When comparing MySQL Workbench vs SQLyog, the Slant community recommends MySQL Workbench for most people. In the question“What are the best MySQL client applications for Windows?” MySQL Workbench is ranked 4th while SQLyog is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose MySQL Workbench is:
Actions can be directly carried out on tables. The software prepares the relevant query for approval before execution.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Easy to use
Actions can be directly carried out on tables. The software prepares the relevant query for approval before execution.
Pro Community version
There is a community edition available that is free and open source; licensed under GPL.
Pro EER diagramming
MySQL Workbench has enhanced entity–relationship modeling support.
Pro Cross-platform
Works on Windows, Linux, OS X.
Pro Database synchronization
Forward & reverse engeneering
Pro Easy to use and elegant UI
The UI is uncluttered and intuitive.
Pro Visual design of queries
Query builder is very intuitive and easy for designing very complex queries.
Pro Community version
There is a free/community version available here.
Pro Power tools
There are very useful power tools to do task like database synchronization, visual data comparison, Schedule backup with email notification. One can also schedule task with scheduler and will get report of task completion or error in email.
Pro Session restore
User can enable session restore to avoid loss of unsaved work.
Pro Data visualization
Pro Store model in project file
Pro Discounts for multiple users
Pro Free upgrades for 1 year included
Pro Unconditional 90-day money back policy
Pro Premium support option
Pro Personalized themes
Pro Fast and stable
Completely written in c/c++ using win32 api gives is edge in performance over other clients.
Pro Advanced connection options
It's possible to connect to any MySQL server with these powerful connection options - HTTP, SSH, SSL.
Cons
Con Mixed experience
Doesn't support HiDPi mode on Windows, everything looks blurry. On Linux it has missing features. On Mac seems to be working just fine. But overall a mixed experience.
Con Unintuitive UI
Workbench's user interface is regarded by a lot of users as unintuitive and hard to use.
It seems cluttered and hard to get used to. The left side of the application has several sections (which you get to choose which to open) with several tools for each. A lot of features are hidden behind menus and need some getting used to find them.
Con Freezes constantly
Running any kind of query with more than a thousand records or even just opening a file and other actions crashes the application. You are unable to actually stop a query. You have to kill from Windows Task Manager every single time.
Con Premium support at an additional cost
Con Cost
Pricing starts at $69 and goes up to $299.
