head to head · open source
NocoDB vs zeppelin
NocoDB has 65,002 GitHub stars, 5,055 forks, 710 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. zeppelin has 6,656 stars, 2,838 forks, 58 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. NocoDB leads on adoption by 877% (65,002 vs 6,656 stars). NocoDB is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; zeppelin is written in Java under Apache-2.0. NocoDB has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, zeppelin 43%. 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 | zeppelin | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 65K | ★ 6.7K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| 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 zeppelin if
- You want the zeppelin feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and zeppelin 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 zeppelin
Apache Zeppelin is a web based notebook for interactive, collaborative data analytics in SQL, Scala, and more, built for data engineers, analysts, and data scientists working in Java based big data environments.
read the full zeppelin overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NocoDB or zeppelin more popular?
NocoDB has 65,002 GitHub stars and zeppelin has 6,656. NocoDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are NocoDB and zeppelin free?
Both are open source. NocoDB has no licence declared in this registry, and zeppelin is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between NocoDB and zeppelin?
NocoDB is written in TypeScript and zeppelin in Java. 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 zeppelin?
Choose NocoDB if you want the larger community (65,002 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose zeppelin if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.