head to head · open source
mall vs NocoDB
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars, 29,826 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. NocoDB has 64,998 stars, 5,054 forks, 710 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mall leads on adoption by 30% (84,789 vs 64,998 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; NocoDB is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, NocoDB 8%. 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
| mall | NocoDB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 65K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 5.1K |
| 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 NocoDB if
- You want the NocoDB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and NocoDB 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 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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or NocoDB more popular?
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars and NocoDB has 64,998. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and NocoDB free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0, and NocoDB has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between mall and NocoDB?
mall is written in Java and NocoDB 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 NocoDB?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,789 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose NocoDB if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.