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Amazon Neptune vs TigerGraph

Amazon Neptune: AWS's managed graph database speaking Gremlin, openCypher and SPARQL on shared storage. TigerGraph: Distributed MPP graph database built for deep-link analytics on very large graphs.

key differences

  • Horizontal scaling is none in Amazon Neptune and native in TigerGraph.
  • Only Amazon Neptune has geospatial, change data capture, online schema changes.
  • Only TigerGraph has secondary indexes, vector search, stored procedures, compression, streaming ingest.
  • Amazon Neptune has a serverless option; TigerGraph does not.

choose amazon-neptune for

  • +Identity graphs and customer 360 on AWS
  • +Fraud detection
  • +Knowledge graphs with SPARQL
  • +Security and network graphs

best at · Traversal, Knowledge graph, OLTP

choose tigergraph for

  • +Real-time fraud and AML detection
  • +Supply chain and network analysis
  • +Customer 360 and entity resolution
  • +Recommendation engines over large catalogs

best at · Graph analytics, Traversal, Real-time analytics

Amazon NeptuneAWS's managed graph database speaking Gremlin, openCypher and SPARQL on shared storage.
TigerGraphDistributed MPP graph database built for deep-link analytics on very large graphs.
overview
Primary model
Graph
Graph
Also supports
RDF / Triple Store
Vector
Type
Managed service
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services
TigerGraph, Inc.
First release
2017
2017
Latest version
1.4.8.1 (Oct 6, 2026)
4.2.5 (Sep 2, 2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary (AWS service)
ProprietaryProprietary (free Community Edition)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
15.2
16.6
Rank
#219
#198
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
1K
38
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
None
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong
Schema
Schemaless
Strict
Architecture
Primary replica, Shared storage, Serverless
Distributed, 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
Gremlin, openCypher, SPARQL
GSQL, openCypher, GQL
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, .NET, Go
Python (pyTigerGraph), Java, JavaScript, Go
Best for
Traversal, Knowledge graph, OLTP, RAG
Graph analytics, Traversal, Real-time analytics, Knowledge graph
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Amazon Neptune vs TigerGraph: FAQ

What is the difference between Amazon Neptune and TigerGraph?

Amazon Neptune: AWS's managed graph database speaking Gremlin, openCypher and SPARQL on shared storage. TigerGraph: Distributed MPP graph database built for deep-link analytics on very large graphs. Horizontal scaling is none in Amazon Neptune and native in TigerGraph. Only Amazon Neptune has geospatial, change data capture, online schema changes. Only TigerGraph has secondary indexes, vector search, stored procedures, compression, streaming ingest.

When should I choose Amazon Neptune over TigerGraph?

Choose Amazon Neptune for identity graphs and customer 360 on AWS; fraud detection; and knowledge graphs with SPARQL. Choose TigerGraph for real-time fraud and AML detection; supply chain and network analysis; and customer 360 and entity resolution.

Is Amazon Neptune or TigerGraph more popular?

TigerGraph ranks #198 on the WhichDB Score (16.6/100) and Amazon Neptune ranks #219 (15.2/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Amazon Neptune and TigerGraph open source?

No. Amazon Neptune is proprietary, closed-source software. No. TigerGraph is proprietary, closed-source software.