Comparison

Diesel vs Kysely

On the evidence we track, Kysely leads this comparison with a composite score of 74/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Diesel62
★Kysely74
Score
vioscaleAI score
Diesel62 / 100medium · 50%
Kysely74 / 100high · 78%
Pricing
Free tier
Diesel✓
Kysely✓
Model
Price level
Dieselfree
Kyselyfree
Transparent
Diesel–
Kysely✓
Integrations
Count
Diesel5
Kysely21
Adoption
Dependent repos
Diesel3,691
Kysely1,155
Github stars
Diesel14,201
Kysely14,269
Package downloads weekly
Diesel–
Activity
Commits last 30d
Diesel100
Kysely59
Release
Cadence days
Diesel32
Kysely10
History
Diesel20 items
Kysely20 items
License
Spdx
KyselyMIT
Language
Primary
DieselRust
Content
Faq
Diesel3 items
Kysely6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for orm & database tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Type-safe queries
Diesel✓
Kysely✓
Schema migrations
Diesel✓
Kysely✓
Relations / joins API
Diesel✓
Kysely✓
Languages
DieselRust
KyselyTypeScript, JavaScript (Node, Deno, Bun, Cloudflare Workers, browsers)
Modelling
Schema-first modelling
Diesel✓
Kysely✓
Flexibility
Raw SQL escape hatch
Diesel✓
Kysely✓
Portability
Multiple database backends
Diesel✓
Kysely✓
Ops
Connection pooling
Diesel✓
Kysely✗
DX
Data browser / studio
Diesel✗
Kysely✗

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Diesel

A Rust library that provides type-safe database access with compile-time verification, featuring both a query builder API and raw SQL support across multiple database systems including PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite.

Independently observed

Kysely

Leader

A JavaScript and TypeScript SQL query builder that provides compile-time type safety and database schema validation. It works across multiple runtimes (Node, Deno, Bun, Cloudflare Workers, browsers) with zero runtime dependencies and emphasizes composable, type-safe queries over higher-level abstractions.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Diesel

Open source
as of verify ↗

Kysely

Leader
Open sourceFree tier

Completely free and open source (MIT license)

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Diesel–
Kysely✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Diesel✗
Kysely✓
Self-hosted
Diesel✓
Kysely✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (3)
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • SQLite

Diesel

5 total - 2 not shared
  • Oracle
  • Firebird
Independently observed

Kysely

Leader
25 total - 22 not shared
  • Supabase
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf
  • GitHub Copilot
  • ChatGPT
  • Claude
  • Claude Code
  • AirTrail
  • AWS Blocks
  • Conar
  • EmbedPDF
  • Hot Updater
  • inlang
  • Notesnook
  • OpenClaw
  • Reflect
  • Sink
  • Stacks
  • StudioCMS
  • Tunarr
  • ZenStack
  • Microsoft SQL Server
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Diesel or Kysely: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.