head to head · open source
Mermaid vs ClickHouse
Mermaid has 90,981 GitHub stars, 9,444 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ClickHouse has 50,719 stars, 9,204 forks, 7,547 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mermaid leads on adoption by 79% (90,981 vs 50,719 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; ClickHouse is written in C++ under Apache-2.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, ClickHouse 18%. ClickHouse 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
| Mermaid | ClickHouse | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 91K | ★ 51K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.4K | ⑂ 9.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mermaid if
- You weight community size — 91K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ClickHouse if
- You want the ClickHouse 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 ClickHouse fits your workflow better
About Mermaid
Mermaid Generate diagrams from Markdown like text. Live Editor! 📖 Documentation 🚀 Getting Started 🌐 CDN 🙌 Join Us 简体中文 Try Live Editor previews of future releases: Develop Next :trophy: Mermaid was nominated and won the JS Open Source Awards (2019) in the category "The most exciting use of technology"!!! Thanks to all involved, people committing pull requests, people answering questions! 🙏 Table of content Expand contents About Examples Release Related projects Contributors Security and safe diagrams Reporting vulnerabilities Appreciation About Mermaid is a JavaScript based diagramming and charting tool…
read the full Mermaid overview →
About ClickHouse
ClickHouse® is an open source column oriented database management system that allows generating analytical data reports in real time. How To Install (Linux, macOS, FreeBSD) Useful Links Official website has a quick high level overview of ClickHouse on the main page. ClickHouse Cloud ClickHouse as a service, built by the creators and maintainers. Tutorial shows how to set up and query a small ClickHouse cluster. Documentation provides more in depth information. YouTube channel has a lot of content about ClickHouse in video format. ClickHouse Theater contains presentations and videos about ClickHouse. Slack and…
read the full ClickHouse overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or ClickHouse more popular?
Mermaid has 90,981 GitHub stars and ClickHouse has 50,719. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and ClickHouse free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and ClickHouse under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and ClickHouse?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and ClickHouse 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, Mermaid or ClickHouse?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,981 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ClickHouse if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.