Amazon Neptune

Managed graph database on AWS supporting Gremlin, openCypher and SPARQL queries.

PaidDatabase management systems

Updated Nov 7, 2026 · AppBreakup editorial · Web

Visit Amazon Neptune See 3 alternatives

Is Amazon Neptune free?

No, it's a paid product

Free trial:: 750 hours via AWS Free Tier

Checked on Amazon Neptune's site Nov 8, 2026

3 alternatives with a free option

Switch from Amazon Neptune to

All 3

Neo4j
Cloud free tier: AuraDB Free, $0
SurrealDB
Starting price: From $0.021 per hour per extra instance
Azure Cosmos DB
Free plan + paid

Verified facts: 7 of 7
Alternatives ranked: 3
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Amazon Neptune

Amazon Neptune is AWS's managed graph database service. It stores property graphs, which you query with Apache TinkerPop Gremlin or openCypher, and RDF data, which you query with SPARQL, so it fits both application graphs and linked-data or knowledge-graph projects. AWS handles provisioning, patching, backups and failover, with up to 15 read replicas and a multi-Region option for disaster recovery. A serverless mode scales capacity up and down with load and bills per second. Neptune also offers Neptune Analytics for in-memory graph algorithms and vector search, and integrations aimed at GraphRAG with Amazon Bedrock. Because it speaks openCypher over the Bolt protocol, many Neo4j applications can move to it with limited changes. Pricing is pay-as-you-go by instance hour or capacity unit plus storage and I/O, and new AWS customers can try a small instance through the Free Tier. It only runs on AWS, so it suits teams already using AWS that want a graph database without running servers themselves.

Best for: AWS teams that want a managed graph database for knowledge graphs, fraud detection or recommendations..

Amazon Neptune pricing (checked Nov 8, 2026)

Each line is quoted from Amazon Neptune's own site, with the page it came from.

Plan or term	What it says	Checked	Source
Free trial	750 hours via AWS Free Tier	Nov 8, 2026	aws.amazon.com
db.r5.large instance	$0.348 per hour on demand (US East)	Nov 8, 2026	aws.amazon.com
Storage	$0.10 per GB-month (Standard)	Nov 8, 2026	aws.amazon.com
I/O requests	$0.20 per million requests (Standard)	Nov 8, 2026	aws.amazon.com

What works

Supports Gremlin, openCypher and SPARQL in one service
Fully managed, with read replicas and automatic failover
Serverless option that scales with load
openCypher over Bolt eases moving from Neo4j

Why people leave

Only available on AWS, with no self-hosted version
Usage-based pricing is hard to predict without the AWS calculator
Lacks Neo4j's desktop tools and broad plugin ecosystem

Amazon Neptune vs Neo4j, SurrealDB and Azure Cosmos DB

From each app's listing and the prices verified on its own site. A dash means we haven't verified it yet.

Attribute	Amazon Neptune	Neo4j	SurrealDB	Azure Cosmos DB
Pricing	Paid	Open source	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Verified price	—	—	From $0.021 per hour per extra instance	—
Free plan	No	AuraDB Free, $0	Yes, first instance with 1 GB storage	First 1000 RU/s and 25 GB
Open source	No	Yes	No	No
Self-hostable	No	Yes	Yes	No
Platforms	Web	Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, Self-hosted	Web, Self-hosted, Linux, macOS, Windows	Web

Top Amazon Neptune alternatives

See all 3

1
Neo4j
The best-known graph database, with a self-hosted community edition, rich tooling and a managed cloud on several providers.
68.8
2
SurrealDB
Open-source multi-model database with graph relations, runnable on your own servers or any cloud.
66.2
3
Azure Cosmos DB
Microsoft's managed multi-model database with a Gremlin API, the natural pick for teams on Azure.
52.6

Why people left Amazon Neptune

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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Amazon Neptune: common questions

What is Amazon Neptune?

Amazon Neptune: Managed graph database on AWS supporting Gremlin, openCypher and SPARQL queries. Best for AWS teams that want a managed graph database for knowledge graphs, fraud detection or recommendations. Available for Web.

Is Amazon Neptune free?

No, Amazon Neptune is a paid product.

How much does Amazon Neptune cost?

Amazon Neptune is a paid product. Free trial: 750 hours via AWS Free Tier; db.r5.large instance: $0.348 per hour on demand (US East); Storage: $0.10 per GB-month (Standard); I/O requests: $0.20 per million requests (Standard). Checked on Amazon Neptune's own site, November 2026.

Does Amazon Neptune have a free trial or refund?

Free trial: 750 hours via AWS Free Tier. Source: Amazon Neptune's own site.

Is Amazon Neptune open source?

No, Amazon Neptune is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Neo4j.

What platforms does Amazon Neptune run on?

Amazon Neptune is available for Web.

What are the best alternatives to Amazon Neptune?

The highest-ranked Amazon Neptune alternatives right now are Neo4j, SurrealDB and Azure Cosmos DB. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

Amazon Neptune vs Neo4j: what's the difference?

Amazon Neptune is a paid product; Neo4j is free and open source. Neo4j is open source and Amazon Neptune is not. Only Neo4j runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

See all 3 Amazon Neptune alternatives

Amazon Neptune facts

7 of 7 verified

Query languages: Gremlin, openCypher, SPARQL; Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab); “With Neptune, you can use popular graph query languages such as Apache TinkerPop Gremlin, SPARQL, and openCypher”
Neo4j migration: openCypher and Bolt support; Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab); “With Neptune support for the openCypher query language, you can move most Cypher or Neo4j workloads that use the Bolt protocol or HTTPS to Neptune.”
Free trial: 750 hours via AWS Free Tier; Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab); “If you are new to Neptune, you are eligible to use 750 hours of the Neptune db.t3.medium”
Serverless: Yes, billed per second; Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab); “Neptune Serverless measures database capacity in Neptune Capacity Units (NCUs) billed per second.”
db.r5.large instance: $0.348 per hour on demand (US East); Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab); “db.r5.large instance is $0.348 per hour, so your monthly cost for the instance is $250.56 ($0.348 * 24 * 30).”
Storage: $0.10 per GB-month (Standard); Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab); “Storage charges Your storage cost is $0.10 per GB-month, so for 50 GB storage your (30-day) monthly cost is $5 ($0.10 * 50).”
I/O requests: $0.20 per million requests (Standard); Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab); “I/O charges Your I/O cost is $0.20 per million”