Is Dgraph or Ninox better?

Neither clearly leads. Dgraph starts at Free and Ninox at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Dgraph or Ninox?

Dgraph starts at Free and Ninox at Free.

Does Dgraph or Ninox run on more platforms?

Dgraph runs on Linux, Mac, Docker, Web. Ninox runs on Web.

Can I use Dgraph for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Dgraph best used for?

Dgraph is most often used for an application whose core data is a graph, such as permissions, social connections or product relationships, where the frontend already consumes graphql, a knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiation, recommendation or fraud-detection features that traverse several hops at request time, where a relational join chain has become the bottleneck, teams that want a graph database they can read, fork and self-host under a permissive licence rather than a source-available one. Of those, an application whose core data is a graph, such as permissions, social connections or product relationships, where the frontend already consumes graphql and a knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiation are not what Ninox is typically brought in for.

What can Dgraph do that Ninox cannot?

Dgraph covers Apache 2.0 licence, Generated GraphQL API, DQL query language, Predicate sharding.

Databases · head to head

Dgraph vs Ninox

Dgraph

Databases

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

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Ninox

Databases

The database for teams

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: 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.; Ninox free plan limited to 5 users and 5,000 records
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dgraph and Ninox actually diverge.

Attributes where Dgraph and Ninox differ
Attribute	Dgraph	Ninox
Platforms	Linux, Mac, Docker, Web	Web
Founded	2016	Unknown

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 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

Only in Ninox

Nothing recorded that Dgraph does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Dgraph

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

Ninox

No-code database solutions for small to medium teamsnot Dgraph
Workflow automation and process managementnot Dgraph
Customer data and project tracking with custom viewsnot Dgraph

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Ninox

Free plan limited to 5 users and 5,000 records
API call limits restrict automation on lower tiers (1,000/month free, 10,000/month team)
Only 7-day history on free plan vs. unlimited on Business

Pricing, plan by plan

Dgraph

Free

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

Ninox

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 5 users
- 100 MB storage
- Up to 5,000 records
Team$25/month
- 5 GB storage per user
- 50,000 records per user
- 10,000 API calls per user per month
Business$40/month
- 10 GB storage per user
- 250,000 records per user
- 50,000 API calls per user per month
Enterprise$null/custom
- Custom pricing available
- Dedicated support
- Custom solutions and governance

Which should you pick?

Choose Dgraph if

You need apache 2.0 licence.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, Mac, Docker, Web.
You also want generated graphql api.

Dgraph review

Choose Ninox if

You want to start without paying.

Ninox review

Questions people ask

Is Dgraph or Ninox better?: Neither clearly leads. Dgraph starts at Free and Ninox at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dgraph or Ninox?: Dgraph starts at Free and Ninox at Free.
Does Dgraph or Ninox run on more platforms?: Dgraph runs on Linux, Mac, Docker, Web. Ninox runs on Web.
Can I use Dgraph for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Dgraph best used for?: Dgraph is most often used for an application whose core data is a graph, such as permissions, social connections or product relationships, where the frontend already consumes graphql, a knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiation, recommendation or fraud-detection features that traverse several hops at request time, where a relational join chain has become the bottleneck, teams that want a graph database they can read, fork and self-host under a permissive licence rather than a source-available one. Of those, an application whose core data is a graph, such as permissions, social connections or product relationships, where the frontend already consumes graphql and a knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiation are not what Ninox is typically brought in for.
What can Dgraph do that Ninox cannot?: Dgraph covers Apache 2.0 licence, Generated GraphQL API, DQL query language, Predicate sharding.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Ninox: How much does Ninox cost?

Ninox is free for individuals with up to 5 users. Team plan is 25 EUR per user per month (billed annually), and Business plan is 40 EUR per user per month (billed annually). Enterprise plans have custom pricing.

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.

Ninox: Is Ninox free?

Yes, Ninox offers a free plan for up to 5 users with 100 MB storage and 5,000 records. No payment required to start, and includes all core views: table, form, chart, kanban, maps, and calendar.

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.

Ninox: What is Ninox Team plan pricing?

The Team plan costs 25 EUR per user per month (billed annually). It includes 5 GB storage per user, 50,000 records, 10,000 API calls per month per user, and 30-day history. Annual billing is required.

Source

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.

Dgraph vs Ninox

Dgraph

Ninox

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Dgraph

Only in Ninox

What people use each for

Dgraph

Ninox

Where each one falls short

Dgraph

Ninox

Pricing, plan by plan

Dgraph

Ninox

Which should you pick?

Choose Dgraph if

Choose Ninox if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Dgraph

More on Ninox

Keep looking

Other head to heads