head to head · open source
whodb vs Addax
whodb has 5,033 GitHub stars, 240 forks, 42 open issues and last shipped today. Addax has 1,441 stars, 343 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped today. whodb leads on adoption by 249% (5,033 vs 1,441 stars). whodb is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Addax is written in Java under Apache-2.0. whodb has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Addax 24%. whodb was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (data-integration), 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 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| whodb | Addax | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 5.0K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 240 | ⑂ 343 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick whodb if
- You weight community size — 5.0K 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 Addax if
- You want the Addax 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 Addax fits your workflow better
About whodb
WhoDB is an Apache 2.0, Go based open source data workspace that gives users one place to explore databases, edit data, run queries, and understand how a schema fits together. It runs in the browser, is available as a desktop application, and also provides a terminal CLI, so it fits the open source data engineering and integration ecosystem for internal tools, data platforms, database management, data governance, data integration, data pipelines, data catalogs, data lineage, and ER diagrams.
read the full whodb overview →
About Addax
Addax is an open source, Java based ETL tool for moving data between relational databases, NoSQL stores, file formats, and big data systems. It is an actively maintained fork of Alibaba DataX, which the README describes as frozen since 2023, and it is positioned as the maintained successor for users who need continued updates, dependency fixes, and plugin development in the DataX ecosystem.
read the full Addax overview →
More in Data & Analytics
Related comparisons
More Data Engineering & Integration projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Data Engineering & Integration field.
Frequently asked questions
Is whodb or Addax more popular?
whodb has 5,033 GitHub stars and Addax has 1,441. whodb has the larger community by that measure.
Are whodb and Addax free?
Both are open source. whodb is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Addax under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between whodb and Addax?
whodb is written in Go and Addax 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, whodb or Addax?
Choose whodb if you want the larger community (5,033 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Addax if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.