Guide for Prisma Alternatives- As web development keeps growing, frameworks like Remix are becoming more popular because of their great data-loading features and better user experience.
When working with databases in a Remix app, many developers turn to ORMs (Object Relational Mappers) because they make things easier, and safer with types, and provide better data handling.
Prisma is a favourite ORM for many Remix developers, but like any tech, there are other options that might work better depending on the project.
In this post, we’ll check out some of the best Prisma alternatives for Remix apps. We’ll explore what each one offers, its benefits, and when it’s the right choice for your project. Let’s dive in and compare them to Prisma!
Why Consider Prisma Alternatives?
While Prisma is a great tool for many, there are times when you might want to look at other options:
- Lightweight & Minimal Overhead: Prisma can be overkill for simpler apps, especially if you don’t need all its features.
- More Control Over SQL: Some developers like to have full control over their SQL queries and might not want Prisma to hide too much of the process.
- Smaller Bundle Size: Prisma can increase the size of your app due to its dependencies. For performance-focused projects, lighter alternatives might be a better fit.
- Less Abstraction: If you prefer to work directly with SQL, Prisma might feel too abstracted. In some cases, using a query builder or writing raw SQL could be a better approach.
Now, let’s dive into some of the top Prisma alternatives for Remix apps.
List of Best Prisma Alternatives in 2025
1. TypeORM
TypeORM is a mature and full-featured ORM that supports many SQL-based databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and SQLite.
It’s one of the most widely used ORMs in the Node.js ecosystem and provides a comprehensive set of tools for managing relational databases.
Key Features of TypeORM:
- Entity-based: TypeORM uses classes as entities that represent tables in your database, which is a familiar pattern for developers coming from other ORM ecosystems.
- Migrations: Like Prisma, TypeORM provides migration support, making it easy to evolve your database schema over time.
- Relations and Join Queries: TypeORM shines when it comes to handling complex relationships between tables and generating JOIN queries automatically.
- Hooks & Event Listeners: It includes lifecycle hooks and event listeners that allow you to manage events like before and after entity insertions, updates, or deletions.
Why Use TypeORM with Remix
TypeORM is a great choice and a Good Prisma Alternative, if you need full control over your database interactions and your project requires more features than what Prisma or lighter ORMs can offer.
It is highly extensible, supports a wide range of SQL features, and has an active community for support. If your project involves complex relationships or a large-scale application, TypeORM is a solid choice.
2. Drizzle ORM
Drizzle ORM is a modern, lightweight ORM that is perfect for developers who prioritize simplicity and type safety.
Drizzle is designed to work well in TypeScript-heavy environments and is particularly suited for smaller projects or those that want an easy-to-use database interaction tool without the complexity of a full-fledged ORM like Prisma.
Key Features of Drizzle ORM:
- Type-Safety: Drizzle ORM integrates deeply with TypeScript, ensuring that database queries are fully type-safe.
- Lightweight: With a minimalistic approach, Drizzle focuses on providing a fast, type-safe query builder without unnecessary bloat.
- Database Migrations: It offers a simple approach to schema migrations, making it easy to evolve your database structure.
- SQL-centric: Drizzle is built around SQL databases, providing developers with the ability to write and manage queries naturally while maintaining type safety.
Why Use Drizzle ORM with Remix
Drizzle ORM works excellently with Remix due to its minimalistic approach to database management. If you’re working on a smaller project or prefer not to deal with complex ORM features, Drizzle gives you just the right amount of abstraction.
It’s particularly great for teams or developers who want to keep things simple but still maintain type-safety in their database queries.
3. Sequelize
Sequelize is another popular ORM for Node.js, offering support for various relational databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, and SQLite.
It’s more traditional in its approach compared to some of the other tools on this list, and it includes a range of features found in many ORM ecosystems.
Key Features of Sequelize
- Associations & Relationships: Sequelize supports a range of relationships, including one-to-many, many-to-many, and many-to-one.
- Migrations & Seeders: Sequelize provides built-in migration support, which makes it easy to manage your database schema over time.
- Eager Loading: It provides powerful query options, such as eager loading of related models, simplifying queries that involve joins.
- Active Community: Sequelize has been around for a long time, which means it has a strong community, extensive documentation, and a wealth of resources for troubleshooting.
Why Use Sequelize with Remix
Sequelize is a solid choice if you’re looking for a traditional ORM experience with a strong set of features. It’s best suited for teams that are used to working with ORMs in other languages and need a comprehensive solution with a strong track record.
4. Kysely
Kysely is a query builder for TypeScript that focuses on providing type-safe SQL queries. It’s not an ORM in the traditional sense but offers much of the same functionality, with less abstraction.
Key Features of Kysely
- Type-Safe SQL: Kysely ensures that your SQL queries are type-safe by integrating deeply with TypeScript’s static type system.
- No ORM Overhead: Unlike Prisma or TypeORM, Kysely doesn’t abstract your queries into models, which gives you more direct control over your SQL.
- SQL Syntax: It uses standard SQL syntax, which makes it familiar for developers who prefer working with raw SQL or those coming from a SQL-heavy background.
- Flexible: Because it’s a query builder rather than an ORM, it’s extremely flexible and doesn’t impose any unnecessary restrictions.
Why Use Kysely with Remix
Kysely is an excellent choice if you want the benefits of type-safe SQL queries without the full abstraction of an ORM.
It’s ideal for teams that want complete control over their database interactions while maintaining the advantages of TypeScript’s type-checking.
5. Objection.js
Objection.js is a SQL-friendly ORM built on top of Knex.js, a popular SQL query builder for Node.js. While it’s not a traditional ORM, it offers a flexible approach to managing relational data and works directly with SQL queries.
Key Features of Objection.js
- SQL-centric: Objection.js focuses on writing SQL queries with an easy-to-use object-oriented approach. You can still write raw SQL while leveraging its API to simplify query building.
- GraphQL & Joins: It natively supports complex relationships (such as
one-to-manyandmany-to-many) and automatically generates JOIN queries. - Extensible and Lightweight: Objection.js keeps things lightweight while providing the flexibility to extend its functionality using Knex.js.
- Type-Safety (Optional): While not natively type-safe, Objection.js can be paired with TypeScript to enforce type safety when using raw queries.
Why Use Objection.js with Remix
Objection.js works well with Remix if you want more flexibility with raw SQL while still utilizing an ORM to handle common database tasks.
Since it’s built on Knex.js, you can use the full power of SQL without losing the convenience of working with an ORM.
6. Waterline ORM
Waterline is an ORM that’s part of the Sails.js framework but can also be used independently. It is designed to abstract database interactions and provide a clean API to interact with different types of databases (SQL and NoSQL).
Waterline is ideal for developers who want flexibility and the ability to switch databases with minimal changes to the codebase.
Key Features of Waterline ORM
- Multiple Database Support: Waterline can connect to SQL databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite, as well as NoSQL databases like MongoDB. This flexibility can be beneficial in polyglot database environments.
- Data Model: Waterline uses a data model that is flexible, allowing developers to define their schema in a straightforward way.
- Query Abstraction: It abstracts SQL queries while providing the ability to execute native queries if needed, offering a balance of convenience and control.
- Built-in Migrations: Waterline includes migrations that can help you manage database schema changes over time.
Why Use Waterline with Remix
Waterline provides flexibility, especially if you need to work with both SQL and NoSQL databases.
If your project involves switching between or integrating multiple databases, Waterline could offer a less restrictive solution.
Conclusion
When building data-driven applications with Remix, choosing the right ORM or query builder is crucial for maintaining type safety, performance, and flexibility.
While Prisma is a popular choice, alternatives like TypeORM, Drizzle, Sequelize, Kysely, Objection.js, and Waterline each offer unique features that might better suit your project’s specific needs.
Whether you’re looking for more control over SQL, a lightweight solution, or enhanced flexibility across different databases, there’s an option here that can help you optimize your database interactions with Remix.
Evaluate each alternative carefully, keeping in mind your project’s scale, complexity, and requirements for a smooth and efficient development experience.
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