head to head · open source
NocoDB vs drawDB
NocoDB has 64,998 GitHub stars, 5,054 forks, 710 open issues and last shipped yesterday. drawDB has 39,572 stars, 3,248 forks, 241 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. NocoDB leads on adoption by 64% (64,998 vs 39,572 stars). NocoDB is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; drawDB is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. NocoDB has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, drawDB 8%. NocoDB 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
| NocoDB | drawDB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 65K | ★ 40K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick NocoDB if
- You weight community size — 65K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick drawDB if
- You want the drawDB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and drawDB fits your workflow better
About NocoDB
NocoDB is a free and self hostable open source Airtable alternative that turns an existing relational database into an intuitive spreadsheet interface, built for teams who want no code data management without moving their data into a hosted SaaS product.
read the full NocoDB overview →
About drawDB
drawDB is a free, open source, browser based database entity relationship diagram (ERD) editor and SQL generator for developers, data modellers, and teams who need to design database schemas and turn them into SQL scripts without creating an account.
read the full drawDB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NocoDB or drawDB more popular?
NocoDB has 64,998 GitHub stars and drawDB has 39,572. NocoDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are NocoDB and drawDB free?
Both are open source. NocoDB has no licence declared in this registry, and drawDB is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between NocoDB and drawDB?
NocoDB is written in TypeScript and drawDB in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, NocoDB or drawDB?
Choose NocoDB if you want the larger community (64,998 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose drawDB if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.