Adminmate vs AdminJS: two ways to add an admin panel to your Node.js app
Co-founder of Adminmate
If your backend runs on Node.js, AdminJS and Adminmate are two of the quickest ways to get an admin panel: both plug into your existing app, both use your ORM models, and both are free.
They are built on different philosophies, though. Here is how to choose.
Features checked in October 2026.
The short version
- Choose AdminJS if you want everything self-hosted and open source — the interface included — and you are happy to configure and extend it in code, with React components.
- Choose Adminmate if you want a ready-to-use back-office for your whole team — permissions, activity log, dashboards, collaboration — configured partly from the interface, while your data still stays on your servers.
What you host
AdminJS is an open-source library (MIT license) that you embed in your app. The admin interface is a React application served by your own server. You handle everything: hosting, authentication of your admins, updates.
Adminmate splits the work in two. The Data API — an open-source npm package (GPL-3.0) — runs in your app and executes every read and write on your database. The interface is hosted by Adminmate, and the browsers of your team talk directly to your Data API, so the content of your database never goes through our servers.
In both cases, your data stays in your infrastructure. The difference is whether you also host and maintain the interface.
Where you configure things
With AdminJS, almost everything is code: which resources are visible, which properties are shown in lists and forms, custom actions, access rules (isAccessible and isVisible functions on actions), and custom React components. It is very flexible, but every change goes through a developer and a deployment.
With Adminmate, the code part covers what belongs to developers: the models you expose, segments, custom actions and custom charts. Everything else is done in the interface, by anyone allowed to: columns, field display, item overview pages, dashboards, environments, teammates and team permissions.
Teams and permissions
AdminJS gives you the building blocks: you write functions that decide, for the current admin, whether an action is accessible or a property visible. Roles, teams and their storage are up to you.
Adminmate has teams and permissions built in: for each team, choose the environments, the sections, the models, the fields that can be updated, and the segments and actions that can be used. Permissions are signed by Adminmate and checked by your Data API on every request.
Features
| AdminJS | Adminmate | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT, fully open source | Data API open source (GPL-3.0), hosted interface |
| Interface hosted by | You | Adminmate |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Frameworks | Express, Nest, Fastify, Hapi, Koa | Express |
| ORMs | Sequelize, TypeORM, Prisma, Mongoose, MikroORM, Objection | Sequelize, Mongoose |
| CRUD, filters, search | ✅ | ✅ |
| Custom actions | ✅ | ✅ (with forms) |
| Custom UI components | ✅ (React) | ❌ |
| Predefined segments | ❌ (filters only) | ✅ |
| Dashboards | Custom dashboard component (code) | ✅ (built from the interface, or custom charts) |
| Teams and permissions | In code | ✅ built in |
| Activity log | Logger feature package | ✅ built in |
| Comments and mentions | ❌ | ✅ |
| Multiple environments | One per deployment | ✅ (switch between local, staging, production) |
When AdminJS is the better choice
- You want 100% open source and self-hosted, interface included.
- You use NestJS, Fastify, TypeORM, Prisma or MikroORM.
- You need deep customization of the interface with your own React components.
- Your admin panel is used by developers only.
When Adminmate is the better choice
- Your admin panel is used by non-developers: support, ops, sales, finance.
- You need teams, fine-grained permissions, an activity log and collaboration without building them.
- You want to change the display, dashboards and permissions without a deployment.
- You don’t want to maintain and secure an admin interface yourself.
Trying both
Both install in a few minutes in the same Express app, so the easiest way to choose is to try them on your real models. For Adminmate: npm install adminmate-express-mongoose (or adminmate-express-sequelize), add a few lines to your app, and follow the installation guide.