head to head · open source
mall vs sqlkit
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars, 29,826 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. sqlkit has 505 stars, 12 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mall leads on adoption by 16,690% (84,789 vs 505 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; sqlkit is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, sqlkit 2%. sqlkit 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 | sqlkit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 505 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 12 |
| 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 sqlkit if
- You want the sqlkit feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and sqlkit 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 sqlkit
SqlKit is an Apache 2.0 licensed, cross platform desktop SQL client built in Rust on Tauri that combines a native GUI for more than 70 database engines with an agentic AI assistant, aimed at developers, data engineers, and analysts who work across many database systems and want a lightweight, privacy first alternative to heavyweight commercial clients.
read the full sqlkit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or sqlkit more popular?
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars and sqlkit has 505. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and sqlkit free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sqlkit under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and sqlkit?
mall is written in Java and sqlkit in Rust. 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 sqlkit?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,789 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sqlkit if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.