head to head · open source
orm vs dbgate
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. dbgate has 7,318 stars, 473 forks, 461 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. orm leads on adoption by 551% (47,640 vs 7,318 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; dbgate is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, dbgate 6%. orm was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cockroachdb, mariadb), 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 | dbgate | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 473 |
| 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 dbgate if
- You want the dbgate feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and dbgate 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 dbgate
DbGate is a cross platform, GPL 3.0 licensed database manager for MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MongoDB, SQLite and a dozen further engines, built for developers and data engineers who work with several databases at once and want one client on Windows, Linux, macOS or in a browser.
read the full dbgate overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or dbgate more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and dbgate has 7,318. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and dbgate free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and dbgate under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and dbgate?
orm is written in TypeScript and dbgate 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 dbgate?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose dbgate if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.