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helixdb

HelixDB

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

freemiumopen sourceverified Aug 24, 2026

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.

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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

Freemium open-source graph-vector database built from scratch in Rust (Apache-2.0). Self-hosting the open-source core is 100% free with zero licensing fees. Helix Cloud offers a fully-managed serverless SaaS platform with usage-based compute and S3-backed storage, providing automated scaling and zero-maintenance operations. Enterprise tiers provide Bring-Your-Own-Cloud (BYOC) deployment inside customer VPCs (AWS/GCP/Azure), multi-tenant isolation, SOC 2 Type II compliance, 99.99% uptime SLAs, and 24/7 dedicated engineering support.

full pricing breakdown →

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.

Categories

Tags

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SurrealDB

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

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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.

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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. Freemium open-source graph-vector database built from scratch in Rust (Apache-2.0). Self-hosting the open-source core is 100% free with zero licensing fees. Helix Cloud offers a fully-managed serverless SaaS platform with usage-based compute and S3-backed storage, providing automated scaling and zero-maintenance operations. Enterprise tiers provide Bring-Your-Own-Cloud (BYOC) deployment inside customer VPCs (AWS/GCP/Azure), multi-tenant isolation, SOC 2 Type II compliance, 99.99% uptime SLAs, and 24/7 dedicated engineering support.

Is HelixDB open source?

Yes — HelixDB is open source.

Is HelixDB still maintained?

Yes — HelixDB is active. Its listing was last verified on August 24, 2026.

What are the best HelixDB alternatives?

The top editor-verified HelixDB alternatives are SurrealDB, Qdrant, Deep Lake, and more.

How does HelixDB score in our review?

Our hands-on review scores HelixDB 86/100 overall, based on speed, privacy, and developer-experience testing.