head to head · open source
orm vs algernon
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. algernon has 3,027 stars, 149 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. orm leads on adoption by 1,474% (47,640 vs 3,027 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; algernon is written in JavaScript under BSD-3-Clause. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, algernon 5%. orm was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (mysql), 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
| orm | algernon | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 3.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 149 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick orm if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick algernon if
- You want the algernon feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and algernon fits your workflow better
About orm
Prisma ORM is a next generation TypeScript ORM for Node.js and TypeScript applications, supporting PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, SQLite, MongoDB, and CockroachDB, and it is aimed at developers and teams building data backed applications in that ecosystem.
About algernon
Algernon is a small, self contained web server written in pure Go that serves dynamic sites and applications from a single executable, with built in support for Lua, Teal, Markdown, Pongo2, TypeScript, npm less React 19, and a choice of SQLite, PostgreSQL, Redis and other database backends — aimed at developers and operators who want to run a web application without assembling and maintaining a separate runtime stack.
read the full algernon overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or algernon more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and algernon has 3,027. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and algernon free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and algernon under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and algernon?
orm is written in TypeScript and algernon 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, orm or algernon?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose algernon if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.