Embedded graph databases compared
Graph engines that run in-process rather than as a separate server.
18 active embedded graph databases are in the catalogue. They are written mostly in C++ and Java, 16 are open source, and 2 carry survey feature scores. Kuzu, BrightstarDB, KatanaGraph are no longer active and listed separately below.
| Attribute | LadybugDB | TinkerGraph | LatticeDB | NeuG | CogDB | BangDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||||||
| Rank | #12 | #19 | #46 | #68 | #87 | #144 |
| Score | 57.4 | 52.4 | 43.3 | 38.6 | 34.7 | 25.3 |
| GitHub stars | 1.9k | 2.2k | 745 | 176 | 402 | 59 |
| Popularity | 60.7 | 69.1 | 38.0 | 38.7 | 36.7 | 28.7 |
| Activity | 72.8 | 57.9 | 39.5 | 48.3 | 32.6 | 15.7 |
| Community | 50.8 | 41.1 | 54.9 | 34.2 | 39.7 | 32.0 |
| Research | 31.1 | 26.7 | — | 26.7 | 26.7 | 26.7 |
| 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, single-file property graph database with vector similarity and BM25 full-text search in a shared query layer. | 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 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 | Jeff Hajewski | Alibaba | 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 | 2026-01 | 2026-03 | 2018-07 | 2012 |
| Status | active | active | active | active | active | active |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 | MIT | Apache-2.0 | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | Java | Zig | C++ | Python | C++ |
| Query languages | openCypher | Gremlin | Cypher | openCypher | Custom API | openCypher |
| gdotv support | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
Feature scores
Survey feature scores are available for 2 of these 18 engines. See each engine's page.
All 18 engines
| Name | Vendor | Model | Category | GitHub stars | License | Written in | Query languages | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadstore | Jacopo Scazzosi | RDF | Emerging | 232 | MIT | TypeScript | SPARQL | #69 |
| FalkorDBLite | FalkorDB | Property Graph | Emerging | 62 | SSPL-1.0 | Python | openCypher | #72 |
| Minigraf | — | Other | Emerging | 225 | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | Rust | Datalog | #73 |
| agdb | Agnesoft | Property Graph | Emerging | 144 | Apache-2.0 | Rust | Custom API | #98 |
| KGLite | Kristian dF Kollsgård | Property Graph | Emerging | 75 | MIT | Rust | openCypher, Custom API | #100 |
| TurboLynx | POSTECH (DSLab) | Property Graph | Emerging | 38 | MIT | C++ | openCypher | #102 |
| froGQL | PLEIAD | Property Graph | Emerging | 14 | MIT | Rust | GQL | #104 |
| GraphLite | DeepGraph AI | Property Graph | Emerging | 235 | Apache-2.0 | Rust | GQL | #112 |
| TribleSpace | — | Other | Emerging | 71 | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | Rust | Custom API | #116 |
| Bitsy | LambdaZen | Property Graph | Emerging | 151 | Apache-2.0 | Java | Gremlin | #117 |
| oxilite | Volodymyr Pavlyshyn | RDF | Emerging | 66 | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | Rust | SPARQL, openCypher | #141 |
| LoraDB | LoraDB | Property Graph | Emerging | 24 | BUSL-1.1 | Rust | Cypher | #143 |
No longer active
- Kuzu — Acquired by Apple in October 2025. Repository archived. Continued as LadybugDB and Bighorn forks.
- BrightstarDB — No active development since 2015.
- KatanaGraph — Katana Graph shut down in 2023. GitHub repositories archived.
- HyperGraphDB — Sporadic maintenance only since 2024
- Bighorn — Repository archived on GitHub; last pushed in August 2026.
- LiveGraph — Academic research prototype. No active development.
- ChronoGraph — Last meaningful commit several years ago. Minimal community.