whichdb
vs

Jazz vs OrbitDB

Jazz: Local-first database with built-in sync, permissions and edit history, being rebuilt as a relational Jazz 2. OrbitDB: Serverless peer-to-peer database on IPFS and libp2p using Merkle-CRDT logs.

key differences

  • Horizontal scaling is none in Jazz and manual in OrbitDB.
  • Transactions: Jazz offers limited ACID; OrbitDB offers none.
  • Only Jazz has encryption at rest, time travel.
  • Only OrbitDB has json, pub/sub.

choose jazz for

  • +Collaborative editors and whiteboards
  • +Multi-device personal productivity apps
  • +Apps needing end-to-end encrypted sync

best at · Local-first, Mobile/offline

choose orbitdb for

  • +Decentralised and web3 applications
  • +Offline-capable collaborative apps without a backend
  • +Tamper-evident shared logs between parties

best at · Local-first, Event sourcing

JazzLocal-first database with built-in sync, permissions and edit history, being rebuilt as a relational Jazz 2.
OrbitDBServerless peer-to-peer database on IPFS and libp2p using Merkle-CRDT logs.
overview
Primary model
Document
Document
Also supports
Relational
Key-Value, Event Store
Type
Database engine
Embedded library
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Garden Computing, Inc.
OrbitDB community
First release
2023
2016
Latest version
jazz-tools 0.20.19 (Jul 3, 2026)
4.0.0 (May 14, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)MIT License
Open source (permissive)MIT License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
14.2
9.7
Rank
#238
#306
GitHub stars
2.5K
8.8K
Stack Overflow questions
–
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Horizontal scaling
None
Manual
Multi-region
Active active
Active active
ACID
Limited
None
Consistency
Eventual, Causal
Eventual
Schema
Strict
Schemaless
Architecture
Distributed, Embedded
Distributed, Multi primary, Embedded
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
✓
✓
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
–
capabilities
Transactions
—
—
Joins
—
—
Secondary indexes
—
—
Full-text search
—
—
Vector search
—
—
Geospatial
—
—
JSON
—
✓
Change data capture
—
—
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
—
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
✓
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
—
—
Encryption at rest
✓
—
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
✓
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
—
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
✓
✓
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
Jazz TypeScript schema/query API
JavaScript API
Client languages
TypeScript
JavaScript
Best for
Local-first, Mobile/offline
Local-first, Event sourcing
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Jazz vs OrbitDB: FAQ

What is the difference between Jazz and OrbitDB?

Jazz: Local-first database with built-in sync, permissions and edit history, being rebuilt as a relational Jazz 2. OrbitDB: Serverless peer-to-peer database on IPFS and libp2p using Merkle-CRDT logs. Horizontal scaling is none in Jazz and manual in OrbitDB. Transactions: Jazz offers limited ACID; OrbitDB offers none. Only Jazz has encryption at rest, time travel.

When should I choose Jazz over OrbitDB?

Choose Jazz for collaborative editors and whiteboards; multi-device personal productivity apps; and apps needing end-to-end encrypted sync. Choose OrbitDB for decentralised and web3 applications; offline-capable collaborative apps without a backend; and tamper-evident shared logs between parties.

Is Jazz or OrbitDB more popular?

Jazz ranks #238 on the WhichDB Score (14.2/100) and OrbitDB ranks #306 (9.7/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Jazz and OrbitDB open source?

Yes. Jazz is open source. License: MIT License. Yes. OrbitDB is open source. License: MIT License.