head to head · open source
DBeaver vs sled
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars, 4,372 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped yesterday. sled has 9,091 stars, 427 forks, 172 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. DBeaver leads on adoption by 470% (51,797 vs 9,091 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; sled is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, sled 5%. 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 | sled | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 9.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-04-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 427 |
| 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 sled if
- You want the sled feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and sled 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 sled
sled is an embedded key value database for Rust programs, written in Rust under the Apache 2.0 licence, aimed at developers who want a threadsafe, crash safe local store inside their own process instead of running a separate database server.
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or sled more popular?
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars and sled has 9,091. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and sled free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sled under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and sled?
DBeaver is written in Java and sled in Rust. 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 sled?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,797 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sled if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.