head to head · open source
mall vs Grist
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars, 29,826 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Grist has 11,815 stars, 644 forks, 727 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. mall leads on adoption by 618% (84,789 vs 11,815 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Grist is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, Grist 5%. Grist 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 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| mall | Grist | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 12K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 644 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick mall if
- You weight community size — 85K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Grist if
- You want the Grist feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Grist fits your workflow better
About mall
mall is a complete e commerce system built on Spring Boot and MyBatis, distributed as a Java project under the Apache 2.0 license. It ships two applications in one repository: a storefront system for shoppers and an administrative back office for operators. The storefront covers the home portal, product recommendation, product search, product display, shopping cart, order flow, member center, customer service, and help center. The back office covers product management, order management, member management, promotion management, operations management, content management, statistics reports, finance management, perm…
About Grist
Grist is a modern relational spreadsheet that combines spreadsheet flexibility with database robustness. It lives in the open source database and spreadsheet ecosystem, and the grist core repository provides the server needed to host spreadsheets. The project is positioned as an open alternative to Airtable and Microsoft Excel. Grist Community edition is also known as grist core.
read the full Grist 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 mall or Grist more popular?
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars and Grist has 11,815. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and Grist free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Grist under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and Grist?
mall is written in Java and Grist in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, mall or Grist?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,789 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Grist if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.