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Open-source SQL databases: star history compared

Most starred

50k

clickhouse/clickhouse

Databases age differently than frameworks: the incumbents here measure their histories in decades, so their star curves under-count influence enormously — Postgres and SQLite run half the world from mirrors that only joined GitHub late. That makes the newer entrants easier to read: DuckDB's analytics-in-process pitch and ClickHouse's columnar speed both show the sharp modern growth you'd expect from projects born on GitHub.

Ranked by current GitHub stars · growth = stars gained in the trailing 90 days · data updated Sep 2026

Open-source SQL databases — star history
46k STARS15 YR 7 MOclickhouse/clickhouse46kduckdb/duckdb33kcockroachdb/cockroach35kpostgres/postgres21kmysql/mysql-server13ksqlite/sqlite9kmariadb/server7.6k

clickhouse/clickhouse: 45,937 stars on September 16, 2026. duckdb/duckdb: 32,634 stars on September 16, 2026. cockroachdb/cockroach: 34,571 stars on September 16, 2026. postgres/postgres: 20,681 stars on September 16, 2026. mysql/mysql-server: 13,136 stars on September 13, 2026. sqlite/sqlite: 8,965 stars on September 14, 2026. mariadb/server: 7,574 stars on September 16, 2026.

Star history for clickhouse/clickhouse
DateStars
June 14, 20161
August 2, 20161336
September 21, 20161585
November 15, 20161799
January 4, 20171933
February 24, 20172090
April 10, 20172324
May 26, 20172543
July 13, 20172698
September 5, 20172885
November 1, 20173168
December 17, 20173437
February 2, 20183709
March 20, 20183936
May 8, 20184156
June 22, 20184366
August 6, 20184577
September 20, 20184852
November 4, 20185481
December 19, 20185820
February 2, 20196148
March 21, 20196565
May 5, 20196945
June 19, 20197440
August 3, 20198002
September 17, 20198540
November 1, 20198945
December 16, 20199332
January 30, 20209854
March 16, 202010277
May 9, 202010852
June 23, 202011363
August 7, 202012004
September 22, 202012756
November 6, 202013418
December 21, 202014552
February 4, 202115145
March 21, 202115870
May 5, 202116570
June 22, 202117904
August 7, 202118985
September 24, 202120619
November 12, 202121224
December 27, 202122162
February 10, 202223108
March 27, 202223900
May 11, 202224792
June 25, 202225443
August 9, 202226117
September 23, 202226766
November 16, 202227428
December 31, 202227933
February 14, 202328529
March 31, 202329268
May 15, 202330170
June 29, 202330962
August 13, 202331708
September 27, 202332469
November 11, 202333212
December 26, 202333897
February 9, 202434680
March 25, 202435419
May 9, 202436190
June 23, 202437067
August 7, 202438004
September 21, 202438795
November 5, 202439534
December 20, 202440224
February 3, 202540933
March 20, 202541804
May 13, 202542751
June 27, 202543328
August 11, 202543909
September 25, 202544428
November 13, 202544803
December 28, 202545151
February 11, 202645498
March 30, 202645696
May 23, 202645834
September 16, 202645937
Star history for duckdb/duckdb
DateStars
June 26, 20182
May 21, 201958
July 16, 2019291
September 16, 2019353
November 8, 2019424
January 3, 2020467
March 2, 2020519
April 25, 2020575
June 1, 20201280
July 6, 20201392
August 25, 20201450
October 6, 20202205
November 5, 20202317
December 6, 20202457
January 10, 20212519
February 13, 20212605
March 17, 20212753
April 18, 20212845
May 25, 20213001
June 23, 20213161
July 23, 20213357
August 28, 20213478
September 29, 20213588
November 9, 20213763
December 9, 20213935
January 9, 20224122
February 8, 20224289
March 10, 20224452
April 9, 20224649
May 9, 20224906
June 14, 20225248
July 13, 20225439
August 12, 20225859
September 11, 20226298
October 10, 20226742
November 9, 20227110
December 9, 20227491
January 8, 20237835
February 6, 20238205
March 8, 20238811
April 7, 20239317
May 7, 20239787
June 5, 202310294
July 5, 202310717
August 4, 202311163
September 3, 202311527
October 2, 202312026
November 1, 202312593
December 1, 202313076
December 31, 202313443
February 4, 202414101
March 5, 202414827
April 4, 202415903
May 3, 202416621
June 2, 202417664
July 2, 202420189
August 1, 202421001
August 30, 202421886
September 29, 202422706
October 29, 202423456
November 28, 202424231
December 27, 202424871
January 26, 202525633
February 25, 202526347
March 27, 202527549
April 25, 202528127
May 25, 202528752
June 24, 202529459
July 23, 202529887
August 22, 202530518
September 27, 202531012
November 1, 202531308
November 30, 202531536
December 30, 202531792
January 29, 202632058
February 28, 202632244
March 30, 202632360
April 30, 202632476
June 6, 202632549
September 16, 202632634
Star history for cockroachdb/cockroach
DateStars
February 12, 20143
July 21, 2014483
September 13, 20141548
November 14, 20142433
January 9, 20152667
March 6, 20153087
April 30, 20153486
June 24, 20154956
August 17, 20155224
October 10, 20155651
December 13, 20156147
February 5, 20166481
March 29, 20166817
May 22, 20167341
July 15, 20167700
September 6, 20168018
November 2, 20168342
December 27, 20168683
February 19, 20179285
April 13, 20179893
June 5, 201711134
July 28, 201711519
September 19, 201711885
November 11, 201712512
January 3, 201813045
February 25, 201813593
April 20, 201814151
June 12, 201814552
August 4, 201814897
September 27, 201815330
November 29, 201815760
January 21, 201916225
March 15, 201916625
May 7, 201917183
June 30, 201917721
August 22, 201918101
October 15, 201918426
December 7, 201918763
January 31, 202019068
March 24, 202019354
May 19, 202019697
July 11, 202019988
September 4, 202020308
October 27, 202020871
December 19, 202021230
February 10, 202121613
April 6, 202121984
June 1, 202122380
July 24, 202123067
September 18, 202123934
November 28, 202124344
January 22, 202225069
March 16, 202225896
May 8, 202226453
June 30, 202226995
August 22, 202227462
October 14, 202227942
December 6, 202228312
January 28, 202328626
March 22, 202328999
May 14, 202329338
July 6, 202329656
August 28, 202329996
October 21, 202330355
December 13, 202330672
February 4, 202431044
March 28, 202431403
May 20, 202431765
July 12, 202432146
September 3, 202432520
November 7, 202432905
December 31, 202433224
February 24, 202533474
April 18, 202533720
June 13, 202533943
August 9, 202534088
October 20, 202534231
December 22, 202534363
March 5, 202634488
September 16, 202634571
Star history for postgres/postgres
DateStars
February 12, 20112
April 29, 2011128
September 3, 2011218
December 2, 2011313
October 11, 2012400
January 24, 2013496
May 9, 2013587
October 17, 2013663
February 7, 2014745
May 23, 2014826
September 19, 2014941
December 13, 20141047
February 28, 20151188
May 10, 20151314
July 19, 20151440
September 30, 20151644
December 8, 20151781
February 13, 20161913
April 20, 20162052
June 23, 20162187
August 27, 20162369
October 30, 20162503
January 13, 20172624
March 16, 20172794
May 14, 20172953
July 17, 20173107
September 22, 20173328
November 20, 20173538
January 20, 20183786
March 22, 20184037
June 4, 20184298
August 5, 20184469
October 7, 20184663
December 6, 20184880
February 5, 20195092
April 4, 20195394
June 3, 20195710
August 1, 20196043
September 28, 20196311
November 25, 20196534
January 23, 20206816
March 22, 20207048
May 19, 20207325
July 18, 20207613
September 16, 20207916
November 13, 20208227
January 11, 20218481
March 12, 20218782
May 12, 20219080
July 9, 20219401
September 20, 20219754
November 25, 202110018
January 22, 202210370
March 21, 202210739
May 19, 202211075
July 16, 202211497
September 12, 202211854
November 9, 202212218
January 6, 202312544
March 5, 202312932
May 2, 202313353
June 29, 202313747
August 27, 202314147
October 24, 202314542
December 21, 202314975
February 18, 202415377
April 16, 202415930
June 13, 202416369
August 10, 202416859
October 8, 202417382
December 16, 202417951
February 12, 202518346
April 12, 202518878
June 9, 202519268
August 6, 202519560
October 3, 202519880
December 7, 202520120
February 3, 202620348
April 7, 202620552
September 16, 202620681
Star history for mysql/mysql-server
DateStars
September 26, 201419
November 18, 2014266
January 29, 2015361
March 25, 2015450
May 28, 2015549
July 27, 2015638
October 4, 2015723
December 2, 2015814
January 29, 2016917
April 4, 20161015
June 7, 20161153
August 9, 20161252
September 30, 20161419
November 24, 20161531
January 14, 20171655
March 8, 20171776
May 2, 20171911
June 26, 20172037
August 17, 20172207
October 8, 20172377
November 26, 20172535
January 19, 20182698
March 14, 20182826
May 7, 20183006
July 3, 20183159
August 22, 20183310
October 11, 20183446
December 2, 20183602
January 23, 20193761
March 14, 20193941
May 10, 20194173
June 27, 20194371
August 13, 20194670
October 1, 20194860
November 21, 20195040
January 7, 20205262
March 1, 20205432
April 19, 20205615
June 6, 20205842
July 24, 20206058
September 11, 20206267
November 1, 20206453
December 21, 20206652
February 7, 20216878
March 31, 20217057
May 20, 20217263
July 8, 20217473
August 30, 20217680
October 31, 20217852
December 18, 20218097
February 16, 20228304
April 8, 20228489
May 25, 20228681
July 12, 20228889
August 30, 20229101
October 17, 20229307
December 5, 20229484
January 26, 20239630
March 17, 20239813
May 4, 202310022
June 20, 202310195
August 8, 202310385
September 24, 202310587
November 15, 202310738
January 4, 202410927
February 22, 202411103
April 11, 202411309
May 30, 202411498
July 17, 202411680
September 5, 202411837
November 3, 202412041
December 22, 202412181
February 9, 202512324
April 1, 202512499
May 21, 202512664
July 29, 202512765
September 22, 202512863
December 4, 202512952
February 13, 202613034
September 13, 202613136
Star history for sqlite/sqlite
DateStars
March 18, 20192
May 10, 2019122
July 12, 2019168
September 19, 2019208
November 20, 2019249
February 11, 2020287
March 30, 2020347
May 10, 2020419
June 11, 2020482
July 18, 2020546
September 15, 2020604
October 18, 2020668
November 24, 2020727
December 31, 2020793
February 5, 2021845
March 15, 2021900
April 16, 2021979
May 18, 20211070
June 18, 20211146
July 17, 20211264
August 15, 20211370
September 15, 20211487
October 15, 20211560
November 18, 20211656
December 16, 20211759
January 13, 20221865
February 12, 20222065
March 14, 20222146
April 11, 20222260
May 9, 20222368
June 12, 20222517
July 10, 20222627
August 7, 20222786
September 4, 20222961
October 3, 20223097
October 31, 20223229
November 28, 20223366
December 27, 20223482
January 24, 20233594
February 21, 20233722
March 22, 20233856
April 19, 20233984
May 18, 20234098
June 15, 20234209
July 13, 20234314
August 10, 20234451
September 8, 20234577
October 6, 20234712
November 4, 20234840
December 2, 20234977
January 7, 20245127
February 5, 20245275
March 5, 20245389
April 2, 20245523
May 1, 20245704
May 29, 20245874
June 26, 20246029
July 24, 20246189
August 21, 20246386
September 18, 20246536
October 18, 20246701
November 15, 20246989
December 13, 20247167
January 10, 20257366
February 7, 20257603
March 7, 20257749
April 5, 20257925
May 3, 20258061
June 1, 20258165
June 29, 20258253
August 2, 20258373
September 4, 20258452
October 5, 20258538
November 11, 20258606
December 17, 20258685
January 16, 20268756
February 18, 20268818
March 26, 20268874
May 5, 20268922
September 14, 20268965
Star history for mariadb/server
DateStars
May 26, 20148
August 14, 2014300
December 3, 2014354
March 5, 2015423
May 8, 2015487
July 11, 2015548
September 19, 2015611
December 12, 2015694
February 6, 2016775
March 28, 2016861
June 3, 2016954
July 28, 20161050
September 20, 20161157
November 6, 20161230
December 25, 20161323
February 24, 20171412
April 18, 20171503
June 13, 20171583
August 13, 20171671
October 5, 20171770
November 24, 20171885
January 15, 20181971
March 6, 20182065
April 25, 20182174
June 13, 20182272
August 5, 20182349
September 28, 20182446
November 26, 20182531
January 19, 20192631
March 4, 20192742
April 28, 20192912
June 13, 20193074
July 30, 20193190
September 22, 20193311
November 6, 20193421
January 1, 20203512
February 22, 20203595
April 14, 20203689
May 30, 20203781
July 18, 20203856
September 16, 20203938
November 6, 20204017
January 5, 20214094
February 25, 20214177
April 17, 20214238
June 16, 20214316
August 13, 20214405
October 15, 20214488
December 18, 20214567
February 8, 20224641
April 21, 20224758
June 12, 20224844
August 2, 20224929
September 20, 20225013
November 12, 20225109
January 7, 20235221
March 6, 20235304
April 26, 20235397
June 22, 20235465
August 18, 20235542
October 14, 20235633
December 3, 20235715
January 24, 20245814
March 18, 20245893
May 2, 20245993
June 28, 20246094
August 18, 20246202
October 5, 20246316
November 25, 20246423
January 18, 20256538
March 18, 20256662
May 4, 20256763
June 22, 20256867
August 9, 20256958
September 24, 20257071
November 13, 20257199
January 4, 20267295
February 18, 20267421
April 8, 20267497
September 16, 20267574

How each series was read

  • clickhouse/clickhouse

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • duckdb/duckdb

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • cockroachdb/cockroach

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • postgres/postgres

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

  • mysql/mysql-server

    Historical star data · Covers through September 13, 2026

  • sqlite/sqlite

    Historical star data · Covers through September 14, 2026

  • mariadb/server

    Historical star data · Covers through September 16, 2026

Ranking

7 repositories

Open-source SQL databases ranked by current total GitHub stars
#RepositoryStars+90dFirst starHealth
1clickhouse/clickhouse49,902~732016debt charts
2duckdb/duckdb41,266~852018debt charts
3cockroachdb/cockroach32,466~122014debt charts
4postgres/postgres22,115~382011debt charts
5mysql/mysql-server12,428~102014debt charts
6sqlite/sqlite10,480~202019debt charts
7mariadb/server8,228~342014debt charts

Repository health compared

Live analysis · unavailable data stays labelled

Popularity is only one axis. Compare technical scale, maintenance cadence, ownership resilience and change pressure against the same completed analysis that sits behind each report.

Reach

Popularity and real-world adoption

Signalclickhouse/clickhouseduckdb/duckdbcockroachdb/cockroachpostgres/postgresmysql/mysql-serversqlite/sqlitemariadb/server
GitHub starsCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Best result in this row: 49,90241,26632,46622,11512,42810,4808,228
Stars gained · trailing 90dChange in the newest 90 days covered by each cached series.+73Best result in this row: +85+12+38+10+20+34
ForksCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Largest package audienceLargest resolved registry total; sources are shown explicitly.No resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved package
Repository ageElapsed years since the GitHub creation timestamp.10 years8.2 years13 years16 years12 years7.5 years12 years

Codebase

Size and technical center of gravity

Signalclickhouse/clickhouseduckdb/duckdbcockroachdb/cockroachpostgres/postgresmysql/mysql-serversqlite/sqlitemariadb/server
Dominant languageLargest share of analyzed code lines at current HEAD.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Code linesAnalyzed source lines at current HEAD, excluding blanks and comments.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Languages representedLanguages with non-zero files or line counts.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Maintenance

Commit volume and recent operating cadence

Signalclickhouse/clickhouseduckdb/duckdbcockroachdb/cockroachpostgres/postgresmysql/mysql-serversqlite/sqlitemariadb/server
Repository commitsFull repository commit total reported by the analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Commits · trailing 90dCommit count in the newest 90 days covered by the repository analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Ownership

How broadly maintenance responsibility is distributed

Signalclickhouse/clickhouseduckdb/duckdbcockroachdb/cockroachpostgres/postgresmysql/mysql-serversqlite/sqlitemariadb/server
Bus factorFewest analyzed contributors carrying at least half the commits.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Top contributor concentrationShare of attributed commits carried by the most active contributor.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Change signals

Debt markers and fix pressure in frequently changed files

Signalclickhouse/clickhouseduckdb/duckdbcockroachdb/cockroachpostgres/postgresmysql/mysql-serversqlite/sqlitemariadb/server
Fix-labelled share · frequently changed filesFix-labelled commits divided by commits across the analyzed high-frequency file set.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Recent TODO/FIXME movementLatest cumulative marker count and its change over the trailing 90 days.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Head to head

open in the builder

Frequently asked

Which of these open-source sql databases has the most GitHub stars?

clickhouse/clickhouse is the most-starred of the open-source sql databases gitdebt compares, with 49,902 GitHub stars as of Sep 2026. It earned its first star in 2016.

Which of these open-source sql databases is growing the fastest?

duckdb/duckdb added the most stars over the last 90 days of its cached history — about 85 new stars, compared with about 73 for the category leader clickhouse/clickhouse. 90-day figures are approximate for older repos, whose history is downsampled.

How is this comparison computed?

The table ranks public repository metadata by current total stars. Each curve is that repository's stored star series — read either from GitHub's stargazer list or rebuilt from historical star data — drawn on shared axes, with trailing 90-day growth estimated from it. The legend under the chart names each series' own source and coverage date. Repo-health charts come independently from each repository's commit history.

Related categories

all categories

Fastest-growing repos across all of gitdebt