head to head · open source
DBeaver vs neo4j
DBeaver has 51,791 GitHub stars, 4,371 forks, 3,334 open issues and last shipped yesterday. neo4j has 17,241 stars, 2,703 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. DBeaver leads on adoption by 200% (51,791 vs 17,241 stars). DBeaver is written in Java under Apache-2.0; neo4j is written in Java under GPL-3.0. DBeaver has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, neo4j 16%. DBeaver was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, nosql), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| DBeaver | neo4j | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 17K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 2.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick DBeaver if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick neo4j if
- You want the neo4j feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and neo4j fits your workflow better
About DBeaver
DBeaver is a free, multi platform database management tool built in Java, designed for developers, SQL programmers, database administrators, and analysts. It operates across Windows, macOS, and Linux and integrates with the Eclipse based plugin ecosystem via OSGi and Eclipse RCP frameworks.
read the full DBeaver overview →
About neo4j
Neo4j is a Java graph database released under GPL 3.0 that stores data as nodes and relationships and queries it with Cypher, aimed at developers, data engineers, and platform teams building connected data applications who would otherwise model those relationships as tables and joins.
read the full neo4j overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is DBeaver or neo4j more popular?
DBeaver has 51,791 GitHub stars and neo4j has 17,241. DBeaver has the larger community by that measure.
Are DBeaver and neo4j free?
Both are open source. DBeaver is licensed under Apache-2.0 and neo4j under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between DBeaver and neo4j?
DBeaver is written in Java and neo4j in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, DBeaver or neo4j?
Choose DBeaver if you want the larger community (51,791 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose neo4j if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.