head to head · open source
NocoDB vs TiDB
NocoDB has 64,998 GitHub stars, 5,054 forks, 710 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TiDB has 40,541 stars, 6,242 forks, 6,976 open issues and last shipped yesterday. NocoDB leads on adoption by 60% (64,998 vs 40,541 stars). NocoDB is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; TiDB is written in Go under Apache-2.0. NocoDB has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, TiDB 15%. TiDB was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (hacktoberfest), 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| NocoDB | TiDB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 65K | ★ 41K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 6.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick NocoDB if
- You weight community size — 65K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick TiDB if
- You want the TiDB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and TiDB fits your workflow better
About NocoDB
NocoDB is a free and self hostable open source Airtable alternative that turns an existing relational database into an intuitive spreadsheet interface, built for teams who want no code data management without moving their data into a hosted SaaS product.
read the full NocoDB overview →
About TiDB
TiDB is an open source, cloud native, distributed SQL database written in Go and licensed under Apache 2.0, aimed at teams that need ACID transactions, real time analytics, and vector search at scale without data silos.
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Databases projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Databases field.
Frequently asked questions
Is NocoDB or TiDB more popular?
NocoDB has 64,998 GitHub stars and TiDB has 40,541. NocoDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are NocoDB and TiDB free?
Both are open source. NocoDB has no licence declared in this registry, and TiDB is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between NocoDB and TiDB?
NocoDB is written in TypeScript and TiDB 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, NocoDB or TiDB?
Choose NocoDB if you want the larger community (64,998 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose TiDB if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.