Best Offline-First Databases for Mac

SQLite is a C-language library that implements a small, fast, self-contained, high-reliability, full-featured, SQL database engine. SQLite is the most used database engine in the world. SQLite is built into all mobile phones and most computers and comes bundled inside countless other applications that people use every day. SQLite is an in-process library that implements a self-contained, serverless, zero-configuration, transactional SQL database engine. The code for SQLite is in the public domain and is thus free for use for any purpose, commercial or private. SQLite is the most widely deployed database in the world with more applications than we can count, including several high-profile projects.

​OrbitDB is a serverless, distributed, peer-to-peer database that utilizes IPFS for data storage and Libp2p Pubsub for automatic synchronization across peers. It employs Merkle-CRDTs to ensure conflict-free database writes and merges, making it suitable for decentralized applications, blockchain integrations, and local-first web apps. OrbitDB offers various database types tailored to different use cases: 'events' for immutable append-only logs, 'documents' for JSON document storage indexed by a specified key, 'keyvalue' for traditional key-value pairs, and 'keyvalue-indexed' for LevelDB-indexed key-value data. All these databases are built atop OpLog, an immutable, cryptographically verifiable, operation-based CRDT structure. The JavaScript implementation supports both browser and Node.js environments, with a Go version maintained by the Berty project.

Use Core Data to save your application’s permanent data for offline use, to cache temporary data, and to add undo functionality to your app on a single device. To sync data across multiple devices in a single iCloud account, Core Data automatically mirrors your schema to a CloudKit container. Through Core Data’s Data model editor, you define your data’s types and relationships, and generate respective class definitions. Core Data can then manage object instances at runtime to provide several features. Core Data abstracts the details of mapping your objects to a store, making it easy to save data from Swift and Objective-C without administering a database directly. Core Data’s undo manager tracks changes and can roll them back individually, in groups, or all at once, making it easy to add undo and redo support to your app. Perform potentially UI-blocking data tasks, like parsing JSON into objects, in the background.

Actian Zen is an embedded, high-performance, and low-maintenance database management system designed for edge applications, mobile devices, and IoT environments. It offers a seamless integration of SQL and NoSQL data models, providing flexibility for developers working with structured and unstructured data. Actian Zen is known for its small footprint, scalability, and high reliability, making it ideal for resource-constrained environments where consistent performance and minimal administrative overhead are essential. With built-in security features and a self-tuning architecture, it supports real-time data processing and analytics without the need for constant monitoring or maintenance. Actian Zen is widely used in industries like healthcare, retail, and manufacturing, where edge computing and distributed data environments are critical for business operations.

FairCom EDGE simplifies the integration of sensor and machine data at the source – whether it’s a factory, water treatment plant, oil platform or wind farm. The world’s first converged IoT/Industrial IoT hub, FairCom EDGE unifies messaging, persistence and analytics with an all-in-one solution – complete with browser-based administration, configuration and monitoring. FairCom EDGE supports MQTT and OPC UA for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, SQL for interactive analytics and HTTP/REST for real-time monitoring. It continuously retrieves data from sensors and machines with OPC UA support, and receives messages from those with MQTT support. The data is automatically parsed, persisted and made accessible via MQTT and SQL.

Unlike other NoSQL databases, Couchbase provides an enterprise-class, multicloud to edge database that offers the robust capabilities required for business-critical applications on a highly scalable and available platform. As a distributed cloud-native database, Couchbase runs in modern dynamic environments and on any cloud, either customer-managed or fully managed as-a-service. Couchbase is built on open standards, combining the best of NoSQL with the power and familiarity of SQL, to simplify the transition from mainframe and relational databases. Couchbase Server is a multipurpose, distributed database that fuses the strengths of relational databases such as SQL and ACID transactions with JSON’s versatility, with a foundation that is extremely fast and scalable. It’s used across industries for things like user profiles, dynamic product catalogs, GenAI apps, vector search, high-speed caching, and much more.

Low code without limits. Quickly build web and mobile applications from pre-built components in a visual canvas. Enhance existing and create new applications with greater agility to keep pace with business demands. In-product guided tours, reusable components and templates, one-click cloud builds and easy data integration with visual data mapping to maximize productivity. Integrate to any backend data source and orchestrate data collection & transformation across multiple systems. Design beautiful applications for any audience across any device without limits on the user experience. Accelerate development using 100+ pre-built native UI widgets for mobile and web. Use the full spectrum of native mobile app, responsive and progressive web app (PWA) functionality to deliver the best possible experience, performance, and security. Build native omni-channel experiences using a single design canvas across mobile, web, wearables, and more.