head to head · open source
orm vs HeidiSQL
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. HeidiSQL has 6,274 stars, 587 forks, 324 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. orm leads on adoption by 659% (47,640 vs 6,274 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; HeidiSQL is written in Pascal under GPL-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, HeidiSQL 9%. orm was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (mariadb, mssql), 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
| orm | HeidiSQL | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 6.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Pascal |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 587 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick orm if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick HeidiSQL if
- You want the HeidiSQL feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Pascal
- You evaluated both and HeidiSQL fits your workflow better
About orm
Prisma ORM is a next generation TypeScript ORM for Node.js and TypeScript applications, supporting PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, SQLite, MongoDB, and CockroachDB, and it is aimed at developers and teams building data backed applications in that ecosystem.
About HeidiSQL
HeidiSQL is a free, GPL 2.0 licensed graphical client for managing MariaDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Interbase and Firebird databases, aimed at developers and database administrators who need to browse, edit and export data without working from a command line.
read the full HeidiSQL overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or HeidiSQL more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and HeidiSQL has 6,274. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and HeidiSQL free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and HeidiSQL under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and HeidiSQL?
orm is written in TypeScript and HeidiSQL in Pascal. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, orm or HeidiSQL?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose HeidiSQL if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.