head to head · open source
Lightdash vs whodb
Lightdash has 6,221 GitHub stars, 802 forks, 1,018 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. whodb has 5,049 stars, 241 forks, 42 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lightdash leads on adoption by 23% (6,221 vs 5,049 stars). Lightdash is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; whodb is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Lightdash has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, whodb 5%. whodb 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
| Lightdash | whodb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.2K | ★ 5.0K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 802 | ⑂ 241 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Lightdash if
- You weight community size — 6.2K 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 whodb if
- You want the whodb 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 whodb fits your workflow better
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 →
About whodb
WhoDB A lightweight, self hosted workspace for your databases Available on Quick start · Documentation · Live demo · Community WhoDB gives you one place to explore your databases, edit data, run queries, and understand how a schema fits together. It runs in the browser, is easy to self host, and is available as a desktop app or terminal CLI too. Use it when you want to inspect a local database, help a teammate explore unfamiliar data, or work without installing a heavyweight database client. AI features are optional: connect Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, LM Studio, or another OpenAI compatible provider if you want…
read the full whodb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Lightdash or whodb more popular?
Lightdash has 6,221 GitHub stars and whodb has 5,049. Lightdash has the larger community by that measure.
Are Lightdash and whodb free?
Both are open source. Lightdash has no licence declared in this registry, and whodb is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Lightdash and whodb?
Lightdash is written in TypeScript and whodb 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, Lightdash or whodb?
Choose Lightdash if you want the larger community (6,221 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose whodb if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.