head to head · open source
Prometheus vs usql
Prometheus has 66,109 GitHub stars, 10,839 forks, 890 open issues and last shipped yesterday. usql has 10,118 stars, 406 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Prometheus leads on adoption by 553% (66,109 vs 10,118 stars). Prometheus is written in Go under Apache-2.0; usql is written in Go under MIT. Prometheus has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, usql 4%. Prometheus was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Prometheus | usql | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 10K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 406 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Prometheus if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick usql if
- You want the usql feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and usql fits your workflow better
About Prometheus
Prometheus is an open source monitoring system and time series database, part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation ecosystem. It collects metrics from configured targets at defined intervals, evaluates alerting rules, and visualizes results. Designed for reliability in dynamic environments, it operates without reliance on distributed storage, ensuring each server node functions independently.
read the full Prometheus overview →
About usql
usql is a universal command line interface for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle Database, SQLite3, Microsoft SQL Server and many other SQL and NoSQL databases, built for database administrators and developers who want the familiar psql experience when working against databases other than PostgreSQL.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Prometheus or usql more popular?
Prometheus has 66,109 GitHub stars and usql has 10,118. Prometheus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prometheus and usql free?
Both are open source. Prometheus is licensed under Apache-2.0 and usql under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Prometheus and usql?
Prometheus is written in Go and usql 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, Prometheus or usql?
Choose Prometheus if you want the larger community (66,109 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose usql if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.