Eclipse RDF4J vs NebulaGraph
Eclipse RDF4J
rdf4j.org
NebulaGraph
nebula-graph.ioSide by side
| Figure | Eclipse RDF4J | NebulaGraph |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Graph Databases | 8.8 (#4) | 8.5 (#7) |
| Documentation depth | Documentation includes getting-started tutorials, programming guides, reference material, tool manuals, release notes and JavaDoc links. | The documentation covers architecture, deployment, nGQL, clients, ecosystem tools, operations, FAQs and release notes, and the 3.8.0 manual was revised September 24, 2026. |
| Founded | 2015 | 2018 |
| Integrations | Documented compatible systems include GraphDB, Halyard, Stardog, Amazon Neptune, Blazegraph, Oracle RDF, MarkLogic, Strabon and Virtuoso. | Official ecosystem tools include Java, Python, C++, and Go clients plus Spark and Flink connectors. |
| License | The project states that Eclipse RDF4J is licensed under the Eclipse Distribution License version 1.0. | The core NebulaGraph repository is licensed under Apache 2.0, allowing modification, deployment and commercial SaaS use. |
| Security | The Eclipse project page links to the Eclipse Foundation vulnerability reporting channel. | NebulaGraph Cloud provides Private Link for private network access and role-based access control for graph-space permissions. |
| Self-hosting | RDF4J Server and Workbench are deployable as web applications, with documentation covering Tomcat installation and repository configuration. | Users can build from source, deploy binaries on one or multiple machines, or run the database through cloud offerings. |
| What it does | Eclipse RDF4J is a modular Java framework for parsing, storing, inferring and querying RDF data. | NebulaGraph is a distributed graph database for highly connected data, targeting millisecond queries at very large scale. |
Plans
NebulaGraph
- Open-source EditionFree
- NebulaGraph Cloud StandardPriced on request
- NebulaGraph Cloud ProfessionalPriced on request
- Enterprise EditionPriced on request
In their own words
Eclipse RDF4J
Eclipse RDF4J is a modular Java framework for parsing, storing, querying, and reasoning over RDF data. It supports SPARQL 1.1 query and update, and its API can access remote RDF repositories in the same way as local ones. Supported formats include RDF/XML, Turtle, N-Triples, N-Quads, JSON-LD, TriG, and TriX. Storage options include a transactional in-memory store with optional disk persistence and a transactional Native Store aimed at medium-sized datasets around 100 million triples. Extensions add full-text search, RDFS inferencing, rule-based reasoning, SHACL and SPIN validation, and geospatial queries. The SDK bundles libraries, Server, Workbench, Console, and Javadoc API; Workbench includes a web interface with a SPARQL editor. Developers can use Maven artifacts or download an SDK zip or onejar. RDF4J is free under the Eclipse Distribution License, version 1.0. The latest stable release, 6.1.0, requires Java 25 or newer. The project describes its core databases as mainly intended for small to medium-sized datasets and notes third-party stores may scale further or offer additional features.
NebulaGraph
NebulaGraph is a distributed graph database for storing and querying complex connected data. It is designed for scalability and millisecond responses to complex queries; the project says it can store and process graphs with trillions of edges and vertices. It supports nGQL and openCypher compatibility, while native ISO-GQL is supported in Enterprise v5.0. Native vector search combines graph structures with unstructured data. Deployment options include on-premises, public cloud, and hybrid environments, and NebulaGraph Cloud can deploy clusters on Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform. Developers can use Java, Python, C++, and Go clients, plus Spark and Flink connectors. NebulaGraph Studio is a web-based tool for schema creation, data import, query writing, and graph exploration. Cloud features include Private Link, role-based graph-space permissions, Raft-based redundant backups across server rooms in the same city, and point-in-time snapshots. The open-source edition is free under Apache 2.0; a 14-day Cloud trial includes one instance with 2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM, and 10 GB storage without payment information.