head to head · open source
DBeaver vs crystal
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars, 4,372 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped today. crystal has 12,931 stars, 625 forks, 169 open issues and last shipped yesterday. DBeaver leads on adoption by 301% (51,797 vs 12,931 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; crystal is written in TypeScript under MIT. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, crystal 5%. DBeaver 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.
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Side by side
| DBeaver | crystal | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 13K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 625 |
| 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 crystal if
- You want the crystal feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and crystal 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 crystal
Graphile's Crystal is a TypeScript monorepo of MIT licensed GraphQL tooling for the Node.js and PostgreSQL ecosystems, aimed at developers who want an auto generated, high performance GraphQL API over a PostgreSQL database or a faster execution engine for a GraphQL.js schema they already own.
read the full crystal overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or crystal more popular?
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars and crystal has 12,931. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and crystal free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and crystal under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and crystal?
DBeaver is written in Java and crystal 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, DBeaver or crystal?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,797 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose crystal if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.