head to head · open source
mall vs Mathesar
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars, 29,826 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Mathesar has 5,124 stars, 485 forks, 317 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. mall leads on adoption by 1,555% (84,789 vs 5,124 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Mathesar is written in Svelte under GPL-3.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, Mathesar 9%. Mathesar 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 | Mathesar | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 5.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Svelte |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 485 |
| 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 Mathesar if
- You want the Mathesar feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Svelte
- You evaluated both and Mathesar 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 Mathesar
Mathesar is a self hosted, open source web application that provides a spreadsheet like interface for PostgreSQL databases, designed for users of all technical skill levels to view, edit, query, and collaborate on data without writing code.
read the full Mathesar overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or Mathesar more popular?
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars and Mathesar has 5,124. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and Mathesar free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mathesar under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and Mathesar?
mall is written in Java and Mathesar in Svelte. 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 Mathesar?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,789 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Mathesar if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.