head to head · open source
duckdb vs Spark
duckdb has 42,747 GitHub stars, 4,176 forks, 858 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Spark has 606 stars, 445 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. duckdb leads on adoption by 6,954% (42,747 vs 606 stars). duckdb is written in C++ under MIT; Spark is written in Java under Apache-2.0. duckdb has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Spark 73%. duckdb was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| duckdb | Spark | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 43K | ★ 606 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 445 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick duckdb if
- You weight community size — 43K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Spark if
- You want the Spark 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 Spark fits your workflow better
About duckdb
DuckDB DuckDB is a high performance analytical database system. It is designed to be fast, reliable, portable, and easy to use. DuckDB provides a rich SQL dialect with support far beyond basic SQL. DuckDB supports arbitrary and nested correlated subqueries, window functions, collations, complex types (arrays, structs, maps), and several extensions designed to make SQL easier to use. DuckDB is available as a standalone CLI application and has clients for Python, R, Java, Wasm, etc., with deep integrations with packages such as pandas and dplyr. For more information on using DuckDB, please refer to the DuckDB…
read the full duckdb overview →
About Spark
Spark ===== [Spark] is an Open Source, cross platform IM client optimized for businesses and organizations. Group Chat In line Spell Checking End to end (E2E) Message Encryption with OTR. Tabbed Conversations File Transfer Screen Capture Sharing Message translations. Combined with the [Openfire] server, [Spark] is the easiest and best alternative to using unsecure public IM networks. [Spark] an [Ignite Realtime] community project. Resources Translation: Documentation: Community: Bug Tracker: Nightly Builds: XMPP compliance: Install Download the last release from the GitHub releases page or nightly build with the…
read the full Spark overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is duckdb or Spark more popular?
duckdb has 42,747 GitHub stars and Spark has 606. duckdb has the larger community by that measure.
Are duckdb and Spark free?
Both are open source. duckdb is licensed under MIT and Spark under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between duckdb and Spark?
duckdb is written in C++ and Spark 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, duckdb or Spark?
Choose duckdb if you want the larger community (42,747 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Spark if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.