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SQLite vs DuckDB: catalog facts
SQLite	DuckDB
Free Free for any purpose; the source code is in the public domain.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Whole database in a single file with no server to run Public-domain source code usable for any purpose	Queries CSV and Parquet files directly with no loading step Embeds into Python, R and the shell with a single dependency
Mainly a library; the bundled sqlite3 shell is command-line only No graphical browser included	Single-process by design; it is not a shared multi-user database Concurrent writers are not supported
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License: Public domain	License: MIT
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.