Side by side
GRDB.swift vs Isar
Both stand on mobile databases. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Pick GRDB.swift for a Swift application that needs direct SQLite work, migrations, concurrency, and observation integrations without a license fee. It is especially suitable when Swift Package Manager or manual integration fits your project. Look elsewhere if you require Carthage, officially maintained Linux support, or newly published CocoaPods versions.
Visit GRDB.swiftChoose Isar if you are building a Flutter app that needs offline local storage, typed queries, and automatic transactions without a configuration-heavy setup. Check the VM and web constraints against your query and object requirements before choosing it.
Visit IsarThe facts
| GRDB.swift | Isar | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | iPhone, Linux, Mac | Android, iPhone, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | github.com | isar.dev |
| On mobile databases | #8 of 26 | #12 of 26 |
GRDB.swift: what it does well
- Free and open source under the MIT license
- Supports SQL execution and generated queries
- Provides migrations for evolving database schemas
- Offers observations through Swift concurrency, Combine, and RxSwift
- Supports SQLCipher database encryption
What to know first
- Carthage is unsupported
- Linux support is contributor-provided and not officially maintained
- CocoaPods cannot publish new GRDB versions
- Requires Swift 6.1+, Xcode 16.3+, and SQLite 3.20.0+
Isar: what it does well
- Free forever under the Apache license.
- Stores hundreds of thousands of records in one database.
- Built-in full-text search via a multi-entry index.
- Queries are statically typed and compile-time checked.
- Automatic transactions roll back changes on errors.
What to know first
- VM objects are limited to 16 MB.
- VM prefix where-clauses use only the first 1024 string bytes.
- Web does not support synchronous methods.
- Web lacks splitWords() and matches() filters and NaN support.
Alternatives to GRDB.swift Alternatives to Isar The whole list