head to head · open source
etcd vs Mathesar
etcd has 52,441 GitHub stars, 10,552 forks, 351 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mathesar has 5,169 stars, 487 forks, 317 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. etcd leads on adoption by 915% (52,441 vs 5,169 stars). etcd is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Mathesar is written in Svelte under GPL-3.0. etcd has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, Mathesar 9%. 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.
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Side by side
| etcd | Mathesar | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Svelte |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 487 |
| 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 Mathesar if
- You want the Mathesar feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Svelte
- You evaluated both and Mathesar fits your workflow better
About etcd
etcd Note : The main branch may be in an unstable or even broken state during development. For stable versions, see [releases][github release]. etcd is a distributed reliable key value store for the most critical data of a distributed system, with a focus on being: Simple : well defined, user facing API (gRPC) Secure : automatic TLS with optional client cert authentication Fast : benchmarked 10,000 writes/sec Reliable : properly distributed using Raft etcd is written in Go and uses the [Raft][] consensus algorithm to manage a highly available replicated log. etcd is used in production by many companies, and the…
About Mathesar
Intuitive spreadsheet like interface that lets users of all technical skill levels view, edit, query, and collaborate on Postgres data directly—self hosted, with native Postgres access control. Website • Docs • Mathesar Cloud • Matrix (chat) • Discord • Contributor Wiki • Roadmap Mathesar Mathesar is a web application that makes working with PostgreSQL databases both simple and powerful. It empowers users of all technical skill levels to view, edit, query, and collaborate on data with a familiar spreadsheet like interface, with no code needed. It’s self hosted, can be deployed in minutes, and works directly with…
read the full Mathesar overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is etcd or Mathesar more popular?
etcd has 52,441 GitHub stars and Mathesar has 5,169. etcd has the larger community by that measure.
Are etcd and Mathesar free?
Both are open source. etcd is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mathesar under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etcd and Mathesar?
etcd is written in Go and Mathesar in Svelte. 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 Mathesar?
Choose etcd if you want the larger community (52,441 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Mathesar if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.