Yes — this is normal. A RAW file is not a finished image; it’s sensor data that must be interpreted. Different RAW converters use different processing choices for demosaicing, color profiles, camera characterization, tone mapping, contrast, and highlight handling, so the same file will not match by default across apps.

That means you are not seeing “the RAW file” in either program, but two different renderings of the same data. This is true not just for Darktable vs Lightroom, but also for other converters such as Capture One.

So the differences you see do not by themselves mean Darktable is malfunctioning. If you prefer Lightroom’s default appearance, the practical approach is to adjust Darktable’s processing and save a preset/style that gets you closer. You generally should not expect a perfect out-of-the-box match between two RAW processors.