head to head · open source
orm vs SlateDB
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. SlateDB has 3,422 stars, 297 forks, 184 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. orm leads on adoption by 1,292% (47,640 vs 3,422 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; SlateDB is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, SlateDB 9%. orm 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 | SlateDB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 297 |
| 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 SlateDB if
- You want the SlateDB 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 SlateDB 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 SlateDB
SlateDB is an embedded storage engine written in Rust and distributed under the Apache 2.0 license. It is built as a log structured merge tree, and it stores data in object storage rather than on a local disk or dedicated server. The project lives in the Rust and cloud native storage ecosystem, and it exposes a key value interface through a Rust crate.
read the full SlateDB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or SlateDB more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and SlateDB has 3,422. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and SlateDB free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SlateDB under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and SlateDB?
orm is written in TypeScript and SlateDB 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 SlateDB?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SlateDB if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.