Apache AGE vs Gaffer
Apache AGE is a property graph database; Gaffer is a other database. Apache AGE (2020-07, Apache-2.0, C) ranks #13 this month; Gaffer (2015-12, Apache-2.0, Java) ranks #57.
| Attribute | Apache AGE | Gaffer |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Rank | #13 | #57 |
| Score | 61.6 | 46.9 |
| GitHub stars | 4.8k | 1.8k |
| Popularity | 66.6 | 65.2 |
| Activity | 61.0 | 40.0 |
| Community | 60.2 | 30.6 |
| Research | 81.2 | — |
| Fundamentals | ||
| Description | PostgreSQL extension providing graph database functionality with openCypher query support, enabling graph and relational queries on the same data. | A graph database framework with pluggable storage backends (Accumulo, HBase, Parquet). Developed by GCHQ for large-scale graph analysis with built-in timestamp management. |
| Vendor | Apache Software Foundation | GCHQ |
| Model | Property Graph | Other |
| Kind | extension | query-engine |
| Category | Established | Established |
| First released | 2020-07 | 2015-12 |
| Status | active | deprecated — Repository archived by GCHQ; last change June 2025. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C | Java |
| Query languages | openCypher, SQL | Custom API |
| gdotv support | yes | no |
Feature scores — not surveyed for Apache AGE
| Feature | Apache AGE | Gaffer |
|---|---|---|
| Community & Business | ||
| Active development | — | ✓ |
| Commercial support | — | · |
| Live community | — | · |
| Open Source | — | ✓ |
| Pricing | — | · |
| Trendiness | — | · |
| Deployment | ||
| Containerization | — | · |
| Work as dedicated instance | — | · |
| Work as embedded | — | · |
| Testing in-memory version | — | · |
| Platform | ||
| Operating on Linux | — | ✓ |
| Operating on Windows | — | ✓ |
| SaaS offering | — | · |
| Operations | ||
| Automatic updates | — | · |
| Client side caching | — | · |
| Data versioning support | — | · |
| Live backups | — | · |
| Distribution | ||
| Cluster Re-balancing | — | · |
| Data Distribution | — | ✓ |
| High-Availability | — | · |
| Query Distribution | — | ✓ |
| Replication support | — | ✓ |
| Developer Experience | ||
| Data types defined | — | 0.5 |
| Logging/Auditing | — | ✓ |
| Object-Graph Mapper | — | ✓ |
| Reactive programming | — | · |
| Documentation up-to-date | — | ✓ |
| Binary protocol | — | · |
| CLI | — | · |
| GUI | — | · |
| Data Model | ||
| Multi-database | — | · |
| Graph-native data | — | ✓ |
| REST API | — | ✓ |
| Query Language | — | · |
| Transactions | ||
| Granular locking | — | · |
| Multiple isolation levels | — | · |
| Read committed transaction | — | · |
| Transaction support | — | ✓ |
| Schema & Security | ||
| Constraints | — | · |
| Schema support | — | ✓ |
| Secondary indexes | — | · |
| Server side procedures | — | · |
| Triggers | — | · |
| Authentication | — | ✓ |
| Authorization | — | ✓ |
| Data encryption | — | · |
Links
- Apache AGE · website · github · full profile
- Gaffer · website · github · full profile