head to head · open source
shardingsphere vs Lightdash
shardingsphere has 20,817 GitHub stars, 6,906 forks, 197 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lightdash has 6,219 stars, 801 forks, 1,018 open issues and last shipped yesterday. shardingsphere leads on adoption by 235% (20,817 vs 6,219 stars). shardingsphere is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Lightdash is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. shardingsphere has attracted 33% as many forks as stars, Lightdash 13%. Lightdash 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
| shardingsphere | Lightdash | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 6.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 801 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick shardingsphere if
- You weight community size — 21K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Lightdash if
- You want the Lightdash feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Lightdash fits your workflow better
About shardingsphere
Apache ShardingSphere Enterprise Distributed Database Ecosystem Building the standards and ecosystem on top of heterogeneous databases, empowering enterprise data architecture transformation Official Website: OVERVIEW Apache ShardingSphere is positioned as Database Plus , a standard and ecosystem built on top of heterogeneous databases. As an operating system layer above databases, ShardingSphere does not create new databases but focuses on maximizing the computing capabilities of existing databases, providing unified data access and enhanced computing capabilities. Database Plus Core Concept : By building a…
read the full shardingsphere overview →
About Lightdash
Open source Agentic BI for modern data teams Build governed metrics, dashboards, AI agents, and data apps from your context layer. Ship analytics through Git, CI, MCP, and the Lightdash CLI. Why Lightdash Lightdash is the Agentic BI platform for teams that want analytics to move like software. Your context layer defines trusted metrics, joins, permissions, business logic, and caching once, then powers every way people consume data: dashboards, AI agents, data apps, embedded analytics, SDKs, and MCP. Data teams can build and maintain analytics with any AI agent, then use the terminal, pull requests, and CI to…
read the full Lightdash overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is shardingsphere or Lightdash more popular?
shardingsphere has 20,817 GitHub stars and Lightdash has 6,219. shardingsphere has the larger community by that measure.
Are shardingsphere and Lightdash free?
Both are open source. shardingsphere is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Lightdash has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between shardingsphere and Lightdash?
shardingsphere is written in Java and Lightdash in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, shardingsphere or Lightdash?
Choose shardingsphere if you want the larger community (20,817 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Lightdash if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.