drawDB vs EtherCalc
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted office suites options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
drawDB
Browser-based database schema design and ER diagram tool
VS
EtherCalc
Real-time collaborative spreadsheet editor
| Feature | drawDB | EtherCalc |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Office Suites | Office Suites |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | CPAL-1.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 38,454 | ★ 3,041 |
| First released | 2024 | 2013 |
| Replaces | dbdiagram.io, Lucidchart | Google Sheets |
Why pick each one
Choose drawDB if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 38.5k GitHub stars
Choose EtherCalc if…
- Released under the CPAL-1.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is drawDB or EtherCalc better?
Neither is universally better. drawDB has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are drawDB and EtherCalc free and open-source?
Yes. drawDB is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and EtherCalc under CPAL-1.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run drawDB and EtherCalc with Docker?
drawDB: yes. EtherCalc: yes.