Comparison

Absinthe vs Apollo GraphQL

On the evidence we track, Apollo GraphQL leads this comparison with a composite score of 63/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Absinthe full profile →Apollo GraphQL full profile →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

Absinthe45

★Apollo GraphQL63

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Absinthe	Apollo GraphQLLeader
vioscaleAI score	45 / 100low · 41%	63 / 100medium · 57%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	open_source	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	free	free
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	3	4
Security
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	-	✓
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	4.2	6
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	-	https://www.apollographql.com/trust
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	Count: 4 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=hex&package_name=absinthe&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 4 · Max severity: HIGH	Count: 5 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=apollo-server-core&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: MODERATE
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	1,257	76,434
Github starsadoption.github_stars	4,399	13,949
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	-	2,385,461
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	5	1
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	56	-
Historyrelease.history	20 items	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	-	MIT
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	Elixir	TypeScript
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	-	Available worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	-	8 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

Absinthe45 / 100low · 41%

Apollo GraphQL63 / 100medium · 57%

Pricing

Free tier

Absinthe✓

Apollo GraphQL✓

Model

Absintheopen_source

Apollo GraphQLfreemium

Price level

Absinthefree

Apollo GraphQLfree

Transparent

Absinthe✓

Apollo GraphQL✓

Integrations

Count

Absinthe3

Apollo GraphQL4

Security

Gdpr

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQL✓

Scorecard

Absinthe4.2

Apollo GraphQL6

Trust center

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQLhttps://www.apollographql.com/trust

Vulnerabilities

AbsintheCount: 4 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=hex&package_name=absinthe&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 4 · Max severity: HIGH

Apollo GraphQLCount: 5 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=apollo-server-core&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 1 · Max severity: MODERATE

Reliability

Status page

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQL✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Absinthe1,257

Apollo GraphQL76,434

Github stars

Absinthe4,399

Apollo GraphQL13,949

Package downloads weekly

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQL2,385,461

Activity

Commits last 30d

Absinthe5

Apollo GraphQL1

Release

Cadence days

Absinthe56

Apollo GraphQL–

History

Absinthe20 items

Apollo GraphQL20 items

License

Spdx

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQLMIT

Language

Primary

AbsintheElixir

Apollo GraphQLTypeScript

Market

Availability

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQLAvailable worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US

Content

Faq

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQL8 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for graphql tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for GraphQL Tools
Capability	Absinthe	Apollo GraphQL
Core
Role	Server	Gateway / federation
Primary language	Elixir	API-agnostic (supports any GraphQL API regardless of implementation language)
Modelling
Schema approach	DB introspection	DB introspection
Scale
Federation / subgraph composition	-	✓
Realtime
Real-time subscriptions	✓	✓
Performance
Response / edge caching	-	✓
DX
Typed code generation	-	✓
Automation
Generates API from a database	-	✗
Security
Built-in authz / permissions	-	✓
Deployment
Official hosted offering	✗	✓
Self-hostable	✓	✓

Core

Role

AbsintheServer

Apollo GraphQLGateway / federation

Primary language

AbsintheElixir

Apollo GraphQLAPI-agnostic (supports any GraphQL API regardless of implementation language)

Modelling

Schema approach

AbsintheDB introspection

Apollo GraphQLDB introspection

Scale

Federation / subgraph composition

Absinthe-

Apollo GraphQL✓

Realtime

Real-time subscriptions

Absinthe✓

Apollo GraphQL✓

Performance

Response / edge caching

Absinthe-

Apollo GraphQL✓

Typed code generation

Absinthe-

Apollo GraphQL✓

Automation

Generates API from a database

Absinthe-

Apollo GraphQL✗

Security

Built-in authz / permissions

Absinthe-

Apollo GraphQL✓

Deployment

Official hosted offering

Absinthe✗

Apollo GraphQL✓

Self-hostable

Absinthe✓

Apollo GraphQL✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Absinthe

A GraphQL implementation toolkit for Elixir that emphasizes developer ergonomics, compile-time schema verification, and production performance. Designed with idiomatic Elixir patterns and supports common web frameworks.

Independently observed

Apollo GraphQL

Leader

Apollo helps organizations build a unified GraphQL layer that combines multiple APIs and services, enabling better integration for AI systems and applications.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Absinthe

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-09-11verify ↗

Apollo GraphQL

Leader

from $5/moHybridFree tier

From $5 per million requests. Free tier with no credit card required.

FreeFree
- GraphOS platform
- Any GraphQL API support
- Self-hosted Router
- GraphQL Federation
- Response Caching
- +3 more
Developer$5 per million requests, billed monthly with volume discounts. $50 credit on signup.
- GraphOS platform
- Any GraphQL API support
- Self-hosted Router
- GraphQL Federation
- Response Caching
- +3 more
StandardContact sales
- GraphOS platform
- Any GraphQL API support
- Self-hosted Router
- GraphQL Federation
- Response Caching
- +3 more
EnterpriseContact sales
- GraphOS platform
- Any GraphQL API support
- Self-hosted Router
- GraphQL Federation
- Response Caching
- +3 more

as of 2026-08-14verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Absinthe	Apollo GraphQL
WebPlatforms	-	✓
iOSPlatforms	-	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓

Platforms

Web

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQL✓

iOS

Absinthe–

Apollo GraphQL✓

Deployment

Self-hosted

Absinthe✓

Apollo GraphQL✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Absinthe

3 total

Phoenix
Plug
Apollo Client

Independently observed

Apollo GraphQL

Leader

4 total

Apollo Connectors
Apollo MCP Server
GraphQL APIs
REST APIs

Independently observed

Still deciding?

Absinthe or Apollo GraphQL: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.