head to head · open source
Budibase vs Bknd
Budibase has 28,289 GitHub stars, 2,218 forks, 276 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Bknd has 3,762 stars, 145 forks, 42 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. Budibase leads on adoption by 652% (28,289 vs 3,762 stars). Budibase is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Bknd is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Budibase has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Bknd 4%. Budibase was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Budibase | Bknd | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-04-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 145 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Budibase if
- You weight community size — 28K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Bknd if
- You want the Bknd feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Bknd fits your workflow better
About Budibase
Budibase is an open source low code platform for building internal tools, data apps, and AI powered agents that automate operational workflows. It lives in the low code/no code ecosystem and serves as a self hostable alternative to proprietary platforms like Retool.
read the full Budibase overview →
About Bknd
Bknd is a lightweight TypeScript backend platform that provides a visual backend for database management, authentication, media, and workflows. It is positioned as a Firebase and Supabase alternative that can run inside many JavaScript environments, including Next.js, React Router, Astro, Cloudflare, Bun, Node.js, and AWS Lambda.
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More Frameworks & Platforms projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Frameworks & Platforms field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Budibase or Bknd more popular?
Budibase has 28,289 GitHub stars and Bknd has 3,762. Budibase has the larger community by that measure.
Are Budibase and Bknd free?
Both are open source. Budibase has no licence declared in this registry, and Bknd is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Budibase and Bknd?
Budibase is written in TypeScript and Bknd in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Budibase or Bknd?
Choose Budibase if you want the larger community (28,289 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Bknd if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.