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Ask HN: What is your preferred open source graph database?

by nrjames on 3/27/25, 1:13 AM with 6 comments

I've recently been investigating open source graph databases and find there's far less agreement on what the go-to open source db is for new projects.

Older players like Neo4j Community Edition have some limits that require upgrading to an Enterprise license. ArangoDB supported graphs but recently changed their licensing. OrientDB was acquired by SAP and is withering while it's fork-replacement ArcadeDB doesn't have great connector support and seems untested. Apache AGE development has slowed due to business changes, etc. NebulaGraph seems reasonable, but there's surprising little feedback/chatter about it online.

What's your preferred graph database (preferably open source) and why?

  • by laminarflow027 on 3/27/25, 2:23 PM

    Hi! IMO you should definitely check out Kuzu - It's an embeddable, fast, highly scalable graph database with an MIT (highly permissive) open source license. Kuzu was created for broader adoption in the open source community and scales to very large graphs on a single machine. Disclaimer: I work as DevRel at Kuzu. Check out our GitHub!

    https://github.com/kuzudb/kuzu

  • by artika4biz on 3/27/25, 1:48 PM

    Ultipa Graph, it's super fast, it's real-time with unlimited scalability. Dislaimer: I work for Ultipa, Inc. Contact me, I will be happy to showcase our technology to you! https://www.linkedin.com/in/yurisimione/

  • by acefaceZ on 3/28/25, 2:57 AM

    +1 for Kuzu

    I would avoid Neo4j open source offerings (community edition, etc) like the plague until their court case is over. They are fighting to be able to use their interpretation of what GPL terms means - and from their past behavior - it’s probably going to be bad news for anyone who adopted it because it was open source.

  • by danshalev7 on 3/27/25, 7:14 PM

    I would look at FalkorDB also https://falkordb.com