head to head · open source
dlt vs arc
dlt has 5,872 GitHub stars, 606 forks, 434 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. arc has 676 stars, 53 forks, 57 open issues and last shipped today. dlt leads on adoption by 769% (5,872 vs 676 stars). dlt is written in Python under Apache-2.0; arc is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. dlt has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, arc 8%. arc was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (data-warehouse), 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
| dlt | arc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 5.9K | ★ 676 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 606 | ⑂ 53 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick dlt if
- You weight community size — 5.9K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick arc if
- You want the arc feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and arc fits your workflow better
About dlt
dlt (data load tool) is an open source Python library, licensed under Apache 2.0, that automates tedious data loading by moving data from messy, often unstructured sources into well structured, typed datasets, and it is built for Python developers and data engineers who want to load data without adopting a platform.
About arc
Arc is an open, SQL native time series database, released under AGPL 3.0, for engineers and platform teams who need to keep full resolution telemetry from machines, services, vehicles, and devices and still query recent and historical data together in one system.
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Frequently asked questions
Is dlt or arc more popular?
dlt has 5,872 GitHub stars and arc has 676. dlt has the larger community by that measure.
Are dlt and arc free?
Both are open source. dlt is licensed under Apache-2.0 and arc under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between dlt and arc?
dlt is written in Python and arc in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, dlt or arc?
Choose dlt if you want the larger community (5,872 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose arc if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.