Stephanie Herr

12 December 2025

SQL Compare & SQL Data Compare v16: Introducing SQL Server 2025 Support, Enhanced Security & More

We have just released a new major version of SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare – version 16.  This major version has two big items and one coming soon:

• Support for connecting to the new SQL Server 2025 database
• Strengthening security when remembering credentials
• Support for SQL Server Management Studio 22 – Coming soon

Support for the new SQL Server 2025 database

In late November, Microsoft announced the general availability for SQL Server 2025.  We have been busy upgrading our tests and fixing issues to make sure we’re ready for when you start using SQL Server 2025.  You can connect to SQL Server 2025 databases and use them as a Source or Target for comparisons and deployments.

There are some new features that we already support, like the JSON data type in SQL Compare.  The other big feature is the new Vector Data Types and indexes to power your AI data.  If you’re planning to use these, vote on our suggestion forum to help us prioritize these and other new SQL Server capabilities in SQL Compare:

• Support for Vector Data Types
• Support for JSON data type in SQL Data Compare
• Other suggestions for SQL Compare
• Other suggestions for SQL Data Compare

Strengthening security when saving passwords

In previous versions, SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare saved your password to both the Windows Credential Store and the project file if you selected Remember credentials and saved your project.  Using the Windows Credential Manager is the most secure way, which is why this latest release will only save passwords to the Windows Credential Store.

Note: This only applies if you use SQL Server authentication or Microsoft Entra password authentication (Azure) on your Source or Target databases.  If you use any of the following, this change does NOT impact you since no credential information is stored:

• Windows authentication (on-prem)
• Microsoft Entra integrated authentication (Azure)
• Microsoft Entra with MFA authentication (Azure)

What this means, in v16, when you save an existing project with the Remember credentials option selected, we will remove the password from the project file and only store it in the local Windows Credential Manager.  When saving new projects with this option checked, we will only store it in the Windows Credential Manager.

Your information is only in the Windows Credential Manager on the local machine where you saved it.  If you share your project with someone else or a project is shared with you, the password will need to be re-entered since it is no longer in the project file.  This ensures database passwords aren’t accidentally shared with others, and only users that know the password can enter it to connect to the database.

Even though major versions of SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare can be installed side-by-side, as soon as your project is saved in the latest version, the password will be removed from the project file.  This means that older versions of SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare won’t be able to access these details in the project file anymore.

Coming soon: support for SQL Server Management Studio 22

SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare integrate into SQL Server Management Studio giving you a quick way to run database comparisons.  With the release of SQL Server Management Studio 22 from Microsoft at the end of November 2025, we’ll be shipping a minor version that will support the latest SSMS.  In SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare, you’ll get notifications when the latest version is available.

Next steps: where to download – or try for free

You can download the latest version of SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare now.  Your existing supported license will work, or you can start a free 14-day trial.  Let us know what you think about this release and what you want to see in our next release by getting in touch with our Database DevOps Development Team.  We’re committed to helping make understanding and deploying your database changes easier and safer.

If you’re looking to include your database changes as part of an automated CI/CD pipeline, talk to us about Redgate Flyway, which is built on this comparison technology and supports deploying database changes for over 50 database systems, including Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.