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Developer Tools · head to head

Depot vs Dgraph

Depot logo

Depot

Developer Tools

Cloud-based builds and CI runs 55x faster with less cost

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit DepotFull review
Dgraph logo

Dgraph

Databases

Apache 2.0 distributed graph database written in Go, maintained by Hypermode, queried through GraphQL or its own DQL language.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit DgraphFull review

The short version

  • Depot is a cloud-based CI/CD platform.
  • Free plans on both; paid from $20/mo and $39/mo.
  • Only Depot lists Depot CI; only Dgraph lists apache 2.0 licence.
  • Where Depot falls short: developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Depot and Dgraph actually diverge.

Attributes where Depot and Dgraph differ
AttributeDepotDgraph
PlatformsWeb, GitHub, APILinux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases
Founded20222016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: pricing model for Depot.

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 Depot

  • Depot CI
  • Container builds
  • GitHub Actions runners
  • Distributed caching
  • Build API
  • Depot Registry
  • Cross-platform builds
  • SSH debugging

Only in Dgraph

  • Apache 2.0 licence
  • Generated GraphQL API
  • DQL query language
  • Predicate sharding
  • Raft replication
  • Distributed ACID transactions
  • Written in Go
  • Full-text and geo indexing

What people use each for

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

Depot

  • Accelerating Docker builds for container-based developmentnot Dgraph
  • Replacing GitHub Actions runners with faster infrastructurenot Dgraph
  • Distributing cache across Monorepo buildsnot Dgraph
  • Debugging failed CI builds interactively with SSHnot Dgraph

Dgraph

  • An application whose core data is a graph, such as permissions, social connections or product relationships, where the frontend already consumes GraphQLnot Depot
  • A knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiationnot Depot
  • Recommendation or fraud-detection features that traverse several hops at request time, where a relational join chain has become the bottlenecknot Depot
  • Teams that want a graph database they can read, fork and self-host under a permissive licence rather than a source-available onenot Depot

Where each one falls short

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

Depot

  • Developer plan minute limits may be insufficient for active development
  • Startup plan at $200/mo is expensive for smaller teams
  • Business plan requires custom pricing consultation
  • macOS M2 runners not available on Developer plan

Dgraph

  • Sharding is by predicate, so a single very hot predicate lives entirely in one Raft group and cannot be split further; adding nodes does not relieve it and the fix is a data model change
  • Stewardship passed from Dgraph Labs to Hypermode after the original company stopped operating independently, so anyone building on it is betting on a second custodian rather than on the original team's roadmap
  • The GraphQL layer is generated and opinionated, so anything it does not express drops you into DQL, which is a second language your team must learn and which no other database speaks
  • The community is a fraction of Neo4j's, so operational answers, tuning experience, hiring and third-party tooling are all thinner, and unusual failure modes in a Zero and Alpha cluster leave you reading source rather than a forum
  • There is no portable graph standard to migrate to; Cypher, Gremlin and SPARQL are all different query models, so the schema and every query is a rewrite if you later leave, and that cost grows with the application

Pricing, plan by plan

Depot

Free
  • Developer$20/mo
    • 1 user
    • 500 Docker build minutes per month
    • 2,000 Depot CI minutes per month
  • Startup$200/mo
    • Unlimited users
    • 5,000 Docker build minutes per month
    • 20,000 Depot CI minutes per month
  • BusinessOn request
    • Custom pricing
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom monthly compute

Dgraph

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Native GraphQL
    • Graph queries
    • Full-text search
  • Cloud$39/mo
    • Managed service
    • Auto-scaling
    • Enterprise support

Which should you pick?

Choose Depot if

  • You need depot ci.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, GitHub, API.
  • You also want container builds.
Depot review

Choose Dgraph if

  • You need apache 2.0 licence.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web.
  • You also want generated graphql api.
Dgraph review

Questions people ask

Is Depot or Dgraph better?
Neither clearly leads. Depot starts at Free and Dgraph at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Depot or Dgraph?
Depot starts at Free and Dgraph at Free.
Does Depot or Dgraph run on more platforms?
Depot runs on Web, GitHub, API. Dgraph runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web.
Can I use Depot for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Depot best used for?
Depot is most often used for accelerating docker builds for container-based development, replacing github actions runners with faster infrastructure, distributing cache across monorepo builds, debugging failed ci builds interactively with ssh. Of those, accelerating docker builds for container-based development and replacing github actions runners with faster infrastructure are not what Dgraph is typically brought in for.
What can Depot do that Dgraph cannot?
Depot covers Depot CI, Container builds, GitHub Actions runners, Distributed caching. Dgraph covers Apache 2.0 licence, Generated GraphQL API, DQL query language, Predicate sharding.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Depot: How much faster are Depot runners compared to GitHub Actions?

Depot runners offer 30% faster CPUs and 10x faster networking than standard GitHub-hosted runners, enabling builds to complete significantly faster.

Source
Dgraph: Is Dgraph open source?

Yes. The current repository is Apache 2.0, which is a permissive OSI licence, and the project is at v25 under Hypermode's maintenance.

Depot: What is included in the Developer plan?

Developer plan ($20/month) includes 500 Docker build minutes, 2,000 Depot CI minutes, 2,000 GitHub Actions minutes, 25 GB storage, unlimited concurrency, and community support.

Source
Dgraph: Is it really GraphQL?

It serves a generated GraphQL API, which is real GraphQL for clients. Its native language, DQL, resembles GraphQL syntactically but is Dgraph's own language and is not the GraphQL specification.

Depot: Can I use Depot with my own AWS account?

Yes, Depot Managed allows deployment within customer AWS accounts. This is available to interested customers; contact sales for details.

Source
Dgraph: How does it compare to Neo4j?

Neo4j has the larger ecosystem, Cypher, and far more operational precedent. Dgraph distributes storage across nodes by default and gives you a GraphQL endpoint without writing resolvers. The choice usually turns on whether you need horizontal scale and a GraphQL surface more than you need ecosystem depth.

Dgraph: What does a production cluster look like?

At minimum a set of Zero nodes for coordination and a replicated set of Alpha nodes for data, typically three of each for fault tolerance, which is a meaningfully larger operational footprint than a single graph server.

Dgraph: Who maintains it now?

Hypermode. Dgraph Labs, the original company, no longer operates it, and that change of custodian is the main non-technical risk to weigh.

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