose Flyway - Your team is CLI-first and wants to embed migrations directly into existing CI/CD pipelines. - You need to support a wide range of databases (30+), including niche or legacy systems. - Your developers already work in Java/JVM ecosystems. - You want Flyway Desktop's visual schema comparison for SQL Server development. - You need a migration engine, not a governance platform — access control and approval happen in other tools. ## When to Choose Bytebase - You want an all-in-one platform that covers migration, SQL review, access control, data masking, and audit logging. - Your team includes DBAs or platform engineers who review database changes before they reach production. - You need compliance — approval flows, audit trails, and data masking for SOC 2, GDPR, or internal security policies. - You're running multi-environment or multi-tenant deployments where batch change orchestration matters. ## FAQ ### Is Flyway still open source? Flyway Community remains Apache 2.0 licensed. Redgate acquired Flyway in 2019 and maintains both the open-source edition and commercial Flyway Enterprise with additional features (AI-powered summaries, auto undo scripts, policy library, state-based deployment). ### Can I use Flyway and Bytebase together? They solve different layers. Flyway handles the migration file format and execution; Bytebase handles collaboration, review, and governance. If you already have a library of Flyway migration scripts, you don't have to throw them away — Bytebase can manage the review and deployment side while Flyway stays as the execution engine. ### What is Flyway Desktop? Flyway Desktop is Redgate's GUI application for database development. It provides a visual schema model, built-in Git client, and schema comparison tools. It currently supports SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and MySQL. It's included in both Community and Enterprise editions. ### Which tool has better CI/CD integration? Depends on what "CI/CD integration" means to you. If it means "I want a command I can add to my Jenkins/GitHub Actions pipeline," Flyway wins — it's a CLI call that works anywhere. If it means "I want SQL files in a repo to automatically become reviewed, approved change issues," Bytebase's GitOps integration does that out of the box. ### How does Flyway pricing compare to Bytebase? Flyway Community is free. Flyway Enterprise requires contacting Redgate for a quote — no public pricing. Bytebase Community is free (up to 20 users), Pro is $20/user/month, and Enterprise is custom pricing. [Bytebase pricing details](https://www.bytebase.com/pricing/). --- Related comparisons: - [Bytebase vs. Atlas](/blog/bytebase-vs-atlas/) - [Bytebase vs. Liquibase](/blog/bytebase-vs-liquibase/) - [Flyway vs. Liquibase](/blog/flyway-vs-liquibase/) - [Top Database Schema Change Tools](/blog/top-database-schema-change-tool-evolution/)