Google Cayley vs Kuzu
Google Cayley is a rdf database; Kuzu is a property graph database. Google Cayley (2014-06, Apache-2.0, Go) ranks #72 this month; Kuzu (2022-11, MIT, C++) ranks #26.
| Attribute | Google Cayley | Kuzu |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Rank | #72 | #26 |
| Score | 42.8 | 55.3 |
| GitHub stars | 15.1k | 4k |
| Popularity | 59.5 | 61.6 |
| Activity | 36.6 | 47.8 |
| Community | 30.3 | 58.6 |
| Research | — | 52.0 |
| Fundamentals | ||
| Description | An open-source RDF graph database inspired by the graph database behind Google's Knowledge Graph (Freebase). Features pluggable backend storage and multiple query language support. | An embedded property graph database built for fast analytical workloads, developed as the successor to Graphflow. Archived in October 2025 after acquisition by Apple. Forked as LadybugDB and Bighorn. |
| Vendor | Cayley Community | Kuzu Inc (acquired by Apple) |
| Model | RDF | Property Graph |
| Kind | database | embedded |
| Category | Emerging | Emerging |
| First released | 2014-06 | 2022-11 |
| Status | inactive — No significant development activity since 2020. | deprecated — Acquired by Apple in October 2025. Repository archived. Continued as LadybugDB and Bighorn forks. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | C++ |
| Query languages | Gizmo, GraphQL, MQL | openCypher |
| gdotv support | no | yes |
Feature scores — not surveyed for Kuzu
| Feature | Google Cayley | Kuzu |
|---|---|---|
| Community & Business | ||
| Active development | 0.5 | — |
| Commercial support | · | — |
| Live community | · | — |
| Open Source | ✓ | — |
| Pricing | · | — |
| Trendiness | 0.75 | — |
| 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 | 0.5 | — |
| Data versioning support | · | — |
| Live backups | · | — |
| Distribution | ||
| Cluster Re-balancing | · | — |
| Data Distribution | ✓ | — |
| High-Availability | 0.5 | — |
| 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 | 0.5 | — |
| Schema support | 0.5 | — |
| Secondary indexes | ✓ | — |
| Server side procedures | · | — |
| Triggers | · | — |
| Authentication | · | — |
| Authorization | · | — |
| Data encryption | · | — |
Links
- Google Cayley · website · github · full profile
- Kuzu · website · github · full profile