If you’re looking for a simple, lightweight tool to manage SQL databases, you’ve likely come across Adminer (formerly known as phpMinAdmin). Adminer has long been a popular choice for database administration due to its compact size and straightforward functionality. However, its last stable release was in 2021, and its user interface feels increasingly dated in today’s world of modern, sleek applications. While Adminer remains functional, many users are now seeking more contemporary Adminer alternatives that offer better performance, a more intuitive UI, and compatibility with modern development workflows like Docker.
Keep on reading for the best Adminer alternative for modern database management.
Adminer is a powerful, full-featured database management tool written in PHP, designed to facilitate easy and efficient management of various database systems.
Unlike traditional tools such as phpMyAdmin, Adminer is packaged as a single PHP file, making it incredibly simple to deploy on any server. It supports a wide range of databases, including MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MS SQL, Oracle, and MongoDB, among others, through plugins.
With a focus on security, user experience, and performance, Adminer allows users to connect to database servers, manage tables, execute SQL commands, and perform data exports, all within a clean and intuitive interface. Its extensive features make it an excellent choice for developers and database administrators seeking a lightweight yet robust solution for database management.
Though Adminer continues to be a popular database management tool, it is no longer a recommended choice in 2025. Here are some key factors to rethink your choice of Adminer:
Lack of Updates
Adminer’s last stable release is from 2021 – it is no longer actively maintained and users may face vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. Regular updates are essential for patching security flaws. Without ongoing support, users risk using outdated software that may not address known vulnerabilities.
Availability of Alternatives With Better UI
There are many modern database management tools available that offer enhanced features, better security protocols, and active community support, making them more appealing. They also come with a more intuitive UI.
Lack of Role-Based Access Control
Adminer is a great tool for managing your database, but it’s not great for teams managing data with different permissions and roles. Adminer does not implement role-based access control. Modern tools have better mechanism to control data access.
Increased Performance Needs
Users increasingly require tools that provide better performance or scalability, especially with growing data demands.
Five is a cutting-edge, web-based database management tool designed for rapid application development and deployment.
With its intuitive interface, Five allows users to create and manage MySQL and/or MS SQL Server databases in a modern and intuitive UI inside their browsers.
In Five, developers can:
✅ Create a MySQL database from scratch,
✅ Create table relationships
✅ Assign common data and display types to database fields
✅ Visually inspect their database schema
✅ Connect to an existing database (MySQL or Microsoft SQL Server)
✅ Launch a database-driven web application with forms, charts, dashboards and reports
✅ Query their database in standard SQL. Queries can be written in SQL or build in Five’s SQL editor
Beyond database management, Five is an all-in-one rapid application development environment that can be used to build login-protected web user interfaces for databases.
Five can be used to build and deploy containerized web applications. Five gives you all the tools to create a database, build a responsive user interface and deploy your application to the cloud.
Control and manage who has access to your data through Five’s role-based access control. Assign CRUD permissions, and enforce two-factor authentication. Add Single Sign-On for enterprise-grade security.
Five gives you a full audit trail of database changes, ideal for mission-critical web applications that are used to store, manage and control data.
Visualize data in modern dashboards. Add pie charts, bar charts or other analytical tools for business intelligence.
Five even lets you create PDF reports connected to your database. Run daily, weekly or monthly reports. Run reports automatically or schedule them at regular intervals.
Five: Database Management and More
Five is a modern development environment for managing, developing and launching database-driven web applications. Sign up for a free trial and manage your database in an intuitive, modern all-in-one tool.