FMDB vs Realm
FMDB
github.com
Realm
realm.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | FMDB | Realm |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Mobile Databases | 7.8 (#12) | 7.7 (#18) |
| Integrations | The project documents installation through CocoaPods, Carthage, and Swift Package Manager, and describes SQLCipher options. | Realm's former Device Sync connected data across users, devices, and a backend in real time. |
| Support | Support is community-provided on a voluntary basis through the mailing list, GitHub bug reports, or Stack Overflow. | The Realm documentation directs users to its forums, Stack Overflow, and GitHub issues for help. |
Plans
In their own words
Realm
Realm is an object database for local data persistence in mobile and edge applications. It runs directly on phones, tablets, and wearables, and presents data as objects that developers can query in code without an ORM. The database supports relationships, generics, and vectorization. Its documentation describes apps continuing to work through weak signal, offline periods, or outages. Listed SDKs include Java, Swift, Objective-C, JavaScript, and .NET; the JavaScript implementation supports React Native on iOS and Android, as well as Node.js and Electron on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Realm Swift supports encryption in transit and at rest. Realm Studio can open and edit local and synced Realms and administer Realm Object Server instances. Former Device Sync connected data across users, devices, and a backend in real time, but MongoDB announced deprecation of Device Sync and Realm SDKs in September 2024. Realm is free and open source under Apache License 2.0.