head to head · open source
mall vs Instant
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars, 29,826 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Instant has 10,517 stars, 407 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mall leads on adoption by 706% (84,789 vs 10,517 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Instant is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, Instant 4%. Instant 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
| mall | Instant | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 11K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 407 |
| 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 Instant if
- You want the Instant 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 Instant 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 Instant
Instant is an open source realtime client side database for collaborative apps, written in TypeScript and released under the Apache 2.0 license. It lives in the JavaScript, React, and React Native ecosystem, where it acts as a backend layer for auth, permissions, presence, storage, and streams.
read the full Instant overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or Instant more popular?
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars and Instant has 10,517. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and Instant free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Instant under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and Instant?
mall is written in Java and Instant 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 Instant?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,789 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Instant if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.