Popular ORMs and Their Difference: Prisma, TypeORM, and Sequelize

If you’re a developer, you probably know what Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) is. However, if you’re unfamiliar with this jargon, no worries; let me provide you with its definition.

In simple terms, think of ORM as a tool that connects Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) code with a database. But why should you use this? Well, sometimes you need to interact with databases, such as adding or deleting data.

Sure, you can use SQL for this, but why use SQL when there are ORMs available to simplify the entire process? Today, I’ll cover three ORMs: TypeORM, Prisma, and Sequelize. Let’s start by examining what TypeORM is.

In simple terms, TypeORM is a TypeScript ORM that links any TypeScript application to a database. According to the documentation, it’s an ORM that’s compatible with many including NodeJS, Browser, Cordova, PhoneGap, Ionic, and React Native.

Further, TypeORM supports databases such as MYSQL, SQLite, Postgres, MS SQL Server, etc. It also uses classes and decorators for model definitions.

Some pros of using TypeORM include:

1. Help in making high-quality and scalable apps.
2. Integration with various modules.
3. Automatic table creation based on the model you use.
4. Simple CLI commands.

In short, only choose TypeORM when you need versatility, database compatibility, etc. In fact, if you’re a first-time ORM user, prefer TypeORM because of its extensive database support.

On the other hand, Sequelize is an ORM library for Node.js. According to its documentation, Sequelize is a modern TypeScript and Node.js ORM. Further, unlike TypeORM, Sequelize supports multiple relational databases, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and MSSQL. Some benefits of using Sequelize include promises, model hooks, transaction support, database migrations, model validations, raw queries, data seeding, and more.

Some of the benefits that you’ll enjoy after using Sequelize include:

1. Built-in protection against attacks.
2. Automatic management of database versions.
3. Clean code.
4. Support for various databases.

Let’s talk about Prisma now. Well, Prisma is quite different from both TypeORM and Sequelize. It’s an ORM library for Node.js that also supports multiple databases, including PostgreSQL, MYSQL, SQL Server, SQLite, MongoDB, and CockroachDB. In fact, Prisma serves as an alternative to plain SQL. Prisma also consists of various components, including Prisma Client, Prisma Migrate, and Prisma Studio.

As per their official website, Prisma aims to help users become more productive while penning code. How? Well, Prisma adds abstraction layer. Moreover, unlike TypeORM, Prisma doesn’t use classes for purposes such as model definitions. Instead, it relies on a schema.

Difference Between TypeORM, Prisma and Sequelize