head to head · open source
orm vs mcp-toolbox
orm has 47,614 GitHub stars, 2,537 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mcp-toolbox has 16,443 stars, 1,727 forks, 292 open issues and last shipped yesterday. orm leads on adoption by 190% (47,614 vs 16,443 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; mcp-toolbox is written in Go under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, mcp-toolbox 11%. mcp-toolbox was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cockroachdb, database), 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
| orm | mcp-toolbox | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 16K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick orm if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mcp-toolbox if
- You want the mcp-toolbox feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and mcp-toolbox fits your workflow better
About orm
Prisma ORM is a next generation TypeScript ORM for Node.js and TypeScript applications, supporting PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, SQLite, MongoDB, and CockroachDB, and it is aimed at developers and teams building data backed applications in that ecosystem.
About mcp-toolbox
MCP Toolbox for Databases is an open source Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, written in Go and licensed under Apache 2.0, that connects AI agents, IDEs, and applications directly to enterprise databases.
read the full mcp-toolbox overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or mcp-toolbox more popular?
orm has 47,614 GitHub stars and mcp-toolbox has 16,443. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and mcp-toolbox free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mcp-toolbox under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and mcp-toolbox?
orm is written in TypeScript and mcp-toolbox in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, orm or mcp-toolbox?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,614 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mcp-toolbox if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.