head to head · open source
NocoDB vs lowdb
NocoDB has 65,408 GitHub stars, 5,131 forks, 710 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lowdb has 22,584 stars, 962 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. NocoDB leads on adoption by 190% (65,408 vs 22,584 stars). NocoDB is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; lowdb is written in JavaScript under MIT. NocoDB has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, lowdb 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 | lowdb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 65K | ★ 23K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-03-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 962 |
| 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 lowdb if
- You want the lowdb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and lowdb 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 lowdb
lowdb Simple to use type safe local JSON database 🦉 If you know JavaScript, you know how to use lowdb. Read or create db.json Use plain JavaScript to change data In the same spirit, query using native Array functions: It's that simple. db.data is just a JavaScript object, no magic. Sponsors Become a sponsor and have your company logo here 👉 GitHub Sponsors Features Lightweight Minimalist TypeScript Plain JavaScript Safe atomic writes Hackable: Change storage, file format (JSON, YAML, ...) or add encryption via adapters Extend it with lodash, ramda, ... for super powers! Automatically switches to fast in memory…
read the full lowdb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NocoDB or lowdb more popular?
NocoDB has 65,408 GitHub stars and lowdb has 22,584. NocoDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are NocoDB and lowdb free?
Both are open source. NocoDB has no licence declared in this registry, and lowdb is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between NocoDB and lowdb?
NocoDB is written in TypeScript and lowdb 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 lowdb?
Choose NocoDB if you want the larger community (65,408 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose lowdb if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.