head to head · open source
orm vs HelixDB
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. HelixDB has 5,953 stars, 358 forks, 26 open issues and last shipped yesterday. orm leads on adoption by 700% (47,640 vs 5,953 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; HelixDB is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, HelixDB 6%. HelixDB 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 | HelixDB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 358 |
| 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 HelixDB if
- You want the HelixDB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and HelixDB 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 HelixDB
HelixDB is an Apache 2.0 licensed, Rust built OLTP graph database with native vector and full text search that lets teams building AI applications keep knowledge graphs, agent memory and application data in a single self hostable store rather than stitching together separate graph, vector, relational and application databases.
read the full HelixDB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or HelixDB more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and HelixDB has 5,953. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and HelixDB free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and HelixDB under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and HelixDB?
orm is written in TypeScript and HelixDB in Rust. 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 HelixDB?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose HelixDB if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.