head to head · open source
NocoDB vs lowdb
NocoDB has 65,016 GitHub stars, 5,058 forks, 710 open issues and last shipped today. lowdb has 22,580 stars, 962 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. NocoDB leads on adoption by 188% (65,016 vs 22,580 stars). NocoDB is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; lowdb is written in JavaScript under MIT. NocoDB has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, lowdb 4%. NocoDB 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
| NocoDB | lowdb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 65K | ★ 23K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-03-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 962 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick NocoDB if
- You weight community size — 65K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick lowdb if
- You want the lowdb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and lowdb fits your workflow better
About NocoDB
NocoDB is a free and self hostable open source Airtable alternative that turns an existing relational database into an intuitive spreadsheet interface, built for teams who want no code data management without moving their data into a hosted SaaS product.
read the full NocoDB overview →
About lowdb
lowdb is a small, MIT licensed embedded JSON database for JavaScript and TypeScript that persists data to a plain db.json file, aimed at Node.js, Electron, and browser projects that need local storage without running a database server.
read the full lowdb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NocoDB or lowdb more popular?
NocoDB has 65,016 GitHub stars and lowdb has 22,580. NocoDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are NocoDB and lowdb free?
Both are open source. NocoDB has no licence declared in this registry, and lowdb is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between NocoDB and lowdb?
NocoDB is written in TypeScript and lowdb in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, NocoDB or lowdb?
Choose NocoDB if you want the larger community (65,016 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose lowdb if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.