Gel (formerly EdgeDB)
deprecatedby Gel Data Inc. (defunct) · since 2019 · also known as Gel, EdgeDB, geldata
Graph-relational database on Postgres with EdgeQL; the company shut down and the team joined Vercel.
deprecated. Gel Data Inc. shut down and the team joined Vercel (Dec 2025); Gel Cloud closed 31 Jan 2026. Code stays Apache-2.0 on GitHub; migrate to Postgres or self-host.
Overview
Gel, called EdgeDB until February 2025, is a database layer built on PostgreSQL that adds a graph-relational schema language, the EdgeQL query language with nested link traversal and no explicit joins, built-in migrations, access policies, auth and AI extensions, and from version 6 a SQL interface over the Postgres wire protocol. It gave application developers a very productive alternative to ORMs. In December 2025 Gel Data Inc. shut down and its team joined Vercel. Gel Cloud closed on 31 January 2026. The Apache-2.0 code remains on GitHub, but development has effectively stopped, so existing users are pointed to managed Postgres.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +EdgeQL expresses nested object graphs without joins or N+1 queries
- +Declarative schema with built-in migrations and access policies
- +Runs on real Postgres, so data stays portable
- +Generated, typed query builders for TypeScript and other languages
Trade-offs
- −Vendor has shut down; no roadmap, cloud or paid support
- −EdgeQL skills and tooling do not transfer elsewhere
- −Extra server layer on top of Postgres to operate and upgrade
Great for
- +Maintaining existing Gel/EdgeDB applications
- +Planning a migration from Gel to plain Postgres
Think twice for
- −New projects
- −Teams needing vendor support
- −Horizontally scaled workloads
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 9 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Medium · ≤ 10 TB
- Horizontal scaling
- None
- Multi-region
- No
- Transactions
- Full ACID
- Consistency
- Strong
- Schema
- Strict
- Architecture
- Client server, Single node
- Query languages
- EdgeQL, SQL
Inherits the scale profile of the single Postgres instance underneath.
Deployment
Ecosystem
Alternatives to Gel (formerly EdgeDB)
The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.
edgedb-gel vs postgresql →Open-source Postgres backend platform: database, auth, storage, realtime and edge functions in one project.
edgedb-gel vs supabase →Serverless Postgres with copy-on-write branching and scale-to-zero, now part of Databricks.
edgedb-gel vs neon →Rust multi-model database (documents, graph, vectors, live queries) that runs embedded, in WASM or clustered.
edgedb-gel vs surrealdb →Serverless Postgres from the Prisma ORM team, on unikernels, billed per operation with no cold starts.
edgedb-gel vs prisma-postgres →Reactive TypeScript backend with a transactional document database, server functions and live queries.
edgedb-gel vs convex →Gel (formerly EdgeDB) FAQ
What is Gel (formerly EdgeDB)?
Gel (formerly EdgeDB) is a relational database by Gel Data Inc. (defunct), first released in 2019. Gel, called EdgeDB until February 2025, is a database layer built on PostgreSQL that adds a graph-relational schema language, the EdgeQL query language with nested link traversal and no explicit joins, built-in migrations, access policies, auth and AI extensions, and from version 6 a SQL interface over the Postgres wire protocol. It gave application developers a very productive alternative to ORMs. In December 2025 Gel Data Inc. shut down and its team joined Vercel. Gel Cloud closed on 31 January 2026. The Apache-2.0 code remains on GitHub, but development has effectively stopped, so existing users are pointed to managed Postgres.
Is Gel (formerly EdgeDB) open source?
Yes. Gel (formerly EdgeDB) is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.
Does Gel (formerly EdgeDB) support ACID transactions?
Yes. Gel (formerly EdgeDB) supports full ACID transactions, with strong consistency.
Does Gel (formerly EdgeDB) scale horizontally?
Gel (formerly EdgeDB) does not scale horizontally; it runs on a single node, so you scale it up rather than out. It is comfortable at medium scale (≤ 10 TB).
How can I run Gel (formerly EdgeDB)?
You can self-host it.
What is Gel (formerly EdgeDB) best for?
Gel (formerly EdgeDB) is a strong fit for maintaining existing Gel/EdgeDB applications and planning a migration from Gel to plain Postgres. Think twice for new projects.
What are the best alternatives to Gel (formerly EdgeDB)?
Common alternatives to Gel (formerly EdgeDB) include PostgreSQL, Supabase, Neon, SurrealDB and Prisma Postgres. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
Is Gel (formerly EdgeDB) still maintained?
Gel (formerly EdgeDB) is deprecated. Gel Data Inc. shut down and the team joined Vercel (Dec 2025); Gel Cloud closed 31 Jan 2026. Code stays Apache-2.0 on GitHub; migrate to Postgres or self-host.
How popular is Gel (formerly EdgeDB)?
Gel (formerly EdgeDB) ranks #182 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (18.2/100), and #57 among relational databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.