head to head · open source

orm vs GRDB.swift

orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. GRDB.swift has 8,650 stars, 1,048 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. orm leads on adoption by 451% (47,640 vs 8,650 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; GRDB.swift is written in Swift under MIT. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, GRDB.swift 12%. orm was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (database), 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.

orm ★ 48K GRDB.swift ★ 8.7K category Infrastructure & Operations

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Side by side

orm GRDB.swift
GitHub stars ★ 48K ★ 8.7K
License Apache-2.0 MIT
Written in TypeScript Swift
Last push 2026-09-18 2026-09-15
Forks ⑂ 2.5K ⑂ 1.0K
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

full orm profile →

pick GRDB.swift if

  • You want the GRDB.swift feature set and don't need the biggest community
  • You prefer the MIT license terms
  • Your stack matches Swift
  • You evaluated both and GRDB.swift fits your workflow better

full GRDB.swift profile →

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.

read the full orm overview →

About GRDB.swift

GRDB.swift is an MIT licensed Swift toolkit for SQLite databases, focused on application development, for Swift developers who need to store an app's permanent data on iOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS without hand writing SQL and raw row handling.

read the full GRDB.swift overview →

More in Infrastructure & Operations

kubernetes ★ 128K Immich ★ 115K frp ★ 110K Uptime Kuma ★ 92K worldmonitor ★ 87K mall ★ 85K

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More Databases projects

Compare either of these against the rest of the Databases field.

orm vs mall orm vs Prometheus orm vs NocoDB orm vs etcd orm vs DBeaver orm vs Milvus orm vs TiDB orm vs drawDB orm vs typeorm orm vs AnotherRedisDesktopManager orm vs Qdrant orm vs rocksdb

Frequently asked questions

Is orm or GRDB.swift more popular?

orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and GRDB.swift has 8,650. orm has the larger community by that measure.

Are orm and GRDB.swift free?

Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and GRDB.swift under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.

What is the difference between orm and GRDB.swift?

orm is written in TypeScript and GRDB.swift in Swift. 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 GRDB.swift?

Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose GRDB.swift if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.