head to head · open source
nebula vs typedb
nebula has 12,466 GitHub stars, 1,343 forks, 678 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. typedb has 4,500 stars, 376 forks, 310 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. nebula leads on adoption by 177% (12,466 vs 4,500 stars). nebula is written in C++ under Apache-2.0; typedb is written in Rust under MPL-2.0. nebula has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, typedb 8%. typedb was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, knowledge-base), 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 | typedb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 4.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-08 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 376 |
| 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 typedb if
- You want the typedb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and typedb 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 typedb
Introducing TypeDB TypeDB is a next gen database with a modern programming paradigm that lets you build data applications faster, safer, and more elegantly. Its intuitive and powerful data model unifies the strengths of relational, document and graph databases without their shortcomings. TypeQL , its groundbreaking query language, is declarative, functional, and strongly typed, drastically simplifying data handling and logic. So now, even the most nested and interconnected datasets can be managed with ease. With TypeDB, we’ve reinvented the database for the modern programming era. Getting started Deploy TypeDB…
read the full typedb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nebula or typedb more popular?
nebula has 12,466 GitHub stars and typedb has 4,500. nebula has the larger community by that measure.
Are nebula and typedb free?
Both are open source. nebula is licensed under Apache-2.0 and typedb under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nebula and typedb?
nebula is written in C++ and typedb in Rust. 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 typedb?
Choose nebula if you want the larger community (12,466 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose typedb if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.