Pyyan / Compare / Haystack vs LightRAG
Haystack vs LightRAG
2 of 5RAG & Knowledge Graphs · verified 13 Aug 2026
HaystackdeepsetcurrentHLightRAGHKU Data Sciencecurrent
| Specification | Haystack | LightRAG |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | A strict pipeline abstraction, built for regulated work. | Graph retrieval at a fraction of GraphRAG's cost. |
| Kind | Framework | Library |
| Graph | Via integrations | Yes, core |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Licence | Apache 2.0 | MIT |
| GitHub stars | ~20k | ~18k |
| Category | RAG & Knowledge Graphs | RAG & Knowledge Graphs |
| Official | deepset ↗ | HKU Data Science ↗ |
Highlighted rows are where these differ.
Haystack
- Every step is declared, which is what audits need
- Cleanest option where a wrong answer has consequences
Best for finance, health, legal and government.
LightRAG
- Dual-level retrieval over a lighter graph
- Runs on CPU, which GraphRAG does not comfortably
Best for graph RAG on modest hardware.