Software · head to head
Vitess vs Dgraph
Vitess
Software
Scalable database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Vitess vTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties; Dgraph the GitHub repository (dgraph-io/dgraph) is licensed Apache 2.0 with no paid tier, cloud offering, or enterprise edition mentioned anywhere in the README
- They diverge on capability: Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Dgraph covers Native GraphQL.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Vitess and Dgraph actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Vitess
- Horizontal Sharding
- Connection Pooling
- Query Routing
- Online Schema Changes
- Shard Management
- Replication Management
- Automated Failover
- MySQL
Only in Dgraph
- Native GraphQL
- Distributed Architecture
- ACID Transactions
- GraphQL Subscriptions
- Full-text Search
- Geolocation Queries
- Horizontal Scaling
- GraphQL
Both cover
- Linux support
- Docker support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Vitess
- Transaction processingnot Dgraph
- Data storagenot Dgraph
- Application backendnot Dgraph
- Reportingnot Dgraph
- Data analyticsnot Dgraph
Dgraph
- Knowledge graphsnot Vitess
- Fraud detectionnot Vitess
- Recommendation enginesnot Vitess
- Network analysisnot Vitess
- Master data managementnot Vitess
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Vitess
- VTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties
- Foreign key constraints not enforced across shards, requiring application-level integrity handling
- Single primary per keyspace limits multi-region write capabilities
- Distributed transactions without proper sharding key routing suffer performance degradation
Dgraph
- The GitHub repository (dgraph-io/dgraph) is licensed Apache 2.0 with no paid tier, cloud offering, or enterprise edition mentioned anywhere in the README
Pricing, plan by plan
Vitess
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Vitess review.
Dgraph
Free- CommunityFree
- Native GraphQL
- Graph queries
- Full-text search
- Cloud$39/month
- Managed service
- Auto-scaling
- Enterprise support
Which should you pick?
Choose Vitess if
- You need horizontal sharding.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
- You also want connection pooling.
Choose Dgraph if
- You need native graphql.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Mac, Docker, Web.
- You also want distributed architecture.
Questions people ask
- Is Vitess or Dgraph better?
- Neither clearly leads. Vitess 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, Vitess or Dgraph?
- Vitess starts at Free and Dgraph at Free.
- Does Vitess or Dgraph run on more platforms?
- Vitess runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes. Dgraph runs on Linux, Mac, Docker, Web.
- Can I use Vitess for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Vitess best used for?
- Vitess is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Dgraph is typically brought in for.
- What can Vitess do that Dgraph cannot?
- Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Connection Pooling, Query Routing, Online Schema Changes. Dgraph covers Native GraphQL, Distributed Architecture, ACID Transactions, GraphQL Subscriptions. Both handle Linux support, Docker support.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Vitess: Is Vitess free to use?
Yes. Vitess is completely free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. It is a graduated CNCF project with no licensing costs or pricing tiers.
SourceVitess: What databases does Vitess support?
Vitess supports MySQL and MariaDB as backend databases. It acts as a middleware layer that adds sharding and orchestration capabilities on top of these databases.
SourceVitess: Does Vitess require Kubernetes to run?
No. Vitess can run on Kubernetes using the Vitess Operator, but it can also be deployed on traditional infrastructure. Kubernetes integration is optional and provides additional automation benefits.
SourceVitess: How does Vitess handle cross-shard transactions?
Vitess supports distributed transactions across shards, but they require queries to be routed through the sharding key. Transactions without a proper sharding key can result in slower performance.
SourceVitess: Does Vitess enforce foreign key constraints?
Vitess does not enforce foreign key constraints across shards by default. Referential integrity must be managed at the application layer, though per-database support can be enabled with limitations.
Source