head to head · open source
DBeaver vs mikro-orm
DBeaver has 51,814 GitHub stars, 4,374 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mikro-orm has 9,229 stars, 673 forks, 20 open issues and last shipped yesterday. DBeaver leads on adoption by 461% (51,814 vs 9,229 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; mikro-orm is written in TypeScript under MIT. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, mikro-orm 7%. DBeaver was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, 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
| DBeaver | mikro-orm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 9.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 673 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick DBeaver if
- You weight community size — 52K 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 mikro-orm if
- You want the mikro-orm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and mikro-orm fits your workflow better
About DBeaver
DBeaver is a free, multi platform database management tool built in Java, designed for developers, SQL programmers, database administrators, and analysts. It operates across Windows, macOS, and Linux and integrates with the Eclipse based plugin ecosystem via OSGi and Eclipse RCP frameworks.
read the full DBeaver overview →
About mikro-orm
MikroORM is a TypeScript ORM for Node.js built on the Data Mapper, Unit of Work and Identity Map patterns, aimed at TypeScript teams that want typed, entity based persistence across MongoDB, MySQL, MariaDB, MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle and SQLite/libSQL databases.
read the full mikro-orm overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or mikro-orm more popular?
DBeaver has 51,814 GitHub stars and mikro-orm has 9,229. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and mikro-orm free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mikro-orm under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and mikro-orm?
DBeaver is written in Java and mikro-orm in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, DBeaver or mikro-orm?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,814 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mikro-orm if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.