head to head · open source
graphrag vs neo4j
graphrag has 36,022 GitHub stars, 3,795 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. neo4j has 17,241 stars, 2,703 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. graphrag leads on adoption by 109% (36,022 vs 17,241 stars). graphrag is written in Python under MIT; neo4j is written in Java under GPL-3.0. graphrag has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, neo4j 16%. graphrag was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| graphrag | neo4j | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 17K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.8K | ⑂ 2.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick graphrag if
- You weight community size — 36K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- 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 graphrag
GraphRAG is a modular, Python based, MIT licensed data pipeline and transformation suite from Microsoft Research that uses large language models to extract structured data from unstructured text, then exploits the resulting knowledge graph to form targeted context for question answering over private data.
read the full graphrag 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 graphrag or neo4j more popular?
graphrag has 36,022 GitHub stars and neo4j has 17,241. graphrag has the larger community by that measure.
Are graphrag and neo4j free?
Both are open source. graphrag is licensed under MIT and neo4j under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between graphrag and neo4j?
graphrag is written in Python 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, graphrag or neo4j?
Choose graphrag if you want the larger community (36,022 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose neo4j if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.