Article
databases
architecture
software-engineering
complexity
pragmatism

You Probably Don't Need a Graph Database

Just because the data is a graph, doesn't mean you need a graph database - especially if you're a small team

Dec 16, 2025
1 min read
By Craig Sturgis

Just because the data is a graph, doesn't mean you need a graph database. Especially if you're a small team.

Situations I've been in where someone has proposed using a graph database: many

Number of those situations where a graph database was actually needed: 0

Situations I've been in where managing a graph database would have made everyone on and around the team's day to day life worse: all of them

Are graph databases useful? Yes, at a certain level of scale.

Do I want to be responsible for maintaining a system with one? Absolutely not.

Beware unnecessary complexity.


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