head to head · open source
orm vs OceanBase
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OceanBase has 10,284 stars, 1,919 forks, 599 open issues and last shipped today. orm leads on adoption by 363% (47,640 vs 10,284 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; OceanBase is written in C++ under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, OceanBase 19%. OceanBase was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, 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 | OceanBase | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 10K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| 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 OceanBase if
- You want the OceanBase feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and OceanBase 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 OceanBase
OceanBase is an open source distributed relational database written in C++ and licensed under Apache 2.0. It is developed by Ant Group and built on a common server cluster, using the Paxos protocol and a distributed structure to provide high availability and linear scalability. The project belongs to the MySQL compatible distributed database ecosystem, and its README presents it as a unified engine for demanding workloads.
read the full OceanBase overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or OceanBase more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and OceanBase has 10,284. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and OceanBase free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OceanBase under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and OceanBase?
orm is written in TypeScript and OceanBase 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 OceanBase?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OceanBase if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.