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Databases · head to head

ArangoDB vs Turso

ArangoDB logo

ArangoDB

Databases

Multi-model database for graph, document, and search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Turso logo

Turso

Databases

SQLite-lineage database platform for running very large numbers of small per-tenant databases, with an MIT-licensed engine.

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ArangoDB the company has repositioned around a wider platform, so ArangoDB is now described as the foundation inside Arango rather than the product itself; Turso sQLite allows one writer per database, so a single tenant's write throughput cannot be scaled horizontally and a busy tenant serialises against itself with no sharding option.
  • They diverge on capability: ArangoDB covers Multi-model Support, Turso covers Per-tenant databases.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ArangoDB and Turso actually diverge.

Attributes where ArangoDB and Turso differ
AttributeArangoDBTurso
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, Docker, WebWeb
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ArangoDB

  • Multi-model Support
  • AQL Query Language
  • Graph Traversals
  • Full-text Search
  • ACID Transactions
  • SmartGraphs
  • Satellite Collections
  • Foxx Microservices

Only in Turso

  • Per-tenant databases
  • MIT licence
  • Embedded replicas
  • SQLite compatibility
  • HTTP access
  • Branching
  • Point-in-time restore
  • In-process engine

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ArangoDB

  • Graph, document and key-value data in one databasenot Turso
  • Vector and full-text search alongside graph traversalnot Turso
  • Avoiding separate stores for related and unstructured datanot Turso
  • Backing AI applications needing both graph context and vectorsnot Turso

Turso

  • Multi-tenant SaaS where each customer gets their own database for real isolation, per-tenant restore and clean deletionnot ArangoDB
  • Agent or session infrastructure that creates a throwaway database per task and destroys it afterwardsnot ArangoDB
  • Local-first and offline-capable applications where an embedded replica serves reads at file speed and syncs when connectivity returnsnot ArangoDB
  • Embedding a SQLite-compatible engine in a product where the public domain original's closed contribution model is a problemnot ArangoDB

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ArangoDB

  • The company has repositioned around a wider platform, so ArangoDB is now described as the foundation inside Arango rather than the product itself
  • Neither the community licence terms nor cloud pricing are stated on the main site
  • arangodb.com redirects to arango.ai

Turso

  • SQLite allows one writer per database, so a single tenant's write throughput cannot be scaled horizontally and a busy tenant serialises against itself with no sharding option.
  • Per-tenant databases mean per-tenant migrations, so every schema change becomes a fan-out job that must be idempotent and resumable, and multi-database schemas, the feature meant to solve this, is deprecated.
  • There are no cross-database queries; ATTACH is deprecated on the cloud, so any report or analytic spanning tenants must be assembled in your application or in a separate warehouse you also operate.
  • Data Edge, the multi-region edge replication that was Turso's original positioning, is deprecated, so a large share of the tutorials and articles describing Turso as an edge database describe behaviour you can no longer rely on.
  • Three engine lineages share the name, SQLite, the libSQL fork and the Rust rewrite, and the Rust engine is still maturing, so SQLite compatibility needs verifying against your specific pragmas, extensions and query patterns; the cloud already restricts journal_mode and busy_timeout and makes user_version read-only.

Pricing, plan by plan

ArangoDB

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • All data models
    • AQL queries
    • Full-text search
  • ArangoGraph$99/month
    • Managed service
    • Graph analytics
    • Enterprise support

Turso

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100 databases
    • 5 GB storage
    • 500M monthly rows read
  • Developer$4.99/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 9 GB storage
    • 2.5B monthly rows read
  • Scaler$24.92/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 24 GB storage
    • 100B monthly rows read
  • Pro$416.58/month
    • Unlimited databases
    • 50 GB storage
    • 250B monthly rows read

Which should you pick?

Choose ArangoDB if

  • You need multi-model support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
  • You also want aql query language.
ArangoDB review

Choose Turso if

  • You need per-tenant databases.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want mit licence.
Turso review

Questions people ask

Is ArangoDB or Turso better?
Neither clearly leads. ArangoDB starts at Free and Turso at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ArangoDB or Turso?
ArangoDB starts at Free and Turso at Free.
Does ArangoDB or Turso run on more platforms?
ArangoDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. Turso runs on Web.
Can I use ArangoDB for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is ArangoDB best used for?
ArangoDB is most often used for graph, document and key-value data in one database, vector and full-text search alongside graph traversal, avoiding separate stores for related and unstructured data, backing ai applications needing both graph context and vectors. Of those, graph, document and key-value data in one database and vector and full-text search alongside graph traversal are not what Turso is typically brought in for.
What can ArangoDB do that Turso cannot?
ArangoDB covers Multi-model Support, AQL Query Language, Graph Traversals, Full-text Search. Turso covers Per-tenant databases, MIT licence, Embedded replicas, SQLite compatibility.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ArangoDB: How is ArangoDB priced?

ArangoDB offers Community Edition (free) and Enterprise Edition. Pricing is customized based on deployment model (self-managed, managed cloud AWS/GCP, or OEM/embedded) and customer requirements. Contact Arango for a quote.

Source
Turso: Is Turso just hosted SQLite?

Not exactly. It hosts databases built on the SQLite lineage: libSQL, an MIT fork of SQLite, and Turso Database, a newer Rust rewrite. The platform adds branching, backups, an HTTP API and programmatic database creation.

ArangoDB: What deployment options does ArangoDB offer?

ArangoDB can be deployed self-managed on customer infrastructure, as managed cloud (Arango Managed Platform on AWS/GCP), or as OEM/embedded solutions.

Source
Turso: Can I really run a million databases?

That is the design goal and the platform API exists to make provisioning and deletion programmatic. The practical constraints are the ones that come with it: migrations fan out, and nothing can query across databases.

Turso: How do embedded replicas handle read-after-write?

Reads come from the local replica and writes go to the primary, so a read immediately after a write can return stale data unless you wait for a sync. Application code has to account for that rather than assume it.

Turso: What licence is it under?

libSQL and Turso Database are both MIT. Turso Cloud is a commercial managed service built on them, so the engine is genuinely open even though the platform is not.

Turso: Is Turso still an edge database?

No. Data Edge, the multi-region edge replication feature, is deprecated. The current positioning is per-tenant and embedded databases, and older material describing edge replication is out of date.

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