head to head · open source
NocoDB vs postgres
NocoDB has 65,002 GitHub stars, 5,055 forks, 710 open issues and last shipped yesterday. postgres has 8,730 stars, 374 forks, 303 open issues and last shipped 16 days ago. NocoDB leads on adoption by 645% (65,002 vs 8,730 stars). NocoDB is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; postgres is written in JavaScript under Unlicense. NocoDB has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, postgres 4%. NocoDB was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (postgresql), 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
| NocoDB | postgres | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 65K | ★ 8.7K |
| License | Custom / other | Unlicense |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 374 |
| 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 postgres if
- You want the postgres feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Unlicense license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and postgres 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 postgres
Postgres.js is a full featured PostgreSQL client for JavaScript and TypeScript runtimes — Node.js, Deno, Bun and Cloudflare — published to npm as postgres , and it is aimed at developers who need to query a PostgreSQL database from application code without adopting a heavier ORM or query builder.
read the full postgres overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NocoDB or postgres more popular?
NocoDB has 65,002 GitHub stars and postgres has 8,730. NocoDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are NocoDB and postgres free?
Both are open source. NocoDB has no licence declared in this registry, and postgres is licensed under Unlicense. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between NocoDB and postgres?
NocoDB is written in TypeScript and postgres 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 postgres?
Choose NocoDB if you want the larger community (65,002 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose postgres if its feature set, stack or Unlicense licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.