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Neo4j Graph Database vs SQL Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Neo4j Graph Database
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
NoSQL Databases (9th)
SQL Server
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
266
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Databases solutions, they serve different purposes. Neo4j Graph Database is designed for NoSQL Databases and holds a mindshare of 4.0%, up 3.4% compared to last year.
SQL Server, on the other hand, focuses on Relational Databases Tools, holds 21.1% mindshare, down 23.1% since last year.
NoSQL Databases
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

AM
A flexible database with good documentation
If someone asks me whether to use Neo4j Graph Database, I'd want to know what they're building. I'd recommend it based on their use case. If it meets their needs, I'd suggest it. I recommend starting with the tool even for those exploring graph databases. It's been around since about 2010 and is better than other graph databases in many ways. Learning the tool depends on the programming language you're using. We had some challenges with Golang due to limited library support. However, Neo4j is easier to use with Node.js, JavaScript, or Python. Overall, I'd rate the tool eight to nine out of ten. It offers great features, scalability, and flexibility and has good documentation. It's easy to learn. However, every database has pros and cons, so the rating might change when comparing it to other graph databases.
Azizul Haque - PeerSpot reviewer
It has eliminated all kinds of inconsistencies, and it is reliable, secure, and fast
I don't know whether SQL Server can support large organizations where the database size is more than 100 GB. It might be because of SQL Server, or it might be because of the programming of the software vendor, but a lot of people think that it is a problem with SQL Server. It can't handle a large amount of data or large data size. In terms of its usage, about 90% of our applications are running on the SQL Server database. We have around 1,600 users for our software, and all the applications are connected to the SQL Server database.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Enables people to understand what the business problem is and how the technology helps."
"For now, the tool doesn't break down or stop, so it is quite stable."
"The solution's best feature is how it differs from traditional SQL databases. It's hard to map people and find those near me in SQL, which requires long, complex queries. Neo4j Graph Database makes this easier with simpler queries. It also supports more data types, like JSON, which SQL doesn't."
"Creates the ability to visualize outputs."
"As a graph database, I am surprised at their performance and response time."
"can extract data from the server and store it in a local data source for BI purposes."
"I value the ability it gives me to test on small machines and easily scale up to larger devices for live applications."
"From a security perspective, we have no complaints."
"I think just having everything in one centralized set of databases where there is easily managed manageable."
"SQL Server, a widely adopted database management system, is utilized across numerous sectors. Initially competing with Oracle and Db2, SQL Server has gained popularity. It serves as the backend database for a variety of applications."
"The solution can be deployed in a few minutes."
"The SQL Server is low maintenance, it does not require advanced technical skills to maintain or use it as you might in other similar database solutions. You need some knowledge on how to access the solution and how to query it but it is fairly straightforward."
"Many developers like SQL Server."
 

Cons

"For me, when the tool was deployed on an on-premises model, it was a little bit difficult the first time."
"The tool could improve by having more resources, especially for Golang, which we use. It lacks good basic libraries and doesn't have an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) tool, which many NoSQL databases have. We thought about building an ORM for the Neo4j Graph Database but are too busy."
"So far, we have not had any issues and are happy with the product in general."
"There are concerns about performance and whether the tool can necessarily scale to provide the solution."
"The documentation could be much better. It's lacking right now. If there are better help pages, for even complicated queries and stuff like that that would be quite a help for users."
"In the next release, I would like to see a better user interface and a familiar syntax."
"I would like to see more integration with other platforms."
"As we have faced problems with the solution in both the past and present, I feel it could be more stable."
"When we run into problems, it's usually during installation, and finding answers to the problem has been a nightmare because the documentation is terrible."
"Maintenance of the solution is an area of concern, and improvements can be helpful."
"As SQL server could not support the number of connections we desired, we were forced to go with Oracle."
"I would like to see native plugins built for other platforms versus having to buy third-party plugins to tap into S3 buckets and AWS Cloud. Right now, it does not have those built-in plugins."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is not expensive."
"The solution is open source so that you can use it for free. They also offer an enterprise version with its billing. If your company is earning well, I suggest using the enterprise version. Otherwise, you can deploy it on your own cloud and pay based on usage."
"Historically, SQL Server has been much more affordable than Oracle, which is overpriced."
"I know the SQL Server pricing model, I believe, is based on CPU cores that your database server has, but I don't know what the solution's prices are though."
"We purchased our license and the pricing is fine for us."
"The licensing involves a one time fee."
"The price could be better. Aside from the basic features, if you need any additional features that can be extended, for example, if you want to connect with the heterogeneous databases, they are being managed as separate services and not included in the package. If you manage a database in Azure, it's not providing SFS and reporting services. However, on-premises, if you purchase the SQL Server license, it includes SFIS and SFRS services. If you take Postgre SQL and MySQL, they provide almost all the same features even though they are both open source databases."
"SQL Server is an expensive solution."
"On a scale of one to ten, when one is cheap and ten is an expensive solution, I rate the product price as seven. The product is expensive."
"Our customers do pay license fees for the MS SQL Server but the Rabbit is free, as it is open-source software."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
51%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Neo4j?
The solution is open source so that you can use it for free. They also offer an enterprise version with its billing. If your company is earning well, I suggest using the enterprise version. Otherwi...
What needs improvement with Neo4j Graph Database?
The tool could improve by having more resources, especially for Golang, which we use. It lacks good basic libraries and doesn't have an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) tool, which many NoSQL databa...
What is your primary use case for Neo4j Graph Database?
We're building a social media platform, which is a great use case for the product. It helps connect people. For example, if we're friends on Facebook, I can get suggestions for people near me or re...
Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?
SQL Server is fairly priced because it has various editions, depending on the number of users, servers, or core packs you are using. If you compare the product to others in this category, the price...
Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?
SQL Server has helped my organization through partitioning to distribute the workload, as it splits them up into smaller pieces so the machines can easily deal with it. However, this comes with a h...
Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?
My company connects through SQL Server authentication. We have company Windows accounts, but we do not want to connect the two, out of security concerns and to keep things separated for our own pur...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Walmart, Telenor, Wazoku, Adidas, Cerved, GameSys, eBay, Schleich, ICIJ, die Bayerisch, Megree, InfoJobs, LinkedIn
Microsoft SQL Server is used by businesses in every industry, including Great Western Bank, Aviva, the Volvo Car Corporation, BMW, Samsung, Principality Building Society, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.
Find out what your peers are saying about MongoDB, ScyllaDB, Microsoft and others in NoSQL Databases. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.