head to head · open source
nebula vs SAG
nebula has 12,466 GitHub stars, 1,343 forks, 678 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. SAG has 2,651 stars, 185 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. nebula leads on adoption by 370% (12,466 vs 2,651 stars). nebula is written in C++ under Apache-2.0; SAG is written in Python under MIT. nebula has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, SAG 7%. SAG was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (graphrag, knowledge-base, knowledge-graph), 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
| nebula | SAG | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-08 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 185 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nebula if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick SAG if
- You want the SAG feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SAG fits your workflow better
About nebula
English 中文 A distributed, scalable, lightning fast graph database NebulaGraph Introduction NebulaGraph is a popular open source graph database that can handle large volumes of data with milliseconds of latency, scale up quickly, and have the ability to perform fast graph analytics. NebulaGraph has been widely used for social media, recommendation systems, knowledge graphs, security, capital flows, AI, etc. See our users. The following lists some of NebulaGraph features: Symmetrically distributed Storage and computing separation Horizontal scalability Strong data consistency by RAFT protocol OpenCypher compatible…
read the full nebula overview →
About SAG
SAG English · 简体中文 From now on, this is the only knowledge base app you need. Built on the state of the art SAG architecture, it turns scattered documents and data into knowledge that is searchable, connected, and traceable. Contents Community · Project · Technology · User Guide · Developer Guide Project Changelog August 30, 2026 SAG now supports @zleap ai/dsh sag . The built in local DeepSeek Harness connector makes SAG knowledge available to DSH Agents for search, source reading, and source and document management. August 13, 2026 Added OCTX source import and export with integrity validation, conflict…
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Frequently asked questions
Is nebula or SAG more popular?
nebula has 12,466 GitHub stars and SAG has 2,651. nebula has the larger community by that measure.
Are nebula and SAG free?
Both are open source. nebula is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SAG under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nebula and SAG?
nebula is written in C++ and SAG in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, nebula or SAG?
Choose nebula if you want the larger community (12,466 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SAG if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.