Neo4j vs Google Cloud Spanner Graph
Both are property graph databases queried with GQL. Neo4j (2007, GPL-3.0, Java) ranks #1 this month; Google Cloud Spanner Graph (2024-08, Proprietary, C++) ranks #33.
Choosing between them
Spanner Graph maps existing Spanner tables to a property graph without moving data, and queries it with ISO GQL alongside SQL in the same database. It inherits Spanner’s scaling and consistency, adds vector and full-text search to graph queries, and requires the Spanner Enterprise or Enterprise Plus edition on Google Cloud. Pick it when the graph is one view over relational data you already keep in Spanner.
Neo4j is a separate graph database that runs anywhere, queried with Cypher and GQL. Community Edition is GPLv3; clustering, multiple databases, role-based access control and online backup need Enterprise Edition. Pick it when the graph is the primary data model and you want Neo4j’s tooling outside Google Cloud.
| Attribute | Neo4j | Google Cloud Spanner Graph |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Rank | #1 | #33 |
| Score | 88.8 | 51.0 |
| GitHub stars | 17.4k | — |
| Popularity | 98.6 | 50.2 |
| Activity | 86.5 | 49.9 |
| Community | 73.8 | 53.8 |
| Research | 98.7 | 50.0 |
| Fundamentals | ||
| Description | A property graph database that stores data as fixed-size records in linked lists for index-free adjacency traversal. Offers community and commercial editions with an extensive graph algorithms library. | A graph layer within Google Cloud Spanner that enables property graph queries over relational data using GQL and SQL/PGQ. Inherits Spanner's global distribution, strong consistency, and ACID transactions. |
| Vendor | Neo4j Inc | |
| Model | Property Graph | Property Graph |
| Kind | database | database |
| Category | Established | Enterprise |
| First released | 2007 | 2024-08 |
| Status | active | active |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Written in | Java | C++ |
| Query languages | Cypher, GQL | GQL, SQL/PGQ |
| gdotv support | yes | yes |
Feature scores — not surveyed for Google Cloud Spanner Graph
| Feature | Neo4j | Google Cloud Spanner Graph |
|---|---|---|
| Community & Business | ||
| Active development | ✓ | — |
| Commercial support | ✓ | — |
| Live community | ✓ | — |
| Open Source | ✓ | — |
| Pricing | 0.5 | — |
| 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 | ✓ | — |
| 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
- Neo4j · website · github · full profile
- Google Cloud Spanner Graph · website · full profile