head to head · open source
duckdb vs preswald
duckdb has 41,472 GitHub stars, 3,800 forks, 858 open issues and last shipped today. preswald has 4,270 stars, 646 forks, 330 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. duckdb leads on adoption by 871% (41,472 vs 4,270 stars). duckdb is written in C++ under MIT; preswald is written in Python under Apache-2.0. duckdb has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, preswald 15%. duckdb was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (analytics), 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 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| duckdb | preswald | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 4.3K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-06-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.8K | ⑂ 646 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick duckdb if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick preswald if
- You want the preswald feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and preswald fits your workflow better
About duckdb
DuckDB is an analytical, in process SQL database management system written in C++ and released under the MIT license. It runs inside the application process rather than as a separate server, and it is distributed as a standalone command line application as well as through clients for Python, R, Java, and WebAssembly. The project lives in the analytical SQL ecosystem, where the topics listed for it are analytics, database, embedded database, OLAP, and SQL. It has been developed for about eight years, with the last push recorded on 15 September 2026.
read the full duckdb overview →
About preswald
Preswald is an Apache 2.0 Python static site generator that packages interactive data apps — compute, data access, and UI — into self contained .html files that run entirely in the browser on a WebAssembly runtime built from Pyodide and DuckDB, aimed at analysts, data engineers, and developers who need to hand a working dashboard, report, or inspection tool to someone who will not install anything.
read the full preswald overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Marketing & Customer Engagement projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Marketing & Customer Engagement field.
Frequently asked questions
Is duckdb or preswald more popular?
duckdb has 41,472 GitHub stars and preswald has 4,270. duckdb has the larger community by that measure.
Are duckdb and preswald free?
Both are open source. duckdb is licensed under MIT and preswald under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between duckdb and preswald?
duckdb is written in C++ and preswald in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, duckdb or preswald?
Choose duckdb if you want the larger community (41,472 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose preswald if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.