head to head · open source
orm vs TiDB
orm has 47,614 GitHub stars, 2,537 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TiDB has 40,541 stars, 6,242 forks, 6,976 open issues and last shipped yesterday. orm leads on adoption by 17% (47,614 vs 40,541 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; TiDB is written in Go under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, TiDB 15%. TiDB 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| orm | TiDB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 41K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 6.2K |
| 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 TiDB if
- You want the TiDB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and TiDB 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 TiDB
TiDB is an open source, cloud native, distributed SQL database written in Go and licensed under Apache 2.0, aimed at teams that need ACID transactions, real time analytics, and vector search at scale without data silos.
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Databases projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Databases field.
Frequently asked questions
Is orm or TiDB more popular?
orm has 47,614 GitHub stars and TiDB has 40,541. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and TiDB free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and TiDB under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and TiDB?
orm is written in TypeScript and TiDB in Go. 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 TiDB?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,614 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose TiDB if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.