Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to RethinkDB

RethinkDB pushes JSON to your apps in realtime.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier. RethinkDB launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   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 →

2. 2
   The Changelog - #181: RethinkDB, Databases, and the Realtime Web With Slava Akhmechet▲60

   Slava Akhmechet schools us on RethinkDB and the realtime web

   2015 · changelog.com · its alternatives →

3. 3DA
   DriftDB – an open source WebSocket backend for real-time apps▲367

   Hey HN! I’ve written a bunch of WebSocket servers over the years to do simple things like state synchronization, WebRTC signaling, and notifying a client when a backend job was run. I realized that if I had a simple way to create a private, temporary, mini-redis that the client could talk to directly, it would save a lot of time. So we created DriftDB. In addition to the open source server that you can run yourself, we also provide https://jamsocket.live where you can use an instance we host on Cloudflare’s edge (~13ms round trip latency from my home in NY). You may have seen my…

   2023 · driftdb.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   InstantDB▲320

   Complete backend with auth and storage in one prompt

   Apr 2026 · instantdb.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Horizon▲8

   Realtime open-source backend for JS apps by RethinkDB

   2016 · sequence.xyz · its alternatives →

6. 6
   clientdb▲285

   Build lightning fast apps with instantaneous interactions

   2022 · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Answers by Context.devfree tier, from $25/mo▲198

   Give it a research task + the JSON shape you want back.

   Sep 2026 · docs.context.dev · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Restdb.io – a plug and play database service▲101

   Simple online database service in the cloud with NoSQL, REST API, low code javascript hooks, MongoDB support and more. Perfect for API automation, custom development, enterprise, backoffice, serverless backends, database driven websites. It provides easy collaboration and data management with secure

   2016 · restdb.io · its alternatives →

9. 9
   nodb▲127

   Database for your apps in 30 seconds via JSON API

   2023 · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Json2graphql – From a JSON file to Postgres-backed realtime GraphQL▲120

    Blazing fast, instant realtime GraphQL APIs on all your data with fine grained access control, also trigger webhooks on database events. - graphql-engine/community/tools/json2graphql at master · hasura/graphql-engine

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    RethinkDB 2.0

    Open source, production-ready database for the realtime web.

    2015 · rethinkdb.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    restdb.io▲131

    Simple online NoSQL database backend

    2016 · restdb.io · its alternatives →

13. 13
    RipDB▲65

    Fast, decentralized key-value Store for web3 builders

    2022 · zdenham.github.io · its alternatives →

14. 14WM
    We made a real-time editor for web database apps▲121

    2018 · demo.hyperfiddle.net · its alternatives →

15. 15AT
    A tool to seed your dev database with real data▲129

    A bunch of developers and myself have created RepliByte - an open-source tool to seed a development database from a production database. Features: - Support data backup and restore for PostgreSQL, MySQL and MongoDB - Replace sensitive data with fake data - Works on large database (> 10GB) (read Design) - Database Subsetting: Scale down a production database to a more reasonable size - Start a local database with the prod data in a single command - On-the-fly data (de)compression (Zlib) - On-the-fly data de/encryption (AES-256) - Fully stateless (no server, no daemon) and lightweight…

    2022 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Jason – A new JSON Library for Go▲106

    Easy-to-use JSON Library for Go. Contribute to antonholmquist/jason development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    GoatDB – A lightweight, offline-first, realtime NoDB for Deno and React▲90

    Hey HN, We've been experimenting with a real-time, version-controlled NoDB for Deno & React called GoatDB. The idea is to remove backend complexity while keeping apps fast, offline-resilient, and easy to self-host. Runs on the client – No backend required, incremental queries keep things efficient. Self-hosted & lightweight – Deploy a single executable, no server stack needed. Offline-first & resilient – Clients work independently & can restore state after server outages. Edge-native & fast – Real-time sync happens locally with minimal overhead. Why We Built It: We needed something that’s…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    The Changelog - #189: JSON API with Yehuda Katz▲66

    Yehuda's start as a programmer and the spec for building API

    2016 · changelog.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    JSONBason▲15

    I've been at it again, just sharing my simple JSON data inspection tool, love webdev and single page apps, this one took 4 days and was a lot of fun. The code is not obfuscated so you can inspect it and see how it works (very simple, server side is even more simple) Pretty much just do a POST of your JSON data from within your code and it will convert it into a basic table for instant search and sort. Made with love for the fun of it, no ads, no paid anything, it's totally free. Please only send in sanitized/test data only, this is meant to help make webdev a bit easier and more fun.…

    2025 · jsonbason.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Json2Html▲97

    App to convert JSON into human friendly tabular format.

    2015 · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Pushpin▲79

    Building and scaling realtime APIs made easy

    2015 · pushpin.org · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Dbcopycat▲70

    Dynamicizing static json files with Node Js - fast json data

    2023 · ismailcankaratas.com.tr · its alternatives →

23. 23DT
    Daba – Turn your JSON into a database▲15

    Hi all, I built this tool when I needed a simple LocalStorage-esque database for a client project, and figured others might want something similar. Basically turns your JSON into a query-able, hosted database in seconds. You can read/update/delete JSON files by path, just like you would in Javascript. So, something like get(”users[7].address”) And while we’re at it, I also built a simple file storage service where you upload a file and it gives you the URL back. A lot of my (and other devs friends') side projects will never require more data than a JSON file can handle. Yet we…

    2023 · daba.so · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Rxdb – A fast, reactive, client-side database▲52

    The local-first database that runs on every JS runtime and replicates with your existing backend - no vendor, no lock-in - https://rxdb.info/ - pubkey/rxdb

    2017 · github.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 →