head to head · open source
orm vs Grist
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Grist has 11,831 stars, 644 forks, 727 open issues and last shipped yesterday. orm leads on adoption by 303% (47,640 vs 11,831 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Grist is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Grist 5%. Grist 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.
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Side by side
| orm | Grist | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 12K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 644 |
| 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 Grist if
- You want the Grist feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Grist 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 Grist
Grist is a modern relational spreadsheet that combines spreadsheet flexibility with database robustness. It lives in the open source database and spreadsheet ecosystem, and the grist core repository provides the server needed to host spreadsheets. The project is positioned as an open alternative to Airtable and Microsoft Excel. Grist Community edition is also known as grist core.
read the full Grist overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or Grist more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and Grist has 11,831. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and Grist free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Grist under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and Grist?
orm is written in TypeScript and Grist in TypeScript. 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 Grist?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Grist if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.