Comparison

GORM 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.
GORM52
★Kysely74
Score
vioscaleAI score
GORM52 / 100low · 48%
Kysely74 / 100high · 78%
Pricing
Free tier
GORM✓
Kysely✓
Model
Price level
GORMfree
Kyselyfree
Transparent
GORM–
Kysely✓
Integrations
Count
GORM4
Kysely21
Adoption
Dependent repos
GORM22,361
Kysely1,155
Github stars
GORM39,980
Kysely14,269
Package downloads weekly
GORM–
Activity
Commits last 30d
GORM1
Kysely59
Release
Cadence days
GORM18
Kysely10
History
License
Spdx
GORMMIT
KyselyMIT
Language
Primary
GORMGo
Content
Faq
Kysely6 items

Capabilities

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

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

What each one is

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

GORM

GORM is a free ORM library for Go that simplifies database operations through an intuitive API, supporting multiple database systems, advanced querying, schema migrations, and relationship management.

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.

GORM

Open sourceFree tier
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
GORM–
Kysely✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
GORM✗
Kysely✓
Self-hosted
GORM✓
Kysely✓

Integrations

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

In common (3)
  • SQLite
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL

GORM

4 total - 1 not shared
  • GaussDB
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?

GORM 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.