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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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Drizzle ORM Has a Free TypeScript ORM — SQL Queries Without the SQL Pain

#webdev #database #sql #typescript

The ORM Landscape in 2026

Prisma is powerful but adds 10MB+ to your bundle and generates a client you cannot control. TypeORM is buggy and poorly maintained. Sequelize feels like writing Java in JavaScript.

Drizzle: SQL Power With TypeScript Safety

Drizzle ORM is a TypeScript ORM that lets you write SQL-like queries with full type safety — and it compiles to exactly the SQL you would write by hand.

Why Developers Are Migrating to Drizzle

Zero Bundle Bloat

Prisma: ~10MB node_modules + generated client
Drizzle: ~50KB total
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That is 200x lighter. Your serverless cold starts will thank you.

SQL You Can Read

// Drizzle - reads like SQL
const users = await db
  .select()
  .from(usersTable)
  .where(eq(usersTable.role, 'admin'))
  .orderBy(desc(usersTable.createdAt))
  .limit(10)

// Generates exactly:
// SELECT * FROM users WHERE role = 'admin' ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 10
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No magic. No hidden queries. No N+1 problems you discover in production.

Type-Safe Schema

import { pgTable, serial, text, timestamp } from 'drizzle-orm/pg-core'

export const users = pgTable('users', {
  id: serial('id').primaryKey(),
  name: text('name').notNull(),
  email: text('email').notNull().unique(),
  createdAt: timestamp('created_at').defaultNow()
})

// TypeScript KNOWS the shape of every query result
const result = await db.select().from(users)
// result[0].name -> string (not string | null | undefined)
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Drizzle Kit: Migrations Made Simple 

# Generate migration from schema changes
npx drizzle-kit generate

# Apply migrations
npx drizzle-kit migrate

# Visual database browser
npx drizzle-kit studio
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Drizzle Studio opens a visual database browser in your browser. View data, run queries, edit rows — like pgAdmin but modern.

Supports Every Database

  • PostgreSQL (Neon, Supabase, Vercel Postgres)
  • MySQL (PlanetScale)
  • SQLite (Turso, D1, local files)

Same API, different driver. Switch databases by changing one import.

Drizzle vs Prisma in 2026

Feature Drizzle Prisma
Bundle size ~50KB ~10MB
Cold start Fast Slow
Query control Full SQL Abstracted
Type safety Schema-first Schema-first
Migrations SQL files Custom format
Learning curve Know SQL = easy New DSL to learn
Raw SQL escape hatch Built-in Awkward

When Prisma Is Still Better

  • Complex relations with nested writes
  • Teams with junior devs who do not know SQL
  • Projects already heavily invested in Prisma

For new projects where you want control and performance — Drizzle is the modern choice.

Get Started 

npm install drizzle-orm
npm install -D drizzle-kit
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Building data-heavy apps? I maintain 88+ web scrapers on Apify for extracting data from Reddit, Trustpilot, Google News, and more. Email spinov001@gmail.com for custom data solutions.

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