What Is Raw Query and How Does It Work?
Raw Query is a web-based AI tool that turns your database into a conversational partner. Instead of writing SQL queries, you type plain English questions or commands, and the AI translates them into database operations. Upon visiting the site, the tagline "Your database has joined the chat" sets expectations clearly: you are getting a chat interface to your data. The landing page immediately highlights three capabilities: querying your data, adding new data, and updating existing records. It supports Postgres, MySQL, and MariaDB, but only Postgres allows insert and update operations—MySQL and MariaDB users are limited to read-only queries. The underlying AI model is not named, but the results during my testing felt consistent with GPT-class language models fine-tuned for SQL generation.
Testing the Free Tier: A Hands-On Look
I signed up for the free tier to see how seamless the setup really is. Raw Query claims that a connection string is all you need, and that holds true. After pasting my Postgres connection string, the dashboard showed a clean chat interface with no additional configuration required. I typed "Show me the email of the last 5 customers who signed up for the Pro Plan" and within seconds the AI returned a formatted table and offered to export as CSV. The response was accurate and the query breakdown appeared in a side panel, which helps users verify what SQL was executed. I also tested a data update: "Change the email of user ID 42 to [email protected]". The AI paused and asked for confirmation before executing the UPDATE, a safety feature that prevents accidental changes. That said, the free tier limits you to 300 successful queries per month, and queries that require further clarification are not counted—a fair policy.
Pricing Breakdown and Value
Raw Query offers four plans. The Free plan ($0/month) includes 300 successful queries, 1 seat, and 2 databases. The Starter plan ($39/month) bumps that to 1500 queries, 5 seats, and unlimited databases with priority support. Pro ($79/month) gives you 5000 queries, 10 seats. Team ($149/month) offers 20000 queries, unlimited seats, and role-based access per database. For small teams or solo founders, the Starter plan seems like the sweet spot. Compared to competitors like AskYourDatabase or SQL Chat, Raw Query‘s pricing is competitive, though those tools sometimes support more database engines (such as MSSQL or SQLite). Raw Query is noticeably missing support for SQL Server, which could be a dealbreaker for enterprise users.
Strengths, Limitations, and Final Verdict
Raw Query’s greatest strength is its simplicity. The connection-string-only setup removes friction, and the chat interface is genuinely intuitive for non-technical team members. The confirmation step before updates is a well-thought-out safety measure. However, I see clear limitations: only three database types are supported, and MySQL/MariaDB cannot modify data. Additionally, the free tier’s 300-query cap may feel restrictive for even a small team’s daily debugging needs. For developers tired of building endless internal tools, Raw Query is a solid time-saver. For business analysts, it replaces the need to learn SQL or wait for engineering requests. Overall, Raw Query is best suited for small to mid-sized teams using Postgres who want to give non-technical colleagues safe database access. If you rely heavily on MySQL or need SQL Server support, look elsewhere. Visit Raw Query at https://rawquery.com/ to explore it yourself.
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