head to head · open source
DBeaver vs drawDB
DBeaver has 52,273 GitHub stars, 4,442 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped yesterday. drawDB has 40,223 stars, 3,350 forks, 241 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. DBeaver leads on adoption by 30% (52,273 vs 40,223 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; drawDB is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, drawDB 8%. DBeaver was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, erd), 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 | drawDB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 40K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 3.4K |
| 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 drawDB if
- You want the drawDB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and drawDB fits your workflow better
About DBeaver
DBeaver Free multi platform database tool for developers, SQL programmers, database administrators and analysts. Has a lot of features including schema editor, SQL editor, data editor, AI chat, ER diagrams, data export/import/migration, SQL execution plans, database administration tools, database dashboards, Spatial data viewer, proxy and SSH tunnelling, custom database drivers editor, etc. Out of the box supports more than 100 database drivers . Supports any database which has JDBC or ODBC driver (basically almost all existing databases). Integrates AI tools for work with data, SQL and database structure…
read the full DBeaver overview →
About drawDB
drawDB Free, simple, and intuitive database schema editor and SQL generator. DrawDB is a robust and user friendly database entity relationship diagram (ERD) editor right in your browser. Build diagrams with a few clicks, export and import SQL scripts, generate migrations, customize your editor, and more without creating an account. See the full set of features on here. Getting Started Local Development Build Docker Build If you want to enable sharing, set up the server and environment variables according to .env.sample . This is optional unless you need to share files. Contributing Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for…
read the full drawDB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or drawDB more popular?
DBeaver has 52,273 GitHub stars and drawDB has 40,223. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and drawDB free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and drawDB under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and drawDB?
DBeaver is written in Java and drawDB in JavaScript. 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 drawDB?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (52,273 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose drawDB if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.