# Django ORM vs Knex.js

| Attribute | Django ORM | Knex.js |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 72.1 (33% (low)) | 66.2 (71% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 73 | 0 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 114,817 | 94,868 |
| adoption.github_stars | 88,955 | 20,342 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 5,289,407 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | - |
| description.long | Django provides a database-abstraction API for structuring and manipulating application data through an object-relational mapping layer. It enables creation, retrieval, updating, and deletion of database objects using Python models. | An open-source Node.js package supporting nine SQL databases including PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and Oracle. Provides type-safe query building with TypeScript support, schema migrations, transaction handling with savepoints, connection pooling, and both promise and callback-based interfaces. |
| features.capabilities | `{"raw_sql":true,"multi_db":true,"languages":"Python","relations":true,"migrations":true,"type_safe_queries":true}` | `{"raw_sql":true,"multi_db":true,"languages":"JavaScript, TypeScript","relations":true,"migrations":true,"studio_gui":false,"schema_first":true,"type_safe_queries":true,"connection_pooling":true}` |
| language.primary | Python | JavaScript |
| license.spdx | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | - |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/stable/topics/db/queries/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T09:19:25.676Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://knexjs.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:34:17.530Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 28 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.3.0","date":"2026-06-26T14:55:58Z","type":"stable","version":"3.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.2.10","date":"2026-05-02T12:14:38Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.2.9","date":"2026-04-03T20:25:30Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.2.8","date":"2026-03-30T18:29:09Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.2.7","date":"2026-03-30T18:28:52Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.2.6","date":"2026-03-25T02:06:50Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.2.3","date":"2026-03-22T22:38:07Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.2.1","date":"2026-03-22T21:08:27Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.2.0","date":"2026-03-22T17:37:15Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.1.0","date":"2023-12-07T23:17:57Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.0.1","date":"2023-10-06T12:23:40Z","type":"stable","version":"3.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/3.0.0","date":"2023-10-06T06:56:38Z","type":"stable","version":"3.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/2.5.1","date":"2023-07-12T21:26:26Z","type":"stable","version":"2.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/2.5.0","date":"2023-07-08T21:04:46Z","type":"stable","version":"2.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/2.4.2","date":"2023-03-29T11:15:20Z","type":"stable","version":"2.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/2.4.1","date":"2023-03-29T11:11:39Z","type":"stable","version":"2.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/2.4.0","date":"2023-01-06T15:45:16Z","type":"stable","version":"2.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/2.3.0","date":"2022-09-01T21:17:24Z","type":"stable","version":"2.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/2.2.0","date":"2022-07-18T21:26:26Z","type":"stable","version":"2.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/knex/knex/releases/tag/2.1.0","date":"2022-05-26T09:04:03Z","type":"stable","version":"2.1.0"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 6.6 | 5.7 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":100,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=django&per_page=100","last_12m":31,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` | `{"count":2,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=knex&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (ORM & Database Tools)

| Capability | Django ORM | Knex.js |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Type-safe queries | ✓ | ✓ |
| Schema migrations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Relations / joins API | ✓ | ✓ |
| Languages | Python | JavaScript, TypeScript |
| **Modelling** |  |  |
| Schema-first modelling | - | ✓ |
| **Flexibility** |  |  |
| Raw SQL escape hatch | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Portability** |  |  |
| Multiple database backends | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ops** |  |  |
| Connection pooling | - | ✓ |
| **DX** |  |  |
| Data browser / studio | - | ✗ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:38:48.399Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*