SurrealDB
Hacker ApprovedNosql database in Developer tools
Recommended as one multi-model database for graph, vector and auth features, with v3 praised for speed. Critics point to its source-available BSL license.
Recommended as one multi-model database for graph, vector and auth features, with v3 praised for speed. Critics point to its source-available BSL license.
19 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 68%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
One database for graph, vector, auth
“If you are an Enterprise looking for hosting, Enterprise support, and maybe a database that can handle all of your needs instead of a specific one, pick SurrealDB.”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: LatticeDB – Like SQLite but for graph databases” “having LLM/vector features, graph, auth, and the database in one place can really help you ship faster”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)” “SurrealDB v3 is getting much closer on raw performance while offering a multi-model database”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)” Native JSON input and serialization
“since SurrealDB accepts JSON as native input I now get free graph lookup on the control flow”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)” “since both uses JSON as its lingua franca, it is pretty easy to serailize data”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)” Praised v3 release
“SurrealDB v3 is getting much closer on raw performance while offering a multi-model database”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)” “As a beta user, I can testify to the awesomeness of v3, it's fire!”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “SurrealDB 3.0: Improved stability, performance, and tooling” Seen as steady overall progress
“In my personal opinion is a great overall product.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)” “I'm pleased to see SurrealDB making progress.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Proprietary or source-available license
“So, the current up-to date version is proprietary.”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)” “it's source-available under the BSL”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)” “their database is proprietary”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Benchmarking SurrealDB 3.x vs. Postgres, Mongo, Neo4j and Redis (With Fsync)”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurrealDBThis page | 13 | 6 | 68% | 4 | — | Approved |
| ScyllaDB | 13 | 8 | 62% | 9 | — | — |
What people said
21 of the 23 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“If you are an Enterprise looking for hosting, Enterprise support, and maybe a database that can handle all of your needs instead of a specific one, pick SurrealDB.”
“I was getting way too deep into the weeds of new databases like surrealdb/tigerbeetle/scylladb etc.”
“the gaps pushed me to give up and build one that gathers all their best ideas”
“Half of them have been achieved but the other half remains”
“right now that's the most complete driver”
“Fruitlessly, so we decided to build BlitzGraph instead”
“I do not believe any number from SurrealDB”
“So, the current up-to date version is proprietary.”
“their database is proprietary”
“I'm pleased to see SurrealDB making progress.”
“the edge cases are a razors edge (no familiarity with your product)”
“since both uses JSON as its lingua franca, it is pretty easy to serailize data”
“having LLM/vector features, graph, auth, and the database in one place can really help you ship faster”
“do not build your startup around a hot new database”
“it's source-available under the BSL”
“In my personal opinion is a great overall product.”
“since SurrealDB accepts JSON as native input I now get free graph lookup on the control flow”
“SurrealDB v3 is getting much closer on raw performance while offering a multi-model database”
“doesn't warrant moving into far smaller ecosystem”
“As a beta user, I can testify to the awesomeness of v3, it's fire!”
“SurrealDB coupled with local vectorization.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.