head to head · open source
orm vs toydb
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars, 2,538 forks, 2,627 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. toydb has 7,283 stars, 624 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. orm leads on adoption by 554% (47,640 vs 7,283 stars). orm is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; toydb is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. orm has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, toydb 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 | toydb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-07-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 624 |
| 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 toydb if
- You want the toydb 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 toydb 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 toydb
toyDB is a distributed SQL database written in Rust as an educational project, aimed at developers and students who want to read and run a working system that shows how Raft consensus, MVCC transactions, and a SQL query engine fit together.
read the full toydb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is orm or toydb more popular?
orm has 47,640 GitHub stars and toydb has 7,283. orm has the larger community by that measure.
Are orm and toydb free?
Both are open source. orm is licensed under Apache-2.0 and toydb under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between orm and toydb?
orm is written in TypeScript and toydb 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 toydb?
Choose orm if you want the larger community (47,640 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose toydb if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.