head to head · open source
mall vs toydb
mall has 84,792 GitHub stars, 29,827 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. toydb has 7,283 stars, 624 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. mall leads on adoption by 1,064% (84,792 vs 7,283 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; toydb is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, toydb 9%. mall 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 | toydb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-07-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 624 |
| 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 toydb if
- You want the toydb 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 toydb 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 toydb
toyDB is a distributed SQL database written in Rust as an educational project, aimed at developers and students who want to read and run a working system that shows how Raft consensus, MVCC transactions, and a SQL query engine fit together.
read the full toydb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or toydb more popular?
mall has 84,792 GitHub stars and toydb has 7,283. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and toydb free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and toydb under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and toydb?
mall is written in Java and toydb 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 toydb?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,792 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose toydb if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.