head to head · open source
orm vs sqlkit
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. sqlkit has 507 stars, 12 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. orm leads on adoption by 9,296% (47,640 vs 507 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; sqlkit is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, sqlkit 2%. orm was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (cockroachdb, 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 | sqlkit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 507 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 12 |
| 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 sqlkit if
- You want the sqlkit 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 sqlkit 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 sqlkit
SqlKit is an Apache 2.0 licensed, cross platform desktop SQL client built in Rust on Tauri that combines a native GUI for more than 70 database engines with an agentic AI assistant, aimed at developers, data engineers, and analysts who work across many database systems and want a lightweight, privacy first alternative to heavyweight commercial clients.
read the full sqlkit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or sqlkit more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and sqlkit has 507. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and sqlkit free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sqlkit under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and sqlkit?
orm is written in TypeScript and sqlkit 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 sqlkit?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sqlkit if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.