head to head · open source
DBeaver vs zeppelin
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars, 4,372 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped yesterday. zeppelin has 6,656 stars, 2,838 forks, 58 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. DBeaver leads on adoption by 678% (51,797 vs 6,656 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; zeppelin is written in Java under Apache-2.0. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, zeppelin 43%. DBeaver was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (database, java, nosql), 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 | zeppelin | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 6.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| 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 zeppelin if
- You want the zeppelin feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and zeppelin 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 zeppelin
Apache Zeppelin is a web based notebook for interactive, collaborative data analytics in SQL, Scala, and more, built for data engineers, analysts, and data scientists working in Java based big data environments.
read the full zeppelin overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or zeppelin more popular?
DBeaver has 51,797 GitHub stars and zeppelin has 6,656. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and zeppelin free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and zeppelin under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and zeppelin?
DBeaver is written in Java and zeppelin in Java. 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 zeppelin?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,797 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose zeppelin if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.