Amazon Neptune alternatives: 3 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank All database management systems

Top picks

Best overall
Neo4j
Cloud free tier: AuraDB Free, $0
Best free option
SurrealDB
Starting price: From $0.021 per hour per extra instance
Best open source
Neo4j
Cloud free tier: AuraDB Free, $0

Common reasons people leave Amazon Neptune: only available on AWS, with no self-hosted version, and usage-based pricing is hard to predict without the AWS calculator. We ranked 3 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Amazon Neptune, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Neo4j currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Verified price	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Neo4j	Open source	—	Yes	Windows, macOS, Linux +2	5 of 5	68.8
2	SurrealDB	Free plan + paid	From $0.021 per hour per extra instance	No	Web, Self-hosted, Linux +2	6 of 6	66.2
3	Azure Cosmos DB	Free plan + paid	—	No	Web	8 of 8	52.6

1. Neo4jTop pick
Best for: Developers modelling highly connected data such as fraud, recommendations or knowledge graphs
Open sourceSelf-hostableWindows, macOS, Linux, Web, Self-hosted
68.8
score / 100
Why switch from Amazon Neptune
The best-known graph database, with a self-hosted community edition, rich tooling and a managed cloud on several providers.
Pros
Cypher makes graph queries short and readable
Free Desktop app with import, query and visual tools
Managed AuraDB cloud with a free tier
Large community, courses and integrations
Cons
Clustering and advanced security need the paid Enterprise Edition
Desktop's bundled Enterprise licence is for local single-user use only
Memory-hungry on large graphs
Visit Neo4j Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Neo4j a good Amazon Neptune alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Neo4j Desktop price
Free
Checked Nov 8, 2026neo4j.com(opens source in a new tab)
Desktop platforms
Linux, macOS, Windows
Checked Nov 8, 2026neo4j.com(opens source in a new tab)
Desktop licence
Includes Developer edition of Enterprise
Checked Nov 8, 2026neo4j.com(opens source in a new tab)
License
GPL-3.0 (Community Edition)
Checked Nov 1, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
Cloud free tier
AuraDB Free, $0
Checked Nov 8, 2026neo4j.com(opens source in a new tab)
2. SurrealDB
Best for: Developers who want documents, graph relations and vectors in a single database
Free plan + paidSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted, Linux, macOS, Windows
66.2
score / 100
Why switch from Amazon Neptune
Open-source multi-model database with graph relations, runnable on your own servers or any cloud.
Pros
Documents, graphs and vectors in one query language
Built-in permissions and live queries
Free first cloud instance
Cons
Younger ecosystem with fewer ORMs and tools
SurrealQL is another language to learn
Business Source Licence rather than a standard open-source licence
Visit SurrealDB Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.341
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.15100
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is SurrealDB a good Amazon Neptune alternative?
Verified facts
6 of 6 verified
Free instance
First instance $0/hour, 1GB storage
Checked Oct 29, 2026surrealdb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Paid instances
From $0.021/hour
Checked Oct 29, 2026surrealdb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Capabilities
Graph and vector
Checked Nov 8, 2026surrealdb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
From $0.021 per hour per extra instance
Checked Nov 1, 2026surrealdb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, first instance with 1 GB storage
Checked Nov 1, 2026surrealdb.com(opens source in a new tab)
Scale plan
$0.192 per node/hour, 3 nodes minimum
Checked Nov 1, 2026surrealdb.com(opens source in a new tab)
3. Azure Cosmos DB
Best for: Azure-based teams that need a globally replicated NoSQL or vector database
Free plan + paidWeb
52.6
score / 100
Why switch from Amazon Neptune
Microsoft's managed multi-model database with a Gremlin API, the natural pick for teams on Azure.
Pros
Global replication with tunable consistency
MongoDB and Cassandra-compatible APIs ease migrations
Serverless mode for spiky workloads
Cons
Request-unit pricing is hard to predict
Costs grow quickly with multi-region writes
Only available on Azure
Visit Azure Cosmos DB Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.346
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Azure Cosmos DB a good Amazon Neptune alternative?
Verified facts
8 of 8 verified
Database type
Serverless NoSQL and vector database
Checked Nov 8, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Vector search
Built in
Checked Nov 8, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free tier
First 1000 RU/s and 25 GB
Checked Nov 8, 2026learn.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
APIs
NoSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, Table
Checked Nov 8, 2026learn.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, 1,000 RU/s and 25 GB storage a month
Checked Nov 8, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free trial
30 days, no Azure subscription needed
Checked Nov 8, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
New Azure account credit
$200 credit for 30 days
Checked Nov 8, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)
Data transfer out
$0.05 per GB from Europe or North America
Checked Nov 8, 2026azure.microsoft.com(opens source in a new tab)