head to head · open source
mall vs OceanBase
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars, 29,826 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. OceanBase has 10,280 stars, 1,919 forks, 599 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mall leads on adoption by 725% (84,789 vs 10,280 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; OceanBase is written in C++ under Apache-2.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, OceanBase 19%. OceanBase was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (mysql), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | OceanBase | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 10K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| 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 OceanBase if
- You want the OceanBase feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and OceanBase 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 OceanBase
OceanBase is an open source distributed relational database written in C++ and licensed under Apache 2.0. It is developed by Ant Group and built on a common server cluster, using the Paxos protocol and a distributed structure to provide high availability and linear scalability. The project belongs to the MySQL compatible distributed database ecosystem, and its README presents it as a unified engine for demanding workloads.
read the full OceanBase overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or OceanBase more popular?
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars and OceanBase has 10,280. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and OceanBase free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OceanBase under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and OceanBase?
mall is written in Java and OceanBase in C++. 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 OceanBase?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,789 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OceanBase if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.