head to head · open source
server vs arcadedb
server has 8,250 GitHub stars, 2,105 forks, 495 open issues and last shipped yesterday. arcadedb has 1,157 stars, 145 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped today. server leads on adoption by 613% (8,250 vs 1,157 stars). server is written in C++ under GPL-2.0; arcadedb is written in Java under Apache-2.0. server has attracted 26% as many forks as stars, arcadedb 13%. arcadedb 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
| server | arcadedb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.3K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 145 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick server if
- You weight community size — 8.3K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick arcadedb if
- You want the arcadedb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and arcadedb fits your workflow better
About server
MariaDB Server is a community developed, GPL 2.0 relational database server forked from MySQL by the original MySQL developers, aimed at teams that want MySQL compatibility with a sanely licensed, independently governed SQL server.
read the full server overview →
About arcadedb
ArcadeDB is an open source, Apache 2.0 multi model DBMS written in Java for teams that want graph, document, key/value, search, time series, vector embedding and geospatial workloads served from one engine instead of a stack of separate databases.
read the full arcadedb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is server or arcadedb more popular?
server has 8,250 GitHub stars and arcadedb has 1,157. server has the larger community by that measure.
Are server and arcadedb free?
Both are open source. server is licensed under GPL-2.0 and arcadedb under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between server and arcadedb?
server is written in C++ and arcadedb in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, server or arcadedb?
Choose server if you want the larger community (8,250 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose arcadedb if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.