In some embodiments, a system is provided, comprising: memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to: submit a first database query; receive a runtime to execute the first database query using a plan selected by a query optimizer; receive runtimes to execute the first database query using a plurality of test plans; determine, based on the runtimes, a metric indicative of the effectiveness of the query optimizer; and cause the metric indicative of the effectiveness of the query optimizer to be presented to a user.