Asopitech VS
Neo4j vs Alopex DB
Neo4j nodes and relationships, Cypher, and how clustering differs by edition, compared with Alopex DB.
Updated: Oct 13, 2026
What Neo4j is
Neo4j is a native graph database that implements a graph model all the way down to the storage level. It stores data as nodes, relationships and properties, instead of in tables or documents.
How it works
- Nodes: labels express their roles, and they hold key-value properties.
- Relationships: named connections with a start node, an end node, one type and a direction. Relationships can hold properties too.
- Cypher: a declarative query language similar to SQL, built for graphs.
Main features
- ACID transactions.
- Similarity search with vector indexes that represent nodes or properties as vectors.
- Written in Java and Scala, and installable on Linux, macOS and Windows.
Limits
Self-managed Neo4j comes as Community Edition and Enterprise Edition. Backups, clustering and failover are Enterprise Edition features. Neo4j runs as a server separate from the application.
How it differs from Alopex DB
Both handle graphs and vectors.
Alopex DB is a Rust database that grows from embedded to server to cluster on the same engine. It handles SQL, vector search, graphs and KV in one engine. It keeps knowledge graph nodes and edges alongside their embeddings, and connects them to SQL tables in the same engine.
Run Alopex DB on your own machine and bring graphs, vectors and SQL tables into one engine. Start from the quickstart.
References
- What is Neo4j?, What is a graph database, Operations Manual: Introduction, Vector indexes, Alopex DB (GitHub)