How to connect an Neo4j database to azure app service/container apps without marketplace offers?

Question

How to connect an Neo4j database to azure app service/container apps without marketplace offers?

ENG Info 20

I would like to deploy an neo4j database to my web app on azure app services or container apps (Considering which one I can use and better used for a graph RAG and LLM integrated application). I notice that it is possible to directly link it to my app service or container app subscription via Azure marketplace but that option is not available to me as "No plans are available for market". Would like to know if there are other possible ways to do the link up, perhaps with AuraDB professional plan.

Santhi Siruvuri 0 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-09T16:02:35.4333333+00:00
Hi @ENG Info ,

Thank you for your question.

The Azure Marketplace offer for Neo4j is primarily a provisioning and billing convenience and is not required to connect a Neo4j database to applications running on Azure App Service or Azure Container Apps.

If the Marketplace option shows "No plans are available for market", you can still use Neo4j AuraDB Professional by creating the database directly through the Neo4j Aura console and connecting your Azure-hosted application using the standard Neo4j connection endpoint and credentials.

For most scenarios, the recommended approach is:

Host your web application or API in Azure App Service or Azure Container Apps.

Use AuraDB Professional as a separately managed Neo4j service.

Store the Neo4j connection URI, username, and password as application settings rather than hard-coding them.

For production workloads, consider storing secrets in Azure Key Vault and referencing them from your application configuration. Azure App Service supports using Key Vault references for application settings, allowing credentials to be managed securely outside the application. citeturn3search1

When choosing between App Service and Container Apps:

Azure App Service is typically a good fit for traditional web applications and REST APIs.

Azure Container Apps is often a better choice for modern GraphRAG and LLM-based solutions that include multiple containerized components such as ingestion services, background workers, scheduled jobs, or AI processing services.

The database connectivity model remains the same regardless of which hosting option you choose. Your application connects securely to AuraDB over TLS using the official Neo4j client drivers.

If private network connectivity is a requirement, please note that AuraDB Professional has different networking capabilities than higher-tier Aura offerings. In that case, you may want to review Neo4j's private connectivity options and ensure they align with your security requirements before selecting a plan.

Recommended Documentation:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/app-service-key-vault-references?tabs=azure-cli

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/networking-features

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-apps/overview

Based on your described GraphRAG and LLM architecture, a common pattern is Azure Container Apps + Neo4j AuraDB Professional, as it provides flexibility for containerized AI workloads while allowing Neo4j to be managed independently.

Please let us know if this helps or need more assistance on this issue. Thanks

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Answer 1

Hello ENG Info,

Greetings! Thanks for raising this question in the Q&A forum

The Azure Marketplace offer is only a provisioning and billing option. It is not required for connecting an Azure App Service or Azure Container App to Neo4j. The recommended architecture is to run the application in Azure and keep Neo4j as a separate managed AuraDB service.

Create AuraDB outside Azure Marketplace

Create an AuraDB Professional instance directly through the Neo4j Aura console using Neo4j billing. Select an Azure-hosted region close to your application when available.

AuraDB Professional supports public, TLS-encrypted connectivity. It does not currently include private endpoints or IP filtering. See the AuraDB pricing and feature comparison and supported regions.

Configure the Azure application

From the Aura console, obtain the connection URI, username, and password. In App Service, add these under Settings > Environment variables:

NEO4J_URI=neo4j+s://<instance-id>.databases.neo4j.io
NEO4J_USERNAME=neo4j
NEO4J_PASSWORD=<password>

Do not commit these values to source control. For production, store the password in Azure Key Vault and use an App Service Key Vault reference.

Connect using an official Neo4j driver

For example, a Python application can connect as follows:

import os
from neo4j import GraphDatabase

driver = GraphDatabase.driver(
    os.environ["NEO4J_URI"],
    auth=(
        os.environ["NEO4J_USERNAME"],
        os.environ["NEO4J_PASSWORD"],
    ),
)

driver.verify_connectivity()

Create one driver instance during application startup and reuse it because the driver manages connection pooling. Neo4j provides the same pattern for Java, JavaScript, .NET, and other supported languages in its application connectivity documentation.

Verify outbound connectivity

For neo4j+s://, the application must resolve the AuraDB hostname and reach TCP port 7687. If an organizational firewall blocks non-standard ports, Neo4j also provides the HTTPS Query API over port 443.

Use the Aura hostname rather than an IP address because TLS certificate validation and Aura routing depend on the fully qualified domain name. See Aura IP addresses and ports.

Choose App Service or Container Apps based on the application

App Service is suitable for a conventional web API. Container Apps is generally preferable when the GraphRAG solution contains separate API, ingestion, worker, or scheduled container workloads. This choice does not change how the application connects to AuraDB.

Use the appropriate option when private connectivity is mandatory

AuraDB Professional cannot provide Azure Private Link. For private-only connectivity, use an eligible AuraDB Virtual Dedicated Cloud deployment with Azure Private Link, then integrate App Service or the Container Apps environment with the corresponding VNet. See Neo4j Aura secure connections.

Self-hosting the Neo4j container on a VM or AKS is another option, but you would be responsible for persistent storage, backups, upgrades, availability, monitoring, and licensing. Hosting the database inside the same App Service as the web application is not recommended.

If this answer helps you kindly accept the answer which will help others who have similar questions.

Best Regards,
Jerald Felix.