head to head · open source
orm vs graphqlite
orm has 47,687 GitHub stars, 2,539 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped yesterday. graphqlite has 501 stars, 29 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. orm leads on adoption by 9,418% (47,687 vs 501 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; graphqlite is written in C under MIT. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, graphqlite 6%. orm 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
| orm | graphqlite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 501 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 29 |
| 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 graphqlite if
- You want the graphqlite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and graphqlite 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 graphqlite
GraphQLite is an MIT licensed SQLite extension, written in C, that adds graph database capabilities to SQLite through the Cypher query language and built in graph algorithms, and it is aimed at developers and data teams who want to store and query connected data inside an ordinary SQLite database rather than operating a separate graph server.
read the full graphqlite overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or graphqlite more popular?
orm has 47,687 GitHub stars and graphqlite has 501. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and graphqlite free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and graphqlite under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and graphqlite?
orm is written in TypeScript and graphqlite in C. 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 graphqlite?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,687 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose graphqlite if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.