Databases · head to head
Dgraph vs Prettier
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
The short version
- Prettier is an opinionated code formatter.
- Prettier is free; Dgraph starts at $39/mo.
- Where Prettier falls short: inflexible style rules that cannot be customized significantly, forcing teams to accept opinionated defaults.
- Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Dgraph and Prettier actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), founded (2016).
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 Prettier
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 Prettier
- A knowledge graph that outgrew a single machine and needs storage distributed across nodes without a per-core licence negotiationnot Prettier
- Recommendation or fraud-detection features that traverse several hops at request time, where a relational join chain has become the bottlenecknot Prettier
- Teams that want a graph database they can read, fork and self-host under a permissive licence rather than a source-available onenot Prettier
Prettier
- Automatically formatting TypeScript files to project style standardsnot Dgraph
- Enforcing consistent HTML indentation across component filesnot Dgraph
- Removing style-related comments from pull request reviewsnot Dgraph
- Formatting GraphQL queries with consistent indentationnot 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
Prettier
- Inflexible style rules that cannot be customized significantly, forcing teams to accept opinionated defaults
- Developers must format entire files rather than selective line ranges in some contexts
- Limited language support compared to some alternatives, though it covers major languages
Pricing, plan by plan
Dgraph
Free- CommunityFree
- Native GraphQL
- Graph queries
- Full-text search
- Cloud$39/mo
- Managed service
- Auto-scaling
- Enterprise support
Prettier
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Prettier review.
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Prettier if
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on API, Editor Plugins, Build Tools.
Questions people ask
- Is Dgraph or Prettier better?
- Neither clearly leads. Dgraph starts at Free and Prettier at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Dgraph or Prettier?
- Dgraph starts at Free and Prettier at Free.
- Does Dgraph or Prettier run on more platforms?
- Dgraph runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Web. Prettier runs on API, Editor Plugins, Build Tools.
- 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 Prettier is typically brought in for.
- What can Dgraph do that Prettier 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.
Prettier: Is Prettier free and open source?
Yes, Prettier is completely free and open source, available as an npm package with no licensing costs or subscriptions.
SourceDgraph: 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.
Prettier: Can Prettier be integrated with ESLint?
Yes, Prettier integrates with ESLint by disabling ESLint formatting rules via eslint-config-prettier, allowing both tools to work together with Prettier handling formatting and ESLint handling code quality.
SourceDgraph: 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.
Prettier: Does Prettier support configuration customization?
Prettier is intentionally opinionated with limited configuration options to enforce consistency. You can create a .prettierrc file for basic customization, but Prettier does not support extensive rule customization like ESLint.
SourceDgraph: 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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