Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Neo4j Graph Database comparison

Microsoft and Neo4j are both solutions in the NoSQL Databases category. Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3, while Neo4j is ranked #9 with an average rating of 9.0. Microsoft holds a 6.1% mindshare in ND, compared to Neo4j’s 5.9% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Neo4j users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Read 102 Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB reviews

7,774 Views
1,555 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Neo4j Graph Database

Read 6 Neo4j Graph Database reviews

953 Views
810 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Neo4j Graph Database

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Neo4j Graph Database and Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB are competitors in the database category. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB often appears to have the upper hand due to its flexibility and integrated cloud services.

Features: Neo4j Graph Database provides advanced querying optimized for connected data scenarios, visualization capabilities, and effective relationship management. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB supports various data models, including SQL, MongoDB, and Graph, offering global distribution and integration with Microsoft Azure services.

Room for Improvement: Neo4j could enhance its cloud integration and expand its support for non-graph data models. It may also benefit from more accessible deployment tools. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB might improve by simplifying its cost management and offering more detailed documentation for beginners. Additionally, enhancing support for specific graph query languages could be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB offers seamless integration with other Azure services and a wide range of customer support options. Neo4j provides on-premises and cloud deployment solutions, focusing on specialized customer support for graph database needs.

Pricing and ROI: Neo4j Graph Database generally incurs lower initial setup costs, particularly with its open-source versions, offering ROI in niche applications. Conversely, Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB focuses on scalability and global data distribution, which justifies its premium pricing through extensive features and Azure service integration.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Neo4j Graph Database Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB 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

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Ranking in NoSQL Databases

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

Database as a Service (DBaaS) (4th), Managed NoSQL Databases (1st), Vector Databases (1st)

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 October 2025, in the NoSQL Databases category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 6.1%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Neo4j Graph Database is 5.9%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

NoSQL Databases Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB	6.1%
Neo4j Graph Database	5.9%
Other	88.0%

NoSQL Databases

Featured Reviews

MichaelJohn

Director | Data & AI at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Very efficient for application-facing scenarios

There are several areas for improvement. Firstly, having a local development emulator or simulator for Azure Cosmos DB would be beneficial. It would be very handy to have a Docker container that developers can use locally. Although, I know there is a free tier and so on and so forth, having a local environment would be nice. For example, SQL Server is very portable. You can even install it on your machine. That is the number one thing that is missing in Azure Cosmos DB. The second improvement area is the IDE of choice. That means how you interact with Azure Cosmos DB. For example, with SQL Server, you have SQL Server Management Studio. I know there is a little bit of support for Azure Cosmos DB in Azure Data Studio, but it is not heavily advertised or it does not feel like first-class citizen support. Developer experience or developer tooling is missing in terms of interacting with the database. Better developer tools or an IDE for interacting with Azure Cosmos DB would enhance the developer experience. Lastly, there is some mixed messaging about what Azure Cosmos DB is, given its multiple APIs. There are so many Azure Cosmos DB APIs available. There is NoSQL. There are MongoDB, Gremlin, and others. There is still some mixed messaging for others who are new to Azure Cosmos DB about what Azure Cosmos DB is. Is this like MongoDB, but then there is also MongoDB in Azure Cosmos DB? I know it well, and I know that the default one is just NoSQL, but others I have interacted with over the last ten years or so get confused.

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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

"As a NoSQL database, it offers schema flexibility which simplifies design and reduces initial engineering overhead."

"The fact that scalability can be achieved by simply configuring availability zones is very attractive."

"Azure Cosmos DB offers efficient indexing and low search latency, making searching fast and efficient and ensuring peace of mind in database operations."

"Azure Cosmos DB's resiliency is valuable. It is available in every Azure region, allowing quick information storage and retrieval. We can partition it to improve indexing, enabling us to retrieve information and recreate website content quickly."

"Since it's a managed service, Azure backend handles scalability. From a user's perspective, we don't need to worry about scalability."

"The solution is used because we get faster response times with large data sets than with SQL. It's essential for us because we have half a billion rows, and we need to return them quickly."

"For example, we have people spread across multiple locations; if they update data in Australia, we can access it in another location within a fraction of a second."

"The benefits of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB were immediate for us."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pros

"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."

"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."

"Creates the ability to visualize outputs."

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

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

Cons

"Microsoft's support services are inadequate, especially during critical incidents."

"There are some disadvantages as it is costly compared to other NoSQL databases."

"It is easy to use, but optimization has been a mixed experience. It has been more of trying to figure out how to do so. We have not found much support there, so we have to come up with our own way of optimizing it in different ways. That is one area of improvement."

"In Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, I would suggest improvements in security."

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's performance could be better. In large volumes of documents, the querying process becomes slow and complicated."

"The built-in integration of the solution is tight."

"One of our biggest pain points is the backup and restore functionality needs improvement. They've gotten a little better in this area. SQL Server's long-term retention is amazing, and you can restore data from years ago. You need to open a support Microsoft ticket to restore your Cosmos DB backup, and it comes in on a different Cosmos account. It's just kind of a headache to restore data."

"The cost can sometimes be high, especially during cross-partition queries with large data amounts."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB cons

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

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

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

"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."

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The customer had a high budget, but it turned out to be a little bit cheaper than what they expected. I am not sure how much they have spent so far, but they are satisfied with the pricing."

"Its pricing is not bad. It is good."

"We are not consuming so much yet since we are at the beginning of using this solution. I would rate the pricing of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB a six out of ten."

"Cost isn’t a big hurdle for us right now. The solution is not costly."

"The pricing model of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a bit complex."

"It's expensive. I would rate it a seven out of ten for pricing."

"The solution is very expensive."

"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pricing is based on RUs. Reading 1 KB document costs one RU, whereas writing one document costs five RUs. Pricing for querying depends on the complexity of the query. If you increase the document size, it will automatically increase the RU cost."

More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pricing and cost advice

"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."

"The tool is not expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Legal Firm

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Energy/Utilities Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	31
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	55

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

The initial setup is simple and straightforward. You can set up a Cosmos DB in a day, even configuring things like availability zones around the world.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

The pricing for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is good, but there is a developer factor to consider. It could be economical or expensive depending on usage. Guidance about query consumption of Request U...

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What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

In terms of improvement for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, while it eliminates the burden of managing database infrastructure, we realized it might not be possible to use various models simultaneously ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time

Pinecone vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 9% of the time

MongoDB Enterprise Advanced vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 7% of the time

Amazon DynamoDB vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 6% of the time

Qdrant vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

Compared 5% of the time

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MongoDB Enterprise Advanced vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 21% of the time

SQL Server vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 11% of the time

Cassandra vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 9% of the time

DataStax Enterprise vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 7% of the time

InfluxDB vs Neo4j Graph Database

Compared 7% of the time

More Neo4j Graph Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB

September 2025

Download Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB product report

Buyer's Guide

Neo4j Graph Database

September 2025

Download Neo4j Graph Database product report

Also Known As

Microsoft Azure DocumentDB, MS Azure Cosmos DB

No data available

Overview

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model database service providing scalability, user-friendliness, and seamless integration, suitable for managing large volumes of structured and unstructured data across diverse applications.

Azure Cosmos DB is renowned for its scalability, stability, and ease of integration, offering robust support for multiple data models and APIs. Its capacity for handling unstructured data efficiently and providing real-time analytics makes it ideal for applications requiring high performance and global distribution. With features like automatic failover and integration with Microsoft products, users benefit from cost optimization and secure data handling. Enhancement opportunities include simplifying queries, improving documentation, and expanding backup and analytics functionalities.

What are the most important features of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?

Scalability and Autoscaling: Efficiently handles growing data and user demands.
Multi-Model Support: Adapts to different data models seamlessly.
Global Distribution: Provides low-latency access across multiple regions.
Automatic Failover: Ensures high availability and reliability.
Integration with Microsoft Products: Offers seamless connectivity with Azure services.

What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB reviews?

Performance and Speed: Exceptionally fast processing for real-time data analytics.
Cost Optimization: Tools for managing expenses effectively.
Secure Data Handling: Implements strong data security measures.
Flexible Data Ingestion: Supports diverse data ingestion methods.

Azure Cosmos DB is frequently used in sectors like web, mobile, IoT, and analytics. It supports applications as a key-value store, processes real-time data, and enables global scalability with low-latency access. Its big data management capabilities and integration with Azure services enhance its utility across industries.

Microsoft

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

TomTom, KPMG Australia, Bosch, ASOS, Mercedes Benz, NBA, Zero Friction, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Kinectify

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs. Neo4j Graph Database

September 2025

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