head to head · open source
orm vs realm-swift
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. realm-swift has 16,608 stars, 2,241 forks, 499 open issues and last shipped today. orm leads on adoption by 187% (47,640 vs 16,608 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; realm-swift is written in Objective-C under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, realm-swift 13%. realm-swift 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 | realm-swift | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 17K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Objective-C |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 2.2K |
| 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 realm-swift if
- You want the realm-swift feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Objective-C
- You evaluated both and realm-swift 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 realm-swift
Realm Database is a mobile database that runs directly inside phones, tablets, and wearables, and it is for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS developers who need a replacement for Core Data and SQLite.
read the full realm-swift overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or realm-swift more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and realm-swift has 16,608. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and realm-swift free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and realm-swift under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and realm-swift?
orm is written in TypeScript and realm-swift in Objective-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 realm-swift?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose realm-swift if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.