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Amazon Neptune Analytics vs Neo4j

Amazon Neptune Analytics: Memory-optimized AWS graph engine for fast algorithms, openCypher and vector search over large graphs. Neo4j: The default property-graph database, with Cypher, a big ecosystem and a managed cloud.

key differences

  • Licensing: Amazon Neptune Analytics is proprietary (Proprietary (AWS service)); Neo4j is open source (copyleft) (GPL-3.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)).
  • Horizontal scaling is none in Amazon Neptune Analytics and addon in Neo4j.
  • Transactions: Amazon Neptune Analytics offers limited ACID; Neo4j offers full.
  • Only Amazon Neptune Analytics has in-memory.
  • Only Neo4j has transactions, secondary indexes, full-text search, geospatial, change data capture.

choose amazon-neptune-analytics for

  • +Graph data science and community detection
  • +GraphRAG on AWS
  • +Fraud ring discovery
  • +Ad-hoc analysis of Neptune Database snapshots

best at · Graph analytics, Vector search, RAG

choose neo4j for

  • +Fraud rings and entity resolution
  • +Real-time recommendations
  • +Knowledge graphs for GraphRAG
  • +Network and IT dependency mapping

best at · Traversal, Graph analytics, Knowledge graph

Amazon Neptune AnalyticsMemory-optimized AWS graph engine for fast algorithms, openCypher and vector search over large graphs.
Neo4jThe default property-graph database, with Cypher, a big ecosystem and a managed cloud.
overview
Primary model
Graph
Graph
Also supports
Vector
Vector
Type
Managed service
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services
Neo4j, Inc.
First release
2023
2007
Latest version
–
2026.10.1 (Oct 2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary (AWS service)
Open source (copyleft)GPL-3.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)
Free tier
—
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
0.0
61.2
Rank
#685
#15
GitHub stars
–
17.4K
Stack Overflow questions
1K
23K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
None
Addon
Multi-region
None
Read replicas
ACID
Limited
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong, Causal
Schema
Schemaless
Flexible
Architecture
In memory, Serverless
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
—
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
capabilities
Transactions
—
✓
Joins
—
—
Secondary indexes
—
✓
Full-text search
—
✓
Vector search
✓
✓
Geospatial
—
✓
JSON
—
—
Change data capture
—
✓
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
✓
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
✓
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
—
—
Encryption at rest
✓
✓
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
✓
Streaming ingest
—
✓
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
openCypher
Cypher, GQL
Client languages
Python, Java, JavaScript, Go
Java, JavaScript, Python, Go, .NET, Rust (community)
Best for
Graph analytics, Vector search, RAG, Knowledge graph
Traversal, Graph analytics, Knowledge graph, RAG
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Amazon Neptune Analytics vs Neo4j: FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon Neptune Analytics and Neo4j?

Amazon Neptune Analytics: Memory-optimized AWS graph engine for fast algorithms, openCypher and vector search over large graphs. Neo4j: The default property-graph database, with Cypher, a big ecosystem and a managed cloud. Licensing: Amazon Neptune Analytics is proprietary (Proprietary (AWS service)); Neo4j is open source (copyleft) (GPL-3.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)). Horizontal scaling is none in Amazon Neptune Analytics and addon in Neo4j. Transactions: Amazon Neptune Analytics offers limited ACID; Neo4j offers full.

When should I choose Amazon Neptune Analytics over Neo4j?

Choose Amazon Neptune Analytics for graph data science and community detection; GraphRAG on AWS; and fraud ring discovery. Choose Neo4j for fraud rings and entity resolution; real-time recommendations; and knowledge graphs for GraphRAG.

Is Amazon Neptune Analytics or Neo4j more popular?

Neo4j ranks #15 on the WhichDB Score (61.2/100) and Amazon Neptune Analytics ranks #685 (0.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Amazon Neptune Analytics and Neo4j open source?

No. Amazon Neptune Analytics is proprietary, closed-source software. Yes. Neo4j is open source. License: GPL-3.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise).