Appwrite vs Gel
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Appwrite
Open-source backend platform for building applications
VS
Gel
Graph-relational database with a modern query language
| Feature | Appwrite | Gel |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosting Platforms (PaaS) | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 56,800 | ★ 14,168 |
| First released | 2019 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Firebase, Supabase | Firebase, Supabase |
Why pick each one
Choose Gel if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 14.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Appwrite or Gel better?
Neither is universally better. Appwrite has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Appwrite and Gel free and open-source?
Yes. Appwrite is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Gel under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Appwrite and Gel with Docker?
Appwrite: yes. Gel: yes.