head to head · open source
LightRAG vs neo4j
LightRAG has 40,487 GitHub stars, 5,752 forks, 222 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. neo4j has 17,386 stars, 2,835 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. LightRAG leads on adoption by 133% (40,487 vs 17,386 stars). LightRAG is written in Python under MIT; neo4j is written in Java under GPL-3.0. LightRAG has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, neo4j 16%. LightRAG 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| LightRAG | neo4j | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 17K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-10-29 | 2026-10-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LightRAG if
- You weight community size — 40K 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 LightRAG
🚀 LightRAG: Simple and Fast Retrieval Augmented Generation 🎉 News [2026.07]🎯[New Feature]: Add Smart Heading recognition feature for word documents. [2026.05]🎯[New Feature]: Merge RagAnything into LightRAG 🎉. Multimodal content parsing and extraction via MinerU / Docling services. [2026.05]🎯[New Feature]: Introducing four selectable text chunking strategies: Fix , Recursive , Vector , and Paragraph . [2026.05]🎯[New Feature]: Role specific LLM configuration support, 4 distinct roles: EXTRACT, QUERY, KEYWORDS, and VLM, with independent LLM settings. [2026.03]🎯[New Feature]: Integrated OpenSearch as a…
read the full LightRAG overview →
About neo4j
= Neo4j: Graphs for Everyone = is the world's leading Graph Database. It is a high performance graph store with all the features expected of a mature and robust database, like a friendly query language and ACID transactions. The programmer works with a flexible network structure of nodes and relationships rather than static tables yet enjoys all the benefits of enterprise quality database. For many applications, Neo4j offers orders of magnitude performance benefits compared to relational DBs. Learn more on the website]. users]] == Using Neo4j == Neo4j is available as a fully managed solution where you can get…
read the full neo4j overview →
More in AI & Machine Learning
Related comparisons
More AI Development Platforms projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the AI Development Platforms field.
Frequently asked questions
Is LightRAG or neo4j more popular?
LightRAG has 40,487 GitHub stars and neo4j has 17,386. LightRAG has the larger community by that measure.
Are LightRAG and neo4j free?
Both are open source. LightRAG is licensed under MIT and neo4j under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LightRAG and neo4j?
LightRAG 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, LightRAG or neo4j?
Choose LightRAG if you want the larger community (40,487 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose neo4j if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.