head to head · open source
DBeaver vs citus
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars, 4,372 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped today. citus has 12,776 stars, 795 forks, 1,075 open issues and last shipped today. DBeaver leads on adoption by 305% (51,797 vs 12,776 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; citus is written in C under AGPL-3.0. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, citus 6%. 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 | citus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 13K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 795 |
| 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 citus if
- You want the citus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and citus 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 citus
Citus is an AGPL 3.0 licensed PostgreSQL extension, written in C, that turns an ordinary Postgres server into a distributed database for teams whose applications have outgrown a single PostgreSQL node.
read the full citus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or citus more popular?
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars and citus has 12,776. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and citus free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and citus under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and citus?
DBeaver is written in Java and citus in C. 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 citus?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,797 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose citus if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.