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helixdb

HelixDB

High-performance OLTP graph-vector database in Rust built on object storage for AI memory

HelixDB is an open-source, unified graph-vector database engineered in Rust that merges relational, graph, and vector workloads into a single OLTP engine, using LMDB local caching and S3 object storage for scalable agent memory.

About HelixDB

HelixDB is an open-source, unified graph-vector database developed in Rust, designed to serve as the unified persistent memory and context fabric for AI agents and data-intensive applications. By integrating relational properties, graph topologies, and high-dimensional vector embeddings into a single OLTP engine, HelixDB eliminates the architectural overhead and synchronization drift of operating separate specialized databases like Neo4j and Qdrant in tandem.

Architecturally, HelixDB pairs an embedded memory-mapped LMDB storage engine for sub-millisecond local node access with tiered S3-compatible object storage for cost-efficient, virtually unbounded horizontal capacity. Queries are expressed via HelixQL, a declarative querying interface that enables developers to combine multi-hop relationship traversals, exact attribute filtering, and cosine or Euclidean similarity vector search in unified execution plans. The ecosystem includes dedicated SDKs for Rust, Python, and TypeScript, as well as an interactive scaffolding CLI (`helix chef`).

HelixDB is particularly well suited for multi-session agentic memory, enterprise knowledge graphs, fraud detection, and GraphRAG pipelines that require both semantic similarity and rigorous relationship reasoning at scale. Self-hosted deployments run as lightweight containerized instances or cluster nodes without external database dependencies. Developers evaluating hybrid data infrastructure can compare HelixDB against multi-model engines like SurrealDB and dedicated vector databases like Qdrant and Deep Lake based on relational expressiveness, query latency, and deployment complexity.

Pricing & Platform Specs

Pricing Summary

Free open-source database engine for local and self-hosted environments; managed Helix Cloud service offers custom enterprise pricing.

full pricing breakdown →

Supported Platforms

Rust core engine, Docker deployment images, and native SDKs for Python, TypeScript, and Rust; supports local SSD caching and S3-compatible cloud object storage.

Explore categories, tags & use cases

Multi-model database for the AI era — document, graph, vector, and relational in one

SurrealDB is a multi-model database that natively combines document, graph, relational, key-value, and vector storage in a single engine. It eliminates the need for separate databases by handling structured queries, graph traversals, full-text search, and vector similarity in one SQL-like query language called SurrealQL. Built in Rust for performance and safety, it supports real-time subscriptions, row-level permissions, and embedded or distributed deployment modes.

freemium

High-performance vector database written in Rust for similarity search at scale.

Qdrant is a high-performance vector similarity search engine and database written in Rust. Designed for production-grade AI applications with advanced filtering, payload indexing, and distributed deployment. Supports billion-scale vector collections with sub-second query times. Popular choice for RAG, recommendation systems, and anomaly detection.

freemiumOpen Source

AI data runtime for multimodal datasets and vector search

Deep Lake is an open-source AI data runtime from Activeloop for storing, versioning, and querying multimodal data and embeddings. It fits teams building RAG, training, evaluation, or dataset-heavy agent workflows that need a bridge between vector search, structured metadata, and large image, text, audio, or video collections.

freemiumOpen Source

Embedding-first search and discovery engine for AI-powered product experiences.

Marqo is an open-source tensor search engine that combines embedding generation and vector search in a single API, removing the need to manage separate embedding pipelines and vector databases. Built for product discovery and multi-modal search, it lets teams index text, images, and structured data together, returning ranked results based on semantic similarity rather than keyword overlap.

freemiumOpen Source

AI-native state store with hybrid vector and full-text search

SeekDB is an open-source AI-native state store from the OceanBase ecosystem that combines MySQL-compatible data access with hybrid vector and full-text retrieval. It targets agent and AI application teams that need embedded or server deployment, copy-on-write style sandboxes, and searchable state without gluing together several separate storage layers.

Open Source

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Sources & verification

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Content verified

Verification dates are editorial checks. Routine CMS saves and automatic updatedAt timestamps do not advance them.

FAQ

What is HelixDB?

HelixDB is an open-source, unified graph-vector database engineered in Rust that merges relational, graph, and vector workloads into a single OLTP engine, using LMDB local caching and S3 object storage for scalable agent memory.

Is HelixDB free?

HelixDB offers a free tier alongside paid plans. Free open-source database engine for local and self-hosted environments; managed Helix Cloud service offers custom enterprise pricing.

Is HelixDB open source?

Yes — HelixDB is open source.

Is HelixDB still maintained?

Yes — HelixDB is active. Its listing was last verified on August 26, 2026.

What are the best HelixDB alternatives?

The first editor-selected HelixDB alternatives are SurrealDB, Qdrant, Deep Lake, and more.

How does HelixDB score in our review?

The published editorial review lists HelixDB at 86/100 overall across speed, privacy, and developer experience. Check the review's evidence status and test metadata for its verification level.