MarkLogic
activeby Progress Software · since 2003 · also known as MarkLogic Server, Progress MarkLogic
Enterprise multi-model database for XML, JSON and RDF with built-in search and semantic RAG.
Overview
MarkLogic Server is an enterprise database that stores XML, JSON, text, binary and RDF triples together and indexes everything for search out of the box. It is queried with XQuery, server-side JavaScript, SPARQL, SQL or the Optic API. It combines ACID transactions, element-level security and point-in-time queries with a universal index that makes full-text and structured search fast, which is why publishers, government agencies and financial institutions use it for data hubs. Progress Software acquired MarkLogic in 2023. Version 12 added native vector search and graph RAG, and 12.1.0 shipped in September 2026.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +Indexes every word and structure on ingest, so search works without separate tooling
- +XML, JSON and RDF triples in one ACID store
- +Element-level security and redaction for regulated data
- +Point-in-time queries and bitemporal support
- +Version 12 adds native vector search and graph RAG
Trade-offs
- −Expensive, contract-based licensing
- −XQuery-centric heritage and a niche skill set
- −Smaller developer community than mainstream databases
- −Heavyweight to operate for small projects
Great for
- +Publishing and media content repositories
- +Government and intelligence data hubs
- +Financial regulatory and trade data integration
- +Semantic knowledge graphs combined with documents
- +Enterprise RAG over curated content
Think twice for
- −Startups and small budgets
- −Simple CRUD apps
- −High-throughput key-value workloads
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 15 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Large · ≤ 1 PB
- Horizontal scaling
- Native
- Multi-region
- Read replicas
- Transactions
- Full ACID
- Consistency
- Strong
- Schema
- Flexible
- Architecture
- Distributed, Client server
- Query languages
- XQuery, Server-side JavaScript, SPARQL, SQL, Optic API
Shared-nothing cluster with forests distributed across hosts; database replication for DR across sites.
Deployment
available on · AWS · Azure
Ecosystem
Alternatives to MarkLogic
The default document database: flexible BSON documents, rich queries and built-in sharding.
marklogic vs mongodb →Open-source native XML database and XQuery application platform for documents and digital editions.
marklogic vs exist-db →Lightweight, fast native XML database and XQuery 3.1/4.0 processor with a GUI.
marklogic vs basex →Enterprise knowledge-graph platform: RDF store, reasoning and virtual graphs over your sources.
marklogic vs stardog →Standards-compliant RDF triplestore with reasoning, connectors and MCP support for GraphRAG.
marklogic vs ontotext-graphdb →Lucene-based distributed search and analytics engine for text, vectors, logs and metrics.
marklogic vs elasticsearch →MarkLogic FAQ
What is MarkLogic?
MarkLogic is a document database by Progress Software, first released in 2003. MarkLogic Server is an enterprise database that stores XML, JSON, text, binary and RDF triples together and indexes everything for search out of the box. It is queried with XQuery, server-side JavaScript, SPARQL, SQL or the Optic API. It combines ACID transactions, element-level security and point-in-time queries with a universal index that makes full-text and structured search fast, which is why publishers, government agencies and financial institutions use it for data hubs. Progress Software acquired MarkLogic in 2023. Version 12 added native vector search and graph RAG, and 12.1.0 shipped in September 2026.
Is MarkLogic open source?
No. MarkLogic is proprietary, closed-source software.
Does MarkLogic support ACID transactions?
Yes. MarkLogic supports full ACID transactions, with strong consistency.
Does MarkLogic scale horizontally?
MarkLogic scales horizontally out of the box, with built-in sharding or partitioning. It is comfortable at large scale (≤ 1 PB). It supports cross-region read replicas.
How can I run MarkLogic?
You can self-host it. It is available on AWS and Azure.
What is MarkLogic best for?
MarkLogic is a strong fit for publishing and media content repositories; government and intelligence data hubs; and financial regulatory and trade data integration. Think twice for startups and small budgets.
What are the best alternatives to MarkLogic?
Common alternatives to MarkLogic include MongoDB, eXist-db, BaseX, Stardog and Graphwise GraphDB (Ontotext). The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
How popular is MarkLogic?
MarkLogic ranks #138 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (21.6/100), and #16 among document databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.