head to head · open source
DBeaver vs mikro-orm
DBeaver has 52,273 GitHub stars, 4,442 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mikro-orm has 9,264 stars, 699 forks, 20 open issues and last shipped yesterday. DBeaver leads on adoption by 464% (52,273 vs 9,264 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; mikro-orm is written in TypeScript under MIT. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, mikro-orm 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, mysql), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| DBeaver | mikro-orm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 9.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 699 |
| 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 mikro-orm if
- You want the mikro-orm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and mikro-orm 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 mikro-orm
TypeScript ORM for Node.js based on Data Mapper, Unit of Work and Identity Map patterns. Supports MongoDB, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL (including CockroachDB and PGlite), SQLite (including libSQL), MSSQL and Oracle databases. Heavily inspired by Doctrine and Hibernate. Quick Start Install a driver package for your database: If you use additional packages like @mikro orm/cli , @mikro orm/migrations , or @mikro orm/entity generator , install @mikro orm/core explicitly as well. See the quick start guide for details. Define Entities The recommended way to define entities is using defineEntity with setClass : You can…
read the full mikro-orm overview →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Databases projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Databases field.
Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or mikro-orm more popular?
DBeaver has 52,273 GitHub stars and mikro-orm has 9,264. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and mikro-orm free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mikro-orm under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and mikro-orm?
DBeaver is written in Java and mikro-orm 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 mikro-orm?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (52,273 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mikro-orm if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.