Apache HBase vs Neo4j Graph Database comparison

Apache and Neo4j are both solutions in the NoSQL Databases category. Apache is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.3, while Neo4j is ranked #9 with an average rating of 9.0. Apache holds a 5.4% mindshare in ND, compared to Neo4j’s 5.7% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of Apache users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Neo4j users who would recommend it.

Apache HBase

Read 4 Apache HBase reviews

869 Views
834 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Neo4j Graph Database

Read 6 Neo4j Graph Database reviews

923 Views
775 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Apache HBase

Neo4j Graph Database

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 7, 2025

Apache HBase and Neo4j Graph Database operate within the database landscape, where Neo4j demonstrates superior query performance and relationship management, while HBase excels in scalability for large datasets.

Features: Apache HBase is valued for its ability to manage large quantities of unstructured data across distributed systems and focuses on fast data storage and retrieval. Neo4j is recognized for its intuitive graph model and advanced graph analytics, making it suitable for complex relationship queries.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Neo4j offers straightforward deployment with comprehensive support resources for quick implementation and troubleshooting. HBase demands more technical expertise for setup, often involving complex distributed cluster configurations, offering large-scale deployment support but requiring more autonomy.

Pricing and ROI: Apache HBase is cost-effective within the Hadoop ecosystem, providing good ROI for large-scale data storage. Neo4j may incur higher initial setup costs, but justifies the investment with significant ROI in relationship-centric data analysis, enhancing analytics and decision-making capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Apache HBase vs. Neo4j Graph Database Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Apache HBase vs. Neo4j Graph Database

September 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Apache HBase

Ranking in NoSQL Databases

10th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

5.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Neo4j Graph Database

Ranking in NoSQL Databases

9th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the NoSQL Databases category, the mindshare of Apache HBase is 5.4%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Neo4j Graph Database is 5.7%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NoSQL Databases Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Neo4j Graph Database	5.7%
Apache HBase	5.4%
Other	88.9%

NoSQL Databases

Featured Reviews

Ephrem Sisay

DevOps Engineer (M-PESA) at Safaricom Ethiopia plc

In-memory processing and integration capabilities have optimized query performance

Apache HBase could be improved by optimizing the integration with Apache Phoenix; sometimes the abstraction and lookup jobs lead to issues when there are too many requests. Resource optimization isn't always as successful as it should be, which can cause some query and lookup jobs to fail. For instance, during eligibility checks for credit, if there are many requests on the database, it might fail, and after such a failure, it doesn't allow us to run queries from the moment they stop. If there could be optimization to require less resource usage and allow those jobs and queries to pick up from where they stopped, that would be a great addition to the tool.

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Raju Tsn

VP odfTechnology at Enterpi Software Solutions Private Limited

Delivers superior search and data aggregation capabilities

Neo4j helps with advanced search needs, providing good search results and aggregates compared to MongoDB. Aggregating with MongoDB can be difficult; however, with Neo4j, it's easier. Aggregating data, backing up, and creating new clusters are user-friendly from the back end. In DevOps web deployment, we noticed no database issues. We created Docker instances and set them up efficiently, managing databases up to 50 gigabytes.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The in-memory processing lets us optimize our queries and helps us run concurrent queries and other jobs such as the lookup jobs we always use Apache HBase for."

"The most valuable part is the column family structure."

"The best features of Apache HBase include being embedded, making it very fast; when it's linking, it operates with virtually no delay, and all of the queries are very fast too due to some internal optimization which makes it very sufficient and efficient."

"The in-memory processing lets us optimize our queries and helps us run concurrent queries and other jobs such as the lookup jobs we always use Apache HBase for."

"Apache HBase is a database used for data storage."

"For now, the tool doesn't break down or stop, so it is quite stable."

"It is good for search-based tasks, providing solid search results and aggregate results."

"Enables people to understand what the business problem is and how the technology helps."

"The solution's best feature is how it differs from traditional SQL databases. It's hard to map people and find those near me in SQL, which requires long, complex queries. Neo4j Graph Database makes this easier with simpler queries. It also supports more data types, like JSON, which SQL doesn't."

"As a graph database, I am surprised at their performance and response time."

"Creates the ability to visualize outputs."

Cons

"Apache HBase could be improved by optimizing the integration with Apache Phoenix; sometimes the abstraction and lookup jobs lead to issues when there are too many requests."

"We've seen performance issues."

"I don't like using Apache HBase to store huge amounts of data because of many performance issues."

"The setup of Apache HBase needs a lot of time, and the linkage is not the program itself, but the activation and connecting to the NYPD engine always takes considerable time."

"Apache HBase could be improved by optimizing the integration with Apache Phoenix; sometimes the abstraction and lookup jobs lead to issues when there are too many requests."

"The only problem is that the community is quite small."

"There are concerns about performance and whether the tool can necessarily scale to provide the solution."

"So far, we have not had any issues and are happy with the product in general."

"The tool could improve by having more resources, especially for Golang, which we use. It lacks good basic libraries and doesn't have an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) tool, which many NoSQL databases have. We thought about building an ORM for the Neo4j Graph Database but are too busy."

"For me, when the tool was deployed on an on-premises model, it was a little bit difficult the first time."

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The tool is not expensive."

"The solution is open source so that you can use it for free. They also offer an enterprise version with its billing. If your company is earning well, I suggest using the enterprise version. Otherwise, you can deploy it on your own cloud and pay based on usage."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

University

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Energy/Utilities Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache HBase?

Apache HBase is a database used for data storage.

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What needs improvement with Apache HBase?

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What advice do you have for others considering Apache HBase?

I'm working for a corporate that uses Apache HBase for their Big Data platform and I'm a Big Data engineer there. We're using a version of Apache HBase that is compatible with the other Big Data to...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Neo4j?

The solution is open source so that you can use it for free. They also offer an enterprise version with its billing. If your company is earning well, I suggest using the enterprise version. Otherwi...

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What needs improvement with Neo4j Graph Database?

The only problem is that the community is quite small.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Neo4j Graph Database?

We have used Neo4j in microservices. In one of the microservices, we used Neo4j since we have some requirements similar to MongoDB plus Elasticsearch. It performs both functions. Instead of doing t...

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Comparisons

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Compared 21% of the time

MongoDB Enterprise Advanced vs Apache HBase

Compared 19% of the time

ScyllaDB vs Apache HBase

Compared 14% of the time

Redis vs Apache HBase

Compared 9% of the time

Aerospike Database 7 vs Apache HBase

Compared 6% of the time

More Apache HBase Competitors

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 24% of the time

MongoDB Enterprise Advanced vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 19% of the time

SQL Server vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 12% of the time

Cassandra vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 9% of the time

InfluxDB vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 7% of the time

More Neo4j Graph Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

NoSQL Databases

August 2025

Download Apache HBase product report

Buyer's Guide

Neo4j Graph Database

August 2025

Download Neo4j Graph Database product report

Also Known As

HBase

No data available

Overview

Apache HBase is an open-source, distributed, versioned, non-relational database modeled after Google's BigTable. Just as Bigtable leverages the distributed data storage provided by the Google File System, Apache HBase provides Bigtable-like capabilities on top of Hadoop and HDFS.

Apache

Neo4j is the graph database solution allowing the analysis of complex relationships and patterns in data, leading to better decision-making and improved business processes. The graph database offers easy data integration from multiple sources, providing a more comprehensive view.

The most valuable aspect of a graph database is its performance and response time, as it does not use the join function and only has nodes and raw data. Overall, Neo4j, as a global first-ranking solution, has helped organizations become more efficient and effective in data analysis and decision-making processes.

Neo4j

Sample Customers

Bloomberg, Wells Fargo, Apple, Capital One, NVIDIA

Walmart, Telenor, Wazoku, Adidas, Cerved, GameSys, eBay, Schleich, ICIJ, die Bayerisch, Megree, InfoJobs, LinkedIn

Buyer's Guide

Apache HBase vs. Neo4j Graph Database

September 2025

Free Report: Apache HBase vs. Neo4j Graph Database

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