Plan Explorer SSMS 22 integration – free users unable to obtain plugin?

Question

Hi everyone,

I am using the free version of SolarWinds Plan Explorer and recently installed SSMS 22.

According to the current SolarWinds documentation, SSMS 22 requires a separate integration plugin:

PlanExplorer.SsmsIntegration.VS2026.vsix

The documentation states that this plugin can be downloaded from the SolarWinds Customer Portal. However, access to the Customer Portal requires a Customer ID.

As I am only using the free Plan Explorer tool, I do not have a Customer ID or a paid SQL Sentry license.

I have already contacted SolarWinds directly to clarify this issue. Unfortunately, I am rather disappointed with the way my request has been handled so far.

Customer Care simply forwarded my request to the Sales department. Sales then told me that SolarWinds does not provide support for free tools and referred me to this THWACK Community.

What I find particularly frustrating is that neither department actually answered my question.

I am not asking for technical support for Plan Explorer. I am asking a very straightforward question about access to an officially documented component:

If Plan Explorer is a free tool, how is a free user supposed to obtain the SSMS 22 integration plugin?

Specifically:

* Is PlanExplorer.SsmsIntegration.VS2026.vsix free?
* Is the SSMS 22 integration part of the free Plan Explorer offering?
* Why does downloading it require a Customer ID?
* How can a user of the free Plan Explorer obtain such a Customer ID?
* Is there an official download location for the VSIX that does not require a paid SolarWinds product?

At the moment, the situation appears contradictory: SolarWinds advertises Plan Explorer as a free tool, while the documented SSMS 22 integration appears to be inaccessible to users who do not have a Customer ID.

I find it disappointing that, after contacting SolarWinds directly, I was simply passed from Customer Care to Sales and then redirected to the community without receiving an answer to this basic question.

I would therefore particularly appreciate an answer from someone who has actually installed the SSMS 22 integration as a free Plan Explorer user, or from a SolarWinds employee who can clarify the current licensing and download situation.

I am not looking for a paid SQL Sentry license. I simply want to use the officially documented SSMS 22 integration with the free Plan Explorer product.

Thank you.

AnticipatedD · Accepted Answer

Hello there, sorry to hear about your frustration and the coincidence and welcome to THWACK community.

The short answer is that the SSMS 22 integration plugin is indeed a free component, but the documentation’s redirection to the Customer Portal is an oversight that creates a structural barrier for free users.

Because the standalone version of SolarWinds Plan Explorer does not grant a Customer ID, free users are blocked from downloading PlanExplorer. SsmsIntegration.VS2026.vsix via the primary documented path. Below are the direct answers to your specific questions, along with how to resolve this.

Direct Answers to Your QuestionsIs PlanExplorer.SsmsIntegration.VS2026.vsix free?

Yes. The extension itself is entirely free and does not require a paid premium license to run.

* Is the SSMS 22 integration part of the free Plan Explorer offering?

Yes. SolarWinds explicitly advertises SSMS v22 compatibility as a core capability of the free tool, enabling right-click execution plan analysis from within Management Studio.

Why does downloading it require a Customer ID?

The SolarWinds Customer Portal is structurally walled off for paid enterprise products (like the full SQL Sentry suite). Because the VSIX is bundled into the SQL Sentry release cycle, the documentation mistakenly points everyone to the secure repository rather than a public endpoint.

* How can a user of the free Plan Explorer obtain such a Customer ID?

You cannot obtain a Customer ID as a free user. Customer IDs are strictly generated upon purchasing a commercial license or registering a formal enterprise trial.

* Is there an official download location for the VSIX that does not require a paid SolarWinds product?

Currently, there is no public standalone landing page for just the .vsix file. However, free users can bypass the portal block entirely using the method below.

How to Get the SSMS 22 Extension Without a Customer ID

You do not need access to the Customer Portal to extract this file.

* The extension is bundled directly inside the standard installer. 
* Download the latest version of the free standalone Plan Explorer Installer. 
* If the setup wizard does not automatically detect and drop the plugin for SSMS 22 during a standard install/repair, you can manually extract it.  
* Run the installer via the command line or use a decompression tool (like 7-Zip) to extract the installation files.

Locate PlanExplorer.SsmsIntegration.VS2026.vsix within the extracted folder structure. Close SSMS 22, double-click the .vsix file, and proceed with the installation.

(Note: If you have an older version of Plan Explorer already installed, you must update to the latest build to ensure the VS2026/SSMS 22 extension is included inside the package).

Hopefully, you would be able ro understand about your queries.