Parliament

At a glance

• Editor score
  6.7 / 10
• Pricing
  Open source
• Best for
  Small self-hosted RDF deployments with inference
• Paid from
  Free
• Deployment options
  Self-hosted
• Founded
  2009
• Facts checked
  21 Sep 2026

• Where it wins

  • Supports OWL, RDFS, and SWRL reasoning
  • Runs locally on Linux or Windows, with Docker support
  • Adds named graphs, query timeouts, and configurable table growth

• Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires local infrastructure management
  • SPARQL federation details are limited
  • Its scope is narrower than broader RDF database platforms

Our verdict on Parliament

Parliament is an open-source RDF triple store and reasoner for Semantic Web applications. It is designed for teams that need to store RDF data locally and apply OWL- or RDFS-oriented reasoning, with a SWRL rules engine for additional rule-based processing. Named-graph support helps organize RDF statements, while its SPARQL-compatible Semantic Web stack provides a foundation for querying and serving that data. The product is a fit for small self-hosted deployments where inference is central to the workload.

Deployment is available on Linux and Windows, with Docker support for containerized environments. Linux installations can use a systemd service, while Windows deployments include PowerShell startup support. The project also includes server components, configuration, startup scripts, and documentation for running and securing an instance. Configurable statement and resource-table growth gives administrators control over how storage structures expand, and query timeouts help limit long-running queries. These options make Parliament practical for teams willing to manage their own runtime and configuration.

The main reason to choose Parliament is its combination of RDF storage and built-in reasoning in an open-source package distributed under the BSD-3-Clause license. It covers OWL, RDFS, SWRL, named graphs, and operational controls without narrowing the product to storage alone. However, teams that need highly detailed SPARQL federation capabilities or a broader platform scope should consider an alternative. Parliament suits focused RDF workloads with local deployment and inference requirements; it is less suitable for organizations seeking a wide commercial ecosystem or managed service experience.

Your product? Our editors can test Parliament in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

Parliament pricing

Parliament fact sheet

Alternatives to Parliament

• GraphDBA broad RDF platform with a free edition and enterprise-grade deployment options.9.3
• AllegroGraphA broad RDF platform for reasoning, federation, analytics, and vector-enabled knowledge graphs.9.1
• StardogA broad enterprise platform for federated queries, virtual graphs, and semantic reasoning.9.0

See all Parliament alternatives →

Featured on iTechGuides

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

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Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update