Drizzle ORM: The TypeScript-First Database Toolkit for 2026

Drizzle ORM has rapidly become the preferred choice for TypeScript developers who want type-safe database access without the overhead of traditional ORMs.

Why Drizzle?

• Zero runtime overhead: Compiles to plain SQL
• Type-safe: Full TypeScript inference
• SQL-like syntax: Familiar to SQL developers
• Lightweight: Minimal dependencies

Defining Schemas

import { pgTable, serial, text, timestamp } from "drizzle-orm/pg-core";

export const users = pgTable("users", {
  id: serial("id").primaryKey(),
  name: text("name").notNull(),
  email: text("email").unique().notNull(),
  createdAt: timestamp("created_at").defaultNow(),
});

export const posts = pgTable("posts", {
  id: serial("id").primaryKey(),
  title: text("title").notNull(),
  authorId: integer("author_id").references(() => users.id),
});

Queries

// Select with relations
const result = await db
  .select()
  .from(users)
  .leftJoin(posts, eq(posts.authorId, users.id))
  .where(eq(users.name, "Edrees"));

// Insert
await db.insert(users).values({ name: "John", email: "john@example.com" });

// Update
await db.update(users).set({ name: "Jane" }).where(eq(users.id, 1));

Drizzle vs Prisma