head to head · open source
etcd vs usql
etcd has 52,270 GitHub stars, 10,506 forks, 351 open issues and last shipped today. usql has 10,118 stars, 406 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. etcd leads on adoption by 417% (52,270 vs 10,118 stars). etcd is written in Go under Apache-2.0; usql is written in Go under MIT. etcd has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, usql 4%. etcd was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, go), 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
| etcd | usql | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 10K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 406 |
| 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 usql if
- You want the usql feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and usql 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 usql
usql is a universal command line interface for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle Database, SQLite3, Microsoft SQL Server and many other SQL and NoSQL databases, built for database administrators and developers who want the familiar psql experience when working against databases other than PostgreSQL.
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Frequently asked questions
Is etcd or usql more popular?
etcd has 52,270 GitHub stars and usql has 10,118. etcd has the larger community by that measure.
Are etcd and usql free?
Both are open source. etcd is licensed under Apache-2.0 and usql under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etcd and usql?
etcd is written in Go and usql 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, etcd or usql?
Choose etcd if you want the larger community (52,270 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose usql if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.