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Comparison

@prisma/client vs knex

ORMs and query buildersPackage data 25 Sept 2026
@prisma/clientv7.10.0, 25 Aug 2026

Prisma Client is an auto-generated, type-safe and modern JavaScript/TypeScript ORM for Node.js that's tailored to your data. Supports PostgreSQL, CockroachDB, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, SQLite & MongoDB databases.

$ npm install @prisma/client
knexv3.3.0, 26 Jun 2026

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

$ npm install knex
Metric@prisma/clientknexDifference
Weekly downloads11,810,7283,782,333@prisma/client 3.1x higher
12-month download growth+235%+74%@prisma/client +161 pts
Gzip size---
Minified size---
Dependencies114knex 13 more
Unpacked size71.0 MB919 kBknex 79.1x smaller
Latest release7.10.0, 25 Aug 20263.3.0, 26 Jun 2026@prisma/client 2 months more recent
Releases, last 12 months2312@prisma/client 11 more
First published15 Jan 20201 May 2013knex 6.7 years earlier
GitHub stars47,67320,346@prisma/client 2.3x higher
Open issues2,519580@prisma/client 1,939 more
Open pull requests139174knex 35 more
Contributors---
Commits, last 52 weeks8,283129@prisma/client 64.2x higher
TypeScript typesBundledBundledSame
Module formatESM + CommonJSCommonJSDiffers
Runtimes---
LicenseApache-2.0MITDiffers

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.

@prisma/client11.8m 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.

@prisma/client

Major versions
  1. 2.0.09 Jun 2020
  2. 3.0.17 Sept 2021
  3. 4.0.028 Jun 2022
  4. 5.0.011 Jul 2023
  5. 6.0.028 Nov 2024
  6. 7.0.019 Nov 2025
Last 5 releases
  1. 7.10.025 Aug 2026
  2. 7.9.127 Jul 2026
  3. 7.9.020 Jul 2026
  4. 7.8.022 Apr 2026
  5. 7.7.07 Apr 2026
201 releases in total, 23 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
@prisma/client

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knex

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@prisma/client

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knex

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  • Need both ESM and CommonJS entry points@prisma/client (@prisma/client: ESM + CommonJS; knex: CommonJS)
  • Need to load it with require()Both
  • Need TypeScript types in the package itselfBoth
  • Node.js version requirement@prisma/client: ^20.19 || ^22.12 || >=24.0; knex: >=16 (engines field in package.json)
  • Need the more recent release@prisma/client (7.10.0 on 25 Aug 2026 vs 3.3.0 on 26 Jun 2026)
  • Higher weekly npm downloads@prisma/client (11.8m vs 3.8m)
  • License@prisma/client: Apache-2.0; knex: MIT

Each line is generated from the data above.

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

Indexability: Indexed.