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Arctype VS ViewForge

Compare Arctype VS ViewForge and see what are their differences

Arctype

Free SQL Client for developers and teams. Available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Web.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Freemium Free trial $10 / Monthly
Alternatives Is it good?
ViewForge

Year/Make/Model fitment search for Shopify. 8 verticals, Smart Parse, and your data in Shopify metaobjects — not a vendor database. Free tier, Pro at $49.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Freemium Free trial $19 / Monthly ($19/month Starter 1,000 products, custom templates, CSV import)
Alternatives Is it good?
EcomIQX
EcomIQX scores every product in your catalog on content health, keyword coverage and AI search visibility, then rewrites the weak ones in your brand voice. sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Arctype seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 36 times since March 2021.

social mentions
36 vs 0
Developer Tool popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Arctype
ViewForge
Website arctype.com normalview.pro
Pricing
Freemium Free trial $10 / Monthly Official pricing
Freemium Free trial $19 / Monthly ($19/month Starter 1,000 products, custom templates, CSV import) Official pricing
Platforms —
Shopify
Company — Startup from the United States · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in
Developer Tool MySQL PostgreSQL SQL +1
eCommerce Tools Custom Search Fitment

About Arctype and ViewForge

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Arctype
ViewForge

No description of Arctype yet.

ViewForge is a Year Make Model (YMM) parts finder for Shopify. Shoppers pick their vehicle, machine or device from cascading dropdowns and see only the parts that fit. Fitment search works across eight verticals — auto, motorcycle, tractor, marine, power equipment, bicycle, printer and...

Read more about ViewForge

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Arctype 5 features
ViewForge 9 features
  • User-Friendly Interface
    Arctype offers a clean and intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, even for users who might not be highly technical. This can help in reducing the learning curve and improving productivity.
  • Collaboration Features
    The platform includes strong collaboration features, allowing multiple users to work together in real-time, which can enhance teamwork and improve project outcomes.
  • Database Support
    Arctype supports multiple databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and others, providing flexibility for users who work with different types of databases.
  • Customizable Queries
    Users can create custom SQL queries to fit their specific needs, which adds a layer of flexibility and control over data management.
  • Integrated Dashboarding
    The tool offers built-in dashboarding capabilities, enabling users to visualize data directly within the platform, aiding in data analysis and decision-making.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While Arctype covers basic needs well, it might lack some of the advanced functionalities offered by more robust database management tools, limiting its use for complex tasks.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users have reported performance lags when working with very large datasets, which can hinder efficiency and cause frustration.
  • Pricing Concerns
    Depending on the pricing model, some users may find the cost to be a bit high, especially when compared to other database management solutions offering similar features.
  • Reliance on Internet Connectivity
    As a cloud-based tool, it requires a stable internet connection to function optimally, which can be a disadvantage in areas with poor connectivity.
  • Limited Integrations
    Arctype may have fewer integrations with other third-party tools compared to more established platforms, which might limit its adaptability within certain tech stacks.
  • Fitment Information
    Cascading Year/Make/Model fitment search, up to four levels
  • Vertical integration nobody else has
    8 built-in vertical templates, plus custom templates on paid tiers
  • Shopify Metaobjects
    Fitment stored as native Shopify metaobjects — your data survives uninstall
  • Smart Data Processing
    Smart Parse: extract fitment from existing product titles and descriptions, with confidence scoring
  • CSV Import/Export
    CSV import with fuzzy matching and a coverage dashboard
  • ACES / PIES
    ACES / PIES import and NHTSA VIN decoding
  • My Garage
    Saved-vehicle garage, compatibility table, and product-page fit notice
  • Context Aware Fitment Search
    Collection-level fitment assignment
  • No Obligations
    Free tier with no expiry, up to 50 products

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Arctype 0 videos + Add
ViewForge 1 video + Add

No Arctype videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

ViewForge: YMM Search & Filter

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Arctype
ViewForge
100% 100%
Developer Tool
0% 0%
0% 0%
eCommerce Tools
100% 100%
100% 100%
Databases
0% 0%
0% 0%
Custom Search
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Arctype and ViewForge.

What makes your product unique?

ViewForge's answer:

Three things. (1) Data ownership: ViewForge writes fitment as Shopify metaobjects native to your store — most competitors store fitment in their own database. (2) 8 verticals out of the box: auto, motorcycle, tractor, marine, power equipment, bicycle, printer, electronics — most competitors are automotive-only. (3) Smart Parse: extract fitment automatically from your existing product titles and descriptions instead of re-typing everything.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

ViewForge's answer:

Data ownership. Fitment lives in your Shopify metaobjects, so uninstalling does not take your compatibility data with it. Convermax, EasySearch and PartFinder all keep it in their own databases, and getting it back depends on their export tooling on the day you cancel.

Cost at the low end. The search widget, the compatibility table on the product page and the saved-vehicle garage are all on the free tier, up to 50 products, with no expiry. EasySearch puts the table and the garage behind its $75/month Premium plan. Convermax starts at $250/month.

Automotive and non-automotive coverage. Eight built-in templates, and fully custom templates from $19/month, for catalogs that do not decompose into Year/Make/Model at all.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

ViewForge's answer:

Shopify merchants whose customers need to know whether a part fits before they will buy it — and who do not have an engineer on staff to build that themselves.

Concretely: auto and truck parts retailers, powersports and motorcycle dealers, tractor and agricultural parts sellers, marine and outboard suppliers, small-engine and power equipment stores, bicycle and e-bike component shops, printer supply merchants, and electronics accessory sellers.

Catalog sizes run from a few dozen products on the free tier up into the tens of thousands; it is running in production on a catalog of roughly 40,000 SKUs. The common thread is not the industry — it is that "does this fit my thing" is the question deciding the sale.

What's the story behind your product?

ViewForge's answer:

ViewForge came out of agency work. Normal View was building for a parts retailer running roughly 12,000 SKUs who needed fitment search, and every app we evaluated stored the merchant's compatibility data in the vendor's own database.

That is a strange trade when you look at it directly. Fitment data is genuinely expensive to produce — it is weeks of work — and the merchant would not own the result. It would belong to whichever app happened to be installed that year.

Shopify metaobjects made a different answer possible: write fitment as native structured data inside the merchant's own store. The theme reads it, the Storefront API queries it, Admin GraphQL exports it, and it is still there after an uninstall. That decision is what the rest of the app is built around.

Everything else came from real catalogs rather than a roadmap. Eight verticals exist because a tractor catalog is not Year/Make/Model. Smart Parse exists because that retailer had already written fitment into 12,000 product titles, and nobody was ever going to retype them.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

ViewForge's answer:

  • TypeScript
  • Shopify metaobjects, as the fitment data store
  • Shopify theme app extensions for the storefront components: fitment search, saved-vehicle garage, compatibility table, product-page fit notice
  • Shopify Storefront API, for querying fitment from the theme
  • Shopify Admin GraphQL API, for writing and exporting fitment records
  • NHTSA vehicle database, for VIN decoding
  • ACES and PIES XML parsing, for automotive catalog import

User comments

Share your experience with using Arctype and ViewForge. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Arctype 36 mentions
ViewForge 0 mentions
  • Arctype joining ClickHouse, Arctype end-of-life Dec. 6, 2022
    The link is to an image of the Arctype newsletter I received. I apologize for not having a better source. I couldn't find an online version of the newsletter, or any news sources that covered the end-of-life announcement. If you go to... - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
  • How to Use SQL to Analyze And Visualize Data?
    On the right side of the screen, you can select the type of chart you want. In this case, we select “Bar Chart.” Then below the “Select Chart Type” option, you have the “Specify Columns For The Chart” option. In this section, drag the... - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
  • New Postgres client for Mac?
    Lol finally just found it https://arctype.com/ after posting this. Has anyone tried it? Source: about 4 years ago

View more

Tracking ViewForge since Aug 2026.

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