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OpenJDK vs GraalVM: catalog facts
OpenJDK	GraalVM
Best for: Developers who need a standard JDK to build and run Java applications	Best for: Java developers building fast-starting services and small container images
Free Free under the GPL; Oracle also sells a commercially licensed JDK built from the same code.	Free Free to download; the source code is published in the oracle/graal repository.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Reference implementation of the Java Platform Free production-ready builds for three desktop platforms All 3 strengths for OpenJDK Reference implementation of the Java Platform Free production-ready builds for three desktop platforms Open development with public source and proposals	Native Image builds fast-starting, low-memory executables First-class support in Spring Boot, Micronaut, Helidon and Quarkus All 4 strengths for GraalVM Native Image builds fast-starting, low-memory executables First-class support in Spring Boot, Micronaut, Helidon and Quarkus Works as a drop-in JDK with existing Java tools Truffle framework for running other languages
Oracle's OpenJDK builds are only updated for a short time per release Older versions such as JDK 17 need builds from other vendors for updates	Native Image compilation is slower than a normal Java build Native executables include only reachable code, so reflection-heavy code needs configuration
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0 with Classpath Exception	License: GPL-2.0 with Classpath Exception
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for OpenJDK openjdk.org Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for GraalVM graalvm.org Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.