Flyway vs. Liquibase: a side-by-side comparison for database schema migration

When looking for a database CI/CD and schema migration change tool, Flyway and Liquibase are two common options. Understanding the differences between these two tools can help potential users choose the one that best meets their needs.

What Flyway and Liquibase have in common

Native SQL supported, however Liquibase requires XML changelog to define the changes.
Database CI/CD with version control system #GitOps (see Database GitOps configuration).
Auto SQL check (see Auto SQL check).
Schema Synchronization (see Sync schema).
Tiered pricing, offering both free and paid plan.
Open source, both has long history.

What are the differences between Flyway and Liquibase?

While both Flyway and Liquibase are tools for database CI/CD, there are some key differences between the two. The following table summarizes the differences between Flyway and Liquibase.

	Flyway	Liquibase
Product position	Schema Change & Version Control	Schema Change & Version Control
Developer interface	CLI	CLI
Supported databases	22 Only SQL	50 SQL & NoSQL DB
Programming language and installation	Java + JVM	Java + JVM
Change execution	SQL script + CLI	Changelog (XML) + CLI
Change order	Numbering of SQL files	Changelog (XML)
Database GitOps	✅	✅
SQL auto check	✅	✅
Change history	✅	✅
Sync schema	✅	✅
Rollback	✅	✅
Schema drift detection	✅	✅

Product position

Flyway: A database schema change and version control tool.
Liquibase: A database schema change and version control tool. It helps you track, manage, and automate changes to your database.

Developer interface

Flyway: A command-line tool. With JVM, it also provides Java API, Maven plugin and Gradle plugin. A simple graphical user interface (GUI) called Flyway Desktop is available for SQL Server, PostgreSQL and MySQL.
Liquibase: A command-line tool. A simple graphical user interface (GUI) called Liquibase Hub is available with the Pro Plan, but it has sunset in May 2023.

Supported databases

Flyway: 22 SQL databases - MySQL, PostgreSQL, IBM DB2, MS SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake ...
Liquibase: 50 SQL and NoSQL databases - IBM DB2, MS SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Snowflake, MongoDB, Clickhouse ...

Installation

Flyway: Java-based tool, so you need to install a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) before users can install Flyway.
Liquibase: Java-based tool, so you need to install a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) before users can install Liquibase.

Change execution

Flyway: CLI or GitOps. Users write SQL files and then run command flyway migrate.

flyway-change

Liquibase: CLI or GitOps. Users specify the changes by defining a changelog and then run a command.

liquibase-changelog liquibase-update

Change order

Flyway: Number the SQL files in the order you want them to be executed.
Liquibase: Specify the order of changes in the changelog file.

Database GitOps configuration

Flyway: Configure with VCS CI/CD workflow manually.
Liquibase: Configure with VCS CI/CD workflow manually.

SQL auto check

SQL auto check helps developers write less buggy SQL and save DBAs manual review efforts.

Flyway: Code Analysis
Liquibase: SQL Quality check

Supported plan

Flyway: Only in Team Plan or above
Liquibase: Only in Pro Plan and above

Number of rules

Flyway: 10+ general rules or integrate a python app called SQLFluff to get more rules.
Liquibase: 10 general rules

How to configure

Flyway: Predefined, users may set them active or not.
Liquibase: Predefined, users may set levels while calling.

How to trigger

Flyway: Run flyway check -code .... command to produce a report.
Liquibase: Run check command or manually integrate this command in automation. Users may go to admin console to view logs.

Change history

Flyway: Run flyway info to show flyway_schema_history table.
Liquibase: Simple Database Change Logs.

Sync schema

Flyway: Via the flyway desktop, there is a way to generate a migration script to bring the target database schema in sync with the one you already created (usually dev).
Liquibase: Support diff-changelog to compare databases and to create a deployable changelog to sync.

Rollback

Flyway: Write rollback scripts manually. Supported in Team version.
Liquibase: Support rollback-one-changeset or rollback.

Schema drift detection

Flyway: Run flyway check -drift ... to produce a report indicating difference between target database and the one created by the migrations applied by Flyway.
Liquibase: Run liquibase diff --format=json to produce a report indicating difference between target database and source database.

Summary

Flyway and Liquibase are the two well-established tools for database CI/CD. They are similar in many ways, both are Java based, adopt migration-based approach. The most signicant difference is Liquibase has an additional Changelog concept to allow user to specify explicit migration ordering, precondtions, labels and context, while Flyway relies on the file naming to determine the order.

Both tools provides a git like pattern for database migrations. On the other hand, if you are looking for a GitHub/GitLab experience with a nice GUI and team collaboration features, please check out our own Bytebase and continue reading the side-by-side comparison with each of them:

Flyway vs. Liquibase: a side-by-side comparison for database schema migration

What Flyway and Liquibase have in common