THE STACK REPORT
Head-to-Head
Prisma vs Drizzle ORM
An objective, data-driven comparison of modern TypeScript ORMs based on 6 key criteria
The Verdict: It Depends
If Rapid prototyping / Team familiarity → Prisma
If Edge/serverless / Performance → Drizzle
Prisma
77
2 criteria won
Top Score
Drizzle ORM
90
4 criteria won
// Data & Methodology
- Sources
- GitHub API, npm downloads, bundlephobia.com, official documentation
- Snapshot
- 2026-01-02
- Metrics
- GitHub stars, npm weekly downloads, bundle size, type inference quality
- Note
- Stars measure adoption signals, not quality. Correlation ≠ causation.
Criteria Breakdown
Score out of 100 for each criterion
| Criteria | Prisma | Drizzle ORM |
|---|---|---|
| Type Safety | 88 | 95 ✓ |
| Performance | 72 | 92 ✓ |
| Developer Experience | 90 ✓ | 85 |
| Ecosystem Size | 95 ✓ | 75 |
| Bundle Size | 45 | 98 ✓ |
| SQL Flexibility | 70 | 95 ✓ |
| Total Score | 77 | 90 |
// Quick Facts
Feature comparison at a glance
Feature
Prisma Drizzle Schema Approach
Schema-first .prisma files
Code-first TypeScript
GitHub Stars
40 000
26 000
npm Downloads/wk
2.1M
450K x4 YoY growth
Bundle Size
~2.5MB Heavy runtime
~50KB 50x smaller
Type Generation
prisma generate Codegen step
✓ Native inference
Raw SQL
◐ $queryRaw
✓ SQL-like API
Edge Runtime
◐ Via Accelerate Paid proxy
✓ Native D1, Turso, etc.
Databases
PG, MySQL, SQLite + MongoDB, SQL Server
PG, MySQL, SQLite SQL only
Latest Release
v6.2.0
v0.38.0
Choose Based on Your Constraints
// Choose Prisma If
You value developer experience, need MongoDB support, want a mature ecosystem, or have a team already familiar with Prisma.
- Best DX and tooling (Prisma Studio)
- MongoDB + SQL Server support
- Largest ecosystem
- More learning resources
- Established team workflows
// Choose Drizzle If
You're deploying to edge/serverless, need maximum performance, want SQL-like syntax, or prefer code-first TypeScript schemas.
- 50x smaller bundle size
- Native edge runtime support
- SQL-like query builder
- No codegen step required
- Better type inference
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Build Your Complete Stack
Get personalized recommendations for your entire tech stack in 2 minutes.