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Should I use Ariga (Atlas)?

Database schema as code — the Atlas platform - ariga.io

Depends. Buy Atlas if your team manages database schemas as code and wants CI-driven migrations across multiple engines. Skip it if your framework's built-in migrations already work — the cloud tier adds per-user fees and paywalled features.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 14 usable public sources. Many search hits were name collisions (Ariga Foods, academics, manga artists) and were discarded, which lowers confidence.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo public evidence on support responsiveness
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Atlas CLI (open source)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Atlas Cloud$9/month per user

Best for

  • Schema-as-code teams
  • CI/CD-driven migrations
  • Multi-database estates
  • Terraform-aligned platform teams

Not for

  • Small teams happy with plain SQL migration files
  • Rails developers — strong_migrations already covers it
  • Buyers wanting GUI-first database management
  • Anyone needing the migration linter for free

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Atlas paywalled its migration linter in March 2026; free alternatives are documented

medium

CVE-2022-33987 affected the Atlas Go module in 2022

medium

Critical gRPC dependency CVE (GHSA) filed on the repo in 2026

low

Cloud plan is $9/user/month; fees scale with headcount

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Open-source core; full CLI and engine on GitHub
  • Scans database extensions for known CVEs
  • First-party GitHub Actions for migration workflows
  • HashiCorp technology partner
  • Funded with $18M in June 2023

Cons

  • Migration linter became paywalled in 2026
  • Ranks #161 in PeerSpot vendor comparisons
  • Historical CVE in its Go module (2022)
  • Per-user cloud pricing compounds with team size

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/26/2026 - 14 sources - trust center and a CVE analyzer feature; one 2022 CVE in the Atlas Go module; dependency CVEs tracked openly on GitHub.

official x5review x5security x3news x1
  • CVE-2022-33987, Reported against the golang-ariga-atlas Go module; tracked by Red Hat Bugzilla.
  • Critical gRPC dependency CVE, GHSA-flagged gRPC v1.77.0 issue filed on ariga/atlas in March 2026.
  • go-cty-yaml v1.1.0 vulnerability, Dependency vulnerability opened as issue #3454 on ariga/atlas in April 2025.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Core is free; linter paywall drew public criticism
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Reddit notes fluent API; GitHub Actions ease setup
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Schema-as-code, CVE scanning, multi-DB, CI integrations
  • Support quality. No public evidence on support responsiveness
  • Security posture: 3/5. Trust center exists; 2022 CVE and dependency flags
  • $9/mo per user Starting price Atlas Cloud, per official pricing page
  • Yes Free tier Open-source CLI and engine on GitHub
  • $18M Funding raised June 2023 round
  • #161 PeerSpot category rank Across vendor comparison pages

Pricing

Atlas CLI (open source)

$0

  • Full schema-as-code engine
  • Migrations and diffing
  • Self-hosted in your CI

Atlas Cloud

$9/month per user

  • Hosted schema management
  • Migration linter
  • Cloud workspace features

Security

trust center and a CVE analyzer feature; one 2022 CVE in the Atlas Go module; dependency CVEs tracked openly on GitHub.

  • CVE-2022-33987Reported against the golang-ariga-atlas Go module; tracked by Red Hat Bugzilla.⁴
  • Critical gRPC dependency CVEGHSA-flagged gRPC v1.77.0 issue filed on ariga/atlas in March 2026.⁵
  • go-cty-yaml v1.1.0 vulnerabilityDependency vulnerability opened as issue #3454 on ariga/atlas in April 2025.

What users say

Substantive reviews are thin: PeerSpot ranks Atlas low (#161) and the loudest 2026 user complaint is the linter paywall.

Alternatives

Compare Ariga (Atlas) with each alternative.

  • Bytebase

    GUI-first database DevOps rival; publishes its own Atlas comparison

    Ariga (Atlas) vs Bytebase

  • strong_migrations

    Free Rails migration safety checks, recommended on Reddit

  • Atlas open-source CLI

    Self-host the free CLI instead of paying for Atlas Cloud

Companies that use it

Full analysis

Based on 14 usable public sources. Many search hits were name collisions (Ariga Foods, academics, manga artists) and were discarded, which lowers confidence.

Open-source Atlas core is strong for schema-as-code teams; small shops on plain SQL migrations should skip the $9/user cloud.

Methodology

Based on 14 usable public sources. Many search hits were name collisions (Ariga Foods, academics, manga artists) and were discarded, which lowers confidence.

Sources

  1. Atlas Pricing — $9/month per useratlasgo.io
    official
  2. ariga/atlas on GitHub (open source)github.com
    official
  3. Ariga raises $18M for schema-as-codesiliconangle.com
    news
  4. CVE-2022-33987 golang-ariga-atlasbugzilla.redhat.com
    security
  5. Critical gRPC CVE issue on ariga/atlasgithub.com
    security
  6. Atlas paywalled their migration linterdev.to
    review
  7. Atlas by Ariga PeerSpot comparison pagepeerspot.com
    review
  8. HashiCorp Tech Partner — Arigahashicorp.com
    official
  9. Atlas Trust Centeratlasgo.io
    security
  10. Bytebase vs. Atlas comparisonbytebase.com
    review
  11. Unicos platform engineering case studylinkedin.com
    review
  12. Atlas GitHub Actionsgithub.com
    official
  13. CVE analyzer changelogatlasgo.io
    official
  14. Atlas Cloud pricing — TrustRadiustrustradius.com
    review

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