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Comparison

kysely vs knex

ORMs and query buildersPackage data 25 Sept 2026
kyselyv0.29.6, 16 Sept 2026

Type safe SQL query builder

$ npm install kysely
knexv3.3.0, 26 Jun 2026

A batteries-included SQL query & schema builder for PostgresSQL, MySQL, CockroachDB, MSSQL and SQLite3

$ npm install knex
MetrickyselyknexDifference
Weekly downloads12,012,5683,782,333kysely 3.2x higher
12-month download growth+1153%+74%kysely +1079 pts
Gzip size---
Minified size---
Dependencies014knex 14 more
Unpacked size1.6 MB919 kBknex 1.8x smaller
Latest release0.29.6, 16 Sept 20263.3.0, 26 Jun 2026kysely 3 months more recent
Releases, last 12 months1712kysely 5 more
First published18 Feb 20211 May 2013knex 7.8 years earlier
GitHub stars14,24320,346knex +43%
Open issues140580knex 440 more
Open pull requests36174knex 138 more
Contributors---
Commits, last 52 weeks290129kysely 2.2x higher
TypeScript typesNoneBundledDiffers
Module formatESM onlyCommonJSDiffers
Runtimes---
LicenseMITMITSame

Green marks the smaller size or the more recent release. Bold marks the higher count, with no judgement implied. Sizes are for the whole package per Bundlephobia. Growth compares the average of the last 4 weeks with the first 4 weeks of the 52-week series.

kysely12m latest weekknex3.7m latest week
Week of 23 Sept 2025Week of 15 Sept 2026
Weekly npm downloads, 52 weeks. Y axis starts at zero. Values are not smoothed.

kysely

Major versions
  1. 0.1.018 Feb 2021
Last 5 releases
  1. 0.29.616 Sept 2026
  2. 0.29.510 Aug 2026
  3. 0.29.417 Jul 2026
  4. 0.29.35 Jul 2026
  5. 0.29.216 May 2026
185 releases in total, 17 in the last 12 months

knex

Major versions
  1. 0.0.01 May 2013
  2. 1.0.016 Jan 2022
  3. 2.0.021 Apr 2022
  4. 3.0.06 Oct 2023
Last 5 releases
  1. 3.3.026 Jun 2026
  2. 3.2.102 May 2026
  3. 3.2.93 Apr 2026
  4. 3.2.830 Mar 2026
  5. 3.2.727 Mar 2026
232 releases in total, 12 in the last 12 months
kysely

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knex

-

kysely

-

knex

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  • Need no runtime dependencieskysely (kysely has 0, knex has 14)
  • Need both ESM and CommonJS entry pointsNeither (kysely: ESM only; knex: CommonJS)
  • Need to load it with require()knex
  • Need TypeScript types in the package itselfknex (kysely: None; knex: Bundled)
  • Node.js version requirementkysely: >=22.0.0; knex: >=16 (engines field in package.json)
  • Need the more recent releasekysely (0.29.6 on 16 Sept 2026 vs 3.3.0 on 26 Jun 2026)
  • Higher weekly npm downloadskysely (12m vs 3.8m)

Each line is generated from the data above.

knex: knex npm registry, knex npm downloads, knex GitHub. Data fetched 25 Sept 2026.

Indexability: Indexed.