| Feature | SSMS | Azure Data Studio | |---------|------|--------------------| | Primary use | Full database administration | Query development & data exploration | | Interface | Traditional, menu-driven | Modern, lightweight, tabs | | Extensions | Limited | Rich marketplace (Git, Jupyter, etc.) | | Performance | Heavier | Faster, lower memory | | Cross-platform | Windows only | Windows, macOS, Linux | | Best for | Backups, security, jobs, maintenance | Writing queries, visualizing data, notebooks |
A: Yes, SSMS is free for any use, including enterprise production environments. download the sql server management studio
A: Not recommended. The installer upgrades the existing version. However, older major versions (e.g., SSMS 17.x and 18.x) can technically coexist, but this is unsupported. | Feature | SSMS | Azure Data Studio