head to head · open source
NocoDB vs Instant
NocoDB has 65,408 GitHub stars, 5,131 forks, 710 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Instant has 10,564 stars, 421 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 15 days ago. NocoDB leads on adoption by 519% (65,408 vs 10,564 stars). NocoDB is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Instant is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. NocoDB has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Instant 4%. 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 | Instant | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 65K | ★ 11K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 421 |
| 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 Instant if
- You want the Instant feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Instant fits your workflow better
About NocoDB
NocoDB is the fastest and easiest way to build databases online. Website • Discord • Community • Twitter • Reddit • Documentation See other languages » Join Our Community Installation Docker with SQLite Docker with PG Auto upstall Auto upstall is a single command that sets up NocoDB on a server for production usage. Behind the scenes it auto generates docker compose for you. bash bash install.nocodb.com/noco.sh script can be found here in our github Other Methods Binaries are only for quick testing locally. When running locally access nocodb by visiting: For more installation methods, please refer to our docs…
read the full NocoDB overview →
About Instant
Get Started · Examples · Try the Demo · Docs · Discord Instant is the best backend for AI coded apps. You get auth, permissions, storage, presence, and streams — everything you need to ship apps your users will love. You write relational queries in the shape of the data you want and Instant handles all the data fetching, permission checking, and offline caching. When you change data, optimistic updates and rollbacks are handled for you as well. Plus, every query is multiplayer by default. We also support ephemeral updates, like cursors, or who's online. Currently we have SDKs for Javascript, React, and React…
read the full Instant overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NocoDB or Instant more popular?
NocoDB has 65,408 GitHub stars and Instant has 10,564. NocoDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are NocoDB and Instant free?
Both are open source. NocoDB has no licence declared in this registry, and Instant is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between NocoDB and Instant?
NocoDB is written in TypeScript and Instant 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, NocoDB or Instant?
Choose NocoDB if you want the larger community (65,408 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Instant if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.