head to head · open source
orm vs mysql
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. mysql has 15,283 stars, 2,336 forks, 57 open issues and last shipped yesterday. orm leads on adoption by 212% (47,640 vs 15,283 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; mysql is written in Go under MPL-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, mysql 15%. mysql was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (database, mariadb, mysql), 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 | mysql | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| 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 mysql if
- You want the mysql feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and mysql 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 mysql
Go MySQL Driver is the pure Go MySQL driver that implements the database/sql interface for Go applications, and it is aimed at Go developers who need to connect services to MySQL, MariaDB, or TiDB without cgo or C bindings.
read the full mysql overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or mysql more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and mysql has 15,283. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and mysql free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mysql under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and mysql?
orm is written in TypeScript and mysql in Go. 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 mysql?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mysql if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.