head to head · open source
DBeaver vs badger
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars, 4,372 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped today. badger has 15,761 stars, 1,318 forks, 69 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. DBeaver leads on adoption by 229% (51,797 vs 15,761 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; badger is written in Go under Apache-2.0. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, badger 8%. DBeaver was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (database), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| DBeaver | badger | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 16K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick DBeaver if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick badger if
- You want the badger feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and badger fits your workflow better
About DBeaver
DBeaver is a free, multi platform database management tool built in Java, designed for developers, SQL programmers, database administrators, and analysts. It operates across Windows, macOS, and Linux and integrates with the Eclipse based plugin ecosystem via OSGi and Eclipse RCP frameworks.
read the full DBeaver overview →
About badger
BadgerDB is an embeddable, persistent, fast key value database written in pure Go, aimed at Go developers who need local high performance storage inside their own applications rather than a separate database server.
read the full badger overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or badger more popular?
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars and badger has 15,761. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and badger free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and badger under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and badger?
DBeaver is written in Java and badger in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, DBeaver or badger?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,797 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose badger if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.