head to head · open source
mall vs sqlx
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars, 29,826 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. sqlx has 17,480 stars, 1,699 forks, 754 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. mall leads on adoption by 385% (84,789 vs 17,480 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; sqlx is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, sqlx 10%. mall 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 | sqlx | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 17K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| 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 sqlx if
- You want the sqlx 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 sqlx 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 sqlx
SQLx is an async, pure Rust SQL crate that provides compile time checked queries without a domain specific language, aimed at Rust developers building applications against PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, or SQLite.
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or sqlx more popular?
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars and sqlx has 17,480. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and sqlx free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sqlx under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and sqlx?
mall is written in Java and sqlx 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 sqlx?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,789 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sqlx if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.