head to head · open source
DBeaver vs orbitdb
DBeaver has 52,273 GitHub stars, 4,442 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped yesterday. orbitdb has 8,823 stars, 594 forks, 25 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. DBeaver leads on adoption by 492% (52,273 vs 8,823 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; orbitdb is written in JavaScript under MIT. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, orbitdb 7%. 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 | orbitdb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 8.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-05-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 594 |
| 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 orbitdb if
- You want the orbitdb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and orbitdb 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 orbitdb
OrbitDB OrbitDB is a serverless, distributed, peer to peer database . OrbitDB uses IPFS as its data storage and Libp2p Pubsub to automatically sync databases with peers. It's an eventually consistent database that uses Merkle CRDTs for conflict free database writes and merges making OrbitDB an excellent choice for p2p and decentralized apps, blockchain applications and local first web applications. OrbitDB provides various types of databases for different data models and use cases: events : an immutable (append only) log with traversable history. Useful for "latest N" use cases or as a message queue. documents…
read the full orbitdb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or orbitdb more popular?
DBeaver has 52,273 GitHub stars and orbitdb has 8,823. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and orbitdb free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and orbitdb under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and orbitdb?
DBeaver is written in Java and orbitdb 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 orbitdb?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (52,273 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose orbitdb if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.