head to head · open source
etcd vs graphqlite
etcd has 52,328 GitHub stars, 10,525 forks, 351 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. graphqlite has 501 stars, 29 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. etcd leads on adoption by 10,345% (52,328 vs 501 stars). etcd is written in Go under Apache-2.0; graphqlite is written in C under MIT. etcd has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, graphqlite 6%. etcd 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| etcd | graphqlite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 501 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 29 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick etcd if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick graphqlite if
- You want the graphqlite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and graphqlite fits your workflow better
About etcd
etcd is an Apache 2.0 licensed, Go written distributed key value store that holds the most critical data of a distributed system in a Raft replicated log, aimed at the platform and infrastructure engineers who must keep that control plane data consistent and available.
About graphqlite
GraphQLite is an MIT licensed SQLite extension, written in C, that adds graph database capabilities to SQLite through the Cypher query language and built in graph algorithms, and it is aimed at developers and data teams who want to store and query connected data inside an ordinary SQLite database rather than operating a separate graph server.
read the full graphqlite overview →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Databases projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Databases field.
Frequently asked questions
Is etcd or graphqlite more popular?
etcd has 52,328 GitHub stars and graphqlite has 501. etcd has the larger community by that measure.
Are etcd and graphqlite free?
Both are open source. etcd is licensed under Apache-2.0 and graphqlite under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etcd and graphqlite?
etcd is written in Go and graphqlite in C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, etcd or graphqlite?
Choose etcd if you want the larger community (52,328 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose graphqlite if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.