Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

Realm is a mobile database launched in 2014 for developers building applications on mobile devices. It provides a lightweight alternative to traditional databases, designed specifically to handle data storage and… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Realm (YC S11), a mobile database launched in 2014; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Realm▲168

   Realm, Mobile-first database. Build fast apps, faster.

   2014 · mongodb.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Realm Mobile Platform▲178

   A platform for creating reactive mobile apps effortlessly.

   2016 · realm.io · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Realm 1.0▲6

   Realm is a mobile database a billion people rely on

   2016 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Realm React Native▲137

   The fastest database for cross platform mobile apps

   2016 · mongodb.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Realm Xamarin▲95

   The fastest database on Xamarin for reactive mobile apps

   2016 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   InstantDB – A Modern Firebase▲1,145

   Hey there HN! We’re Joe and Stopa, and today we’re open sourcing InstantDB, a client-side database that makes it easy to build real-time and collaborative apps like Notion and Figma. Building modern apps these days involves a lot of schleps. For a basic CRUD app you need to spin up servers, wire up endpoints, integrate auth, add permissions, and then marshal data from the backend to the frontend and back again. If you want to deliver a buttery smooth user experience, you’ll need to add optimistic updates and rollbacks. We do these steps over and over for every feature we build, which can…

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Firebase, a scalable real-time backend▲526

   Discover Firebase, Google’s mobile and web app development platform that helps developers build apps and games that users will love.

   2012 · firebase.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   EdgeDB 1.0▲947

   Today, after years of research, development, and refinement EdgeDB graduates to a production-ready database. We are very proud to announce EdgeDB 1.0.

   2022 · edgedb.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Realm Mobile Platform Professional Edition▲6

   Powerful integrations and event handling

   2016 · realm.io · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Realm▲127

    HTML framework for building MVP

    2023 · its alternatives →

11. 11TA
    TerminusDB – An open source in-memory graph database▲231

    2020 · terminusdb.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    LatticeDB – Like SQLite but for graph databases▲190

    We have been using graph DBs more and more at work. I found them painful to work with locally and decided to try and build something better.

    Aug 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Textdb.dev – simple data sharing for fun projects▲200

    2020 · textdb.dev · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Prisma Postgres▲262

    The future of serverless databases

    2025 · prisma.io · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Prisma Cloud▲269

    GraphQL database platform

    2018 · app.prisma.io · its alternatives →

16. 16
    PlanetScale▲215

    The MySQL-compatible serverless database platform

    2021 · planetscale.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Godb is a simple Go ORM for PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite and SQL Server▲205

    A Go SQL query builder and struct mapper. Contribute to samonzeweb/godb development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    TerminusDB▲81

    An open-source in-memory graph database

    2020 · its alternatives →

19. 19GV
    Gun v0.1.0 – The Easiest Database Ever▲173

    2015 · gundb.io · its alternatives →

20. 20
    SirixDB – Bitemporal binary JSON database system and event store▲109

    I had already posted the project a couple of years ago, and it gained some interest, but a lot of stuff has been done since then, especially regarding performance, a completely new JSON store, a REST API, various internals refactored, an improved JSONiq based query engine allowing updates, implementing set-oriented join optimizations, a now already dated web UI, a new Kotlin based CLI, a Python and TypeScript client to ease the use of Sirix... First prototypes from a precursor stem already from 2005. So, what is it all about? The system uses ideas from ZFS (a keyed index trie, storing…

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Distributed SQLite on FoundationDB▲150

    Hello HN! I'm building mvsqlite, a distributed variant of SQLite with MVCC transactions, that runs on FoundationDB. It is a drop-in replacement that just needs an `LD_PRELOAD` for existing applications using SQLite. I made this because Blueboat (https://github.com/losfair/blueboat) needs a native SQL interface to persistent data. Apparently, just providing a transactional key-value store isn’t enough - it is more easy and efficient to build complex business logic on an SQL database, and it seems necessary to bring a self-hostable distributed SQL DB onto the platform.…

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22SA
    Squirrelbyte – a SQLite-based JSON document server▲118

    2021 · squirrelbyte.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    DBeaver▲130

    A free and universal database tool

    2018 · dbeaver.io · its alternatives →

24. 24
    8base – Ready-to-Rock GraphQL API and Serverless Back End▲84

    8base delivers an AI-first solution that simplifies your journey from idea to working software application. | Ask us how.

    2019 · 8base.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →