SQLite vs DuckDB vs libSQL vs Turso
Four embedded / lightweight databases with very different sweet spots — the public-domain single-file SQL engine, the in-process analytical OLAP engine, an open-source SQLite fork with replication + vectors, and managed edge SQLite (libSQL) at scale — compared on free tier, self-hosting, analytics, and edge replication.
| SQLite | DuckDB | libSQL | Turso | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier note | Public-domain single-file embedded SQL database engine — runs in-process with no server and no limits; bundle it into any app, zero config, zero cost. | Open-source (MIT) in-process analytical (OLAP) SQL engine — columnar, vectorized, embeds like SQLite but for analytics workloads; self-host unlimited free. | Open-source (MIT) fork of SQLite from Turso — adds native replication, vector search, and edge sync; self-host unlimited free, or run managed edge replicas via Turso. | libSQL (SQLite fork) at the edge with 500 databases + 9 GB total storage free. |
| Bandwidth | n/a | n/a | n/a | included |
| Builds | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Requests | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | 10 billion row reads/month, 25 million writes/month |
| Custom domains | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Paid from | $0/mo | $0/mo | $0/mo | $29/mo |
| Generosity ★ | 34 | 34 | 34 | 34 |
| Last verified | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 | 2025-09-01 |
| Visit site | SQLite ↗ | DuckDB ↗ | libSQL ↗ | Turso ↗ |
Data verified 2025-09-01.