head to head · open source
orm vs sqlx
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. sqlx has 17,486 stars, 1,699 forks, 754 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. orm leads on adoption by 172% (47,640 vs 17,486 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; sqlx is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, sqlx 10%. orm was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (mariadb, mysql, postgres), 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 | sqlx | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 17K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| 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 sqlx if
- You want the sqlx 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 sqlx 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 sqlx
SQLx is an async, pure Rust SQL crate that provides compile time checked queries without a domain specific language, aimed at Rust developers building applications against PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, or SQLite.
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or sqlx more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and sqlx has 17,486. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and sqlx free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sqlx under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and sqlx?
orm is written in TypeScript and sqlx 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 sqlx?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sqlx if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.