vs

Oxigraph vs OpenLink Virtuoso

Oxigraph: Small, fast SPARQL database in Rust that embeds in Rust, Python and JavaScript or runs as a server. OpenLink Virtuoso: Hybrid SQL/RDF engine that runs many of the largest public SPARQL endpoints.

key differences

  • Licensing: Oxigraph is open source (permissive) (Apache-2.0 OR MIT); OpenLink Virtuoso is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Open Source Edition); commercial edition proprietary).
  • OpenLink Virtuoso is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Oxigraph (≤ 100 GB).
  • Horizontal scaling is none in Oxigraph and addon in OpenLink Virtuoso.
  • Only Oxigraph has in-memory, runs in webassembly.
  • Only OpenLink Virtuoso has joins, secondary indexes, full-text search, geospatial, triggers.
  • Oxigraph can run embedded in your application process.

choose oxigraph for

  • +Embedding RDF in Python or Rust apps
  • +Client-side SPARQL in the browser
  • +Small SPARQL endpoints for datasets and vocabularies
  • +Testing RDF pipelines

best at · Knowledge graph, Embedded, Metadata

choose virtuoso for

  • +Public Linked Open Data endpoints
  • +Large RDF datasets in life sciences
  • +Hybrid SQL plus RDF data integration
  • +Semantic web publishing

best at · Knowledge graph, OLAP, Content

overview
Primary model
RDF / Triple Store
RDF / Triple Store
Also supports
–
Relational, XML
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Oxigraph community (Tpt)
OpenLink Software
First release
2018
1998
Latest version
0.5.13 (Oct 22, 2026)
7.2.17 (May 7, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache-2.0 OR MIT
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0 (Open Source Edition); commercial edition proprietary
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
15.1
19.5
Rank
#223
#167
GitHub stars
2K
976
Stack Overflow questions
–
533
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
None
Addon
Multi-region
None
None
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Schemaless
Flexible
Architecture
Embedded, Single node, Client server
Single node, Client server, Distributed
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
✓
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
AWS
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
SPARQL
SPARQL, SQL, SPASQL
Client languages
Rust, Python, JavaScript
ODBC, JDBC, Python, PHP, Jena/RDF4J adapters
Best for
Knowledge graph, Embedded, Metadata, Scientific
Knowledge graph, OLAP, Content, Metadata

Oxigraph vs OpenLink Virtuoso: FAQ

What is the difference between Oxigraph and OpenLink Virtuoso?

Oxigraph: Small, fast SPARQL database in Rust that embeds in Rust, Python and JavaScript or runs as a server. OpenLink Virtuoso: Hybrid SQL/RDF engine that runs many of the largest public SPARQL endpoints. Licensing: Oxigraph is open source (permissive) (Apache-2.0 OR MIT); OpenLink Virtuoso is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Open Source Edition); commercial edition proprietary). OpenLink Virtuoso is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Oxigraph (≤ 100 GB). Horizontal scaling is none in Oxigraph and addon in OpenLink Virtuoso.

When should I choose Oxigraph over OpenLink Virtuoso?

Choose Oxigraph for embedding RDF in Python or Rust apps; client-side SPARQL in the browser; and small SPARQL endpoints for datasets and vocabularies. Choose OpenLink Virtuoso for public Linked Open Data endpoints, large RDF datasets in life sciences and hybrid SQL plus RDF data integration.

Is Oxigraph or OpenLink Virtuoso more popular?

OpenLink Virtuoso ranks #167 on the WhichDB Score (19.5/100) and Oxigraph ranks #223 (15.1/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Oxigraph and OpenLink Virtuoso open source?

Yes. Oxigraph is open source. License: Apache-2.0 OR MIT. Yes. OpenLink Virtuoso is open source. License: GPL-2.0 (Open Source Edition); commercial edition proprietary.