head to head · open source
DBeaver vs gel
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars, 4,372 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped today. gel has 14,170 stars, 450 forks, 948 open issues and last shipped 9 months ago. DBeaver leads on adoption by 266% (51,797 vs 14,170 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; gel is written in Python under Apache-2.0. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, gel 3%. 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 | gel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2025-12-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 450 |
| 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 gel if
- You want the gel feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and gel 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 gel
Gel is an open source graph relational database, written in Python and released under Apache 2.0, that gives application developers a declarative object type schema, the EdgeQL query language, a migrations system, client libraries and a command line tool in place of hand written SQL and a separate ORM layer.
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or gel more popular?
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars and gel has 14,170. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and gel free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and gel under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and gel?
DBeaver is written in Java and gel in Python. 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 gel?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,797 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose gel if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.