drawDB vs Rowy
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
Rowy
Spreadsheet-like UI for Firestore databases
| Feature | drawDB | Rowy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Office Suites | Office Suites |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 38,454 | ★ 6,832 |
| First released | 2024 | 2021 |
| Replaces | dbdiagram.io, Lucidchart | Airtable |
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 Rowy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is drawDB or Rowy better?
drawDB is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Rowy if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are drawDB and Rowy free and open-source?
Yes. drawDB is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Rowy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run drawDB and Rowy with Docker?
drawDB: yes. Rowy: yes.