Kanesh vs Appwrite
Appwrite is a full backend cloud with many services. Kanesh is one small container focused on data, APIs and MCP.
| Kanesh | Appwrite | |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 core; 1 workspace free, unlimited workspaces + AI assistant $9/month per install | BSD-3-Clause |
| Self-host shape | One container, about 8.9 MB | Multi-container Docker Compose stack |
| Projects | Many workspaces per install | Many projects per instance |
| Databases | SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL | Managed by the platform |
| Services | Data, REST, GraphQL, MCP | Auth, databases, storage, functions, messaging, realtime, hosting |
| AI agents | Read-only MCP endpoint | MCP and agent tooling |
| Maturity | New, first stable release | Production platform |
Choose Appwrite if
You want one platform for auth, storage, functions and realtime, and can run a larger stack.
Choose Kanesh if
You only need the data layer, want to bring your own SQL database, and care about running on the smallest possible server.
Workflows and functions are on the Kanesh roadmap, so the gap on server-side logic is expected to narrow.