Embedded graph databases compared
Graph engines that run in-process rather than as a separate server.
19 active embedded graph databases are in the catalogue. They are written mostly in C++ and Java, 17 are open source, and 2 carry survey feature scores. Kuzu, HyperGraphDB, BrightstarDB are no longer active and listed separately below.
| Attribute | LadybugDB | TinkerGraph | NeuG | FalkorDBLite | CogDB | BangDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||||||
| Rank | #11 | #17 | #40 | #84 | #123 | #132 |
| Score | 62.2 | 58.0 | 49.3 | 40.2 | 27.5 | 22.1 |
| GitHub stars | 1.9k | 2.2k | 175 | 62 | 402 | 59 |
| Popularity | 63.6 | 71.3 | 43.9 | 37.1 | 41.1 | 34.8 |
| Activity | 70.6 | 65.6 | 52.8 | 46.1 | 67.6 | 31.6 |
| Community | 57.6 | 37.9 | 51.0 | 30.9 | 30.3 | 30.3 |
| Research | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 |
| Fundamentals | ||||||
| Description | A community fork of Kuzu. An embedded columnar property graph database for analytical workloads, with openCypher support, vector indices, and full-text search. | A lightweight, in-memory property graph engine serving as the reference implementation of the Apache TinkerPop Gremlin graph computing framework. | An embedded property graph database for combined analytical and transactional workloads, developed by the GraphScope team at Alibaba on the GraphScope Flex engine. Runs in-process from Python or Node.js or as a network service on the same core, with Cypher queries and a DuckDB-inspired extension system for graph algorithms. | An embedded property graph database for Python that bundles a Redis server with the FalkorDB module into a zero-configuration package. Provides the same GraphBLAS-based query engine as FalkorDB with data persistence, sync and async APIs, and support for multiple independent graphs per instance. | An embedded graph database for Python with built-in persistence, traversal, and semantic vector search. It runs entirely in-process, stores graph data as triples, and exposes Torque, a Python-native API for querying relationships. | An embeddable multi-model database supporting key-value, documents, and graphs. Integrates graph queries with a streaming engine and complex event processing (CEP) for pattern and anomaly detection. |
| Vendor | LadybugDB | Apache TinkerPop | Alibaba | FalkorDB | NodeFn Inc. | BangDB |
| Model | Property Graph | Property Graph | Property Graph | Property Graph | RDF | Other |
| Kind | embedded | embedded | embedded | embedded | embedded | embedded |
| Category | Growing | Established | Emerging | Emerging | Emerging | Emerging |
| First released | 2025-11 | 2009 | 2026-03 | 2025-10 | 2018-07 | 2012 |
| Status | active | active | active | active | active | active |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | SSPL-1.0 | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | Java | C++ | Python | Python | C++ |
| Query languages | openCypher | Gremlin | openCypher | openCypher | Custom API | openCypher |
| gdotv support | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
Feature scores
Survey feature scores are available for 2 of these 19 engines. See each engine's page.
All 19 engines
| Name | Vendor | Model | Category | GitHub stars | License | Written in | Query languages | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bighorn | Kineviz | Property Graph | Emerging | 136 | MIT | C++ | openCypher | #102 |
| agdb | Agnesoft | Property Graph | Emerging | 144 | Apache-2.0 | Rust | Custom API | #107 |
| LatticeDB | Jeff Hajewski | Property Graph | Emerging | 745 | MIT | Zig | Cypher | #110 |
| Bitsy | LambdaZen | Property Graph | Emerging | 151 | Apache-2.0 | Java | Gremlin | #114 |
| Quadstore | Jacopo Scazzosi | RDF | Emerging | 232 | MIT | TypeScript | SPARQL | #116 |
| froGQL | PLEIAD | Property Graph | Emerging | 14 | MIT | Rust | GQL | #118 |
| GraphLite | DeepGraph AI | Property Graph | Emerging | 235 | Apache-2.0 | Rust | GQL | #121 |
| TurboLynx | POSTECH (DSLab) | Property Graph | Emerging | 38 | MIT | C++ | openCypher | #122 |
| KGLite | Kristian dF Kollsgård | Property Graph | Emerging | 74 | MIT | Rust | openCypher, Custom API | #126 |
| Minigraf | — | Other | Emerging | 224 | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | Rust | Datalog | #127 |
| TribleSpace | — | Other | Emerging | 71 | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | Rust | Custom API | #131 |
| oxilite | Volodymyr Pavlyshyn | RDF | Emerging | 65 | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | Rust | SPARQL, openCypher | #151 |
| LoraDB | LoraDB | Property Graph | Emerging | 24 | BUSL-1.1 | Rust | Cypher | #152 |
No longer active
- Kuzu — Acquired by Apple in October 2025. Repository archived. Continued as LadybugDB and Bighorn forks.
- HyperGraphDB — Sporadic maintenance only since 2024
- BrightstarDB — No active development since 2015.
- KatanaGraph — Katana Graph shut down in 2023. GitHub repositories archived.
- ZipG — Academic research prototype from AMPLab Berkeley. No active development.
- LiveGraph — Academic research prototype. No active development.
- ChronoGraph — Last meaningful commit several years ago. Minimal community.