head to head · open source
neo4j vs Apache Druid
neo4j has 17,386 GitHub stars, 2,835 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. Apache Druid has 14,093 stars, 3,813 forks, 784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. neo4j leads on adoption by 23% (17,386 vs 14,093 stars). neo4j is written in Java under GPL-3.0; Apache Druid is written in Java under Apache-2.0. neo4j has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Apache Druid 27%. Apache Druid 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
| neo4j | Apache Druid | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 14K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-10-23 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 3.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick neo4j if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Apache Druid if
- You want the Apache Druid feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and Apache Druid fits your workflow better
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 →
About Apache Druid
Apache Druid Druid is a high performance real time analytics database. Druid's main value add is to reduce time to insight and action. Druid is designed for workflows where fast queries and ingest really matter. Druid excels at powering UIs, running operational (ad hoc) queries, or handling high concurrency. Consider Druid as an open source alternative to data warehouses for a variety of use cases. The design documentation explains the key concepts. Getting started You can get started with Druid with our local or Docker quickstart. For Kubernetes deployments, the druid operator is maintained in a separate…
read the full Apache Druid overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is neo4j or Apache Druid more popular?
neo4j has 17,386 GitHub stars and Apache Druid has 14,093. neo4j has the larger community by that measure.
Are neo4j and Apache Druid free?
Both are open source. neo4j is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Apache Druid under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between neo4j and Apache Druid?
neo4j is written in Java and Apache Druid 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, neo4j or Apache Druid?
Choose neo4j if you want the larger community (17,386 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Apache Druid if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.