head to head · open source
dbt vs preswald
dbt has 14,118 GitHub stars, 2,661 forks, 1,534 open issues and last shipped yesterday. preswald has 4,270 stars, 647 forks, 330 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. dbt leads on adoption by 231% (14,118 vs 4,270 stars). dbt is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; preswald is written in Python under Apache-2.0. dbt has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, preswald 15%. dbt was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (analytics), 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
| dbt | preswald | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 4.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-06-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 647 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick dbt if
- You weight community size — 14K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick preswald if
- You want the preswald feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and preswald fits your workflow better
About dbt
[!WARNING] dbt v1 development has moved to the 1.latest branch. The main branch now contains all the Apache 2.0 source code of dbt v2.0 — a ground up rewrite of dbt in Rust. If you're looking for the v1 Python implementation of the dbt framework, switch to 1.latest . dbt enables data analysts and engineers to transform their data using the same practices that software engineers use to build applications. About dbt v2.0 🚧 dbt v2.0 is in beta. Behavior, APIs, and on disk formats may change before the stable release. dbt v2.0 is engineered for performance at scale. It parses, compiles, and runs projects in a…
About preswald
Create interactive data apps with a full data stack that runs in the browser (no local dependencies!),runs offline, and is shareable in a single file. What is Preswald? Preswald is a static site generator for building interactive data apps in Python. It packages compute, data access, and UI into self contained data apps that run locally in the browser. Built on a WASM runtime with Pyodide and DuckDB, Preswald enables portable, file based apps that are fast, reactive, and shareable. You can think of Preswald as a lightweight alternative to heavier web app platforms. It provides built in UI components and reactive…
read the full preswald overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is dbt or preswald more popular?
dbt has 14,118 GitHub stars and preswald has 4,270. dbt has the larger community by that measure.
Are dbt and preswald free?
Both are open source. dbt is licensed under Apache-2.0 and preswald under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between dbt and preswald?
dbt is written in Rust and preswald in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, dbt or preswald?
Choose dbt if you want the larger community (14,118 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose preswald if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.