SQL Compare - Free tool for comparing Schema in SQL Server

Are you looking for a tool which can help you compare the schema of two databases, snapshots, SQL Scripts or backups in same or different SQL servers, read further to find the solution which is easy to use and understand and most importantly available for free trial.

SQL Compare 

This is a tool provided by RedGate and available for free trial however to use it for long time you need to purchase a licence.

SQL Compare is the industry standard for comparing and deploying SQL Server database schemas.

71% of the Fortune 100 use SQL Compare – because it's relentlessly tested, easy to use, fast, and saves time.

You can work with live databases, database snapshots, SQL scripts in source control, or backups. SQL Compare helps you compare and deploy changes quickly, simply and with zero errors.



We are shortly going to see how to use the tool and how to refer the results.

The below screen shows the first screen that is shown to select which type of object you want to compare and their locations (In our example we are going to see comparison of two databases

The below screen shows the differences/similarities found in the database schema

This tool can show the differences between certificates, Stored procedure's permissions as well, which is in fact great. You can use this tool to find differences when your continuous build fails to figure out what went wrong.