Comparison

Apollo GraphQL vs Grafbase

On the evidence we track, Apollo GraphQL leads this comparison with a composite score of 64/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Apollo GraphQL full profile →Grafbase full profile →

Machine formatsJSON Markdown GraphQLor send Accept: application/json

★Apollo GraphQL64

Grafbase56

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Apollo GraphQLLeader	Grafbase
Vioscale score	64 / 100medium · 59%	56 / 100medium · 73%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	low	low
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	✗
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	4	7
Security
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	-
Scorecardsecurity.scorecard	5.8	-
Soc2security.soc2	-	✓
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	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
Sla pctreliability.sla_pct	-	99.99
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	✓
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	76,434	-
Github starsadoption.github_stars	13,947	-
Package downloads weeklyadoption.package_downloads_weekly	2,958,758	-
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	1	-
Release
Historyrelease.history	20 items	-
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	MIT	-
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	TypeScript	-
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US	-

Score

Vioscale score

Apollo GraphQL64 / 100medium · 59%

Grafbase56 / 100medium · 73%

Pricing

Free tier

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Model

Apollo GraphQLfreemium

Grafbasefreemium

Price level

Apollo GraphQLlow

Grafbaselow

Transparent

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✗

Integrations

Count

Apollo GraphQL4

Grafbase7

Security

Gdpr

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase–

Scorecard

Apollo GraphQL5.8

Grafbase–

Soc2

Apollo GraphQL–

Grafbase✓

Vulnerabilities

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

Grafbase–

Reliability

Sla pct

Apollo GraphQL–

Grafbase99.99

Status page

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Adoption

Dependent repos

Apollo GraphQL76,434

Grafbase–

Github stars

Apollo GraphQL13,947

Grafbase–

Package downloads weekly

Apollo GraphQL2,958,758

Grafbase–

Activity

Commits last 30d

Apollo GraphQL1

Grafbase–

Release

History

Apollo GraphQL20 items

Grafbase–

License

Spdx

Apollo GraphQLMIT

Grafbase–

Language

Primary

Apollo GraphQLTypeScript

Grafbase–

Market

Availability

Apollo GraphQLAvailable worldwide · Popular in US · HQ US

Grafbase–

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for GraphQL Tools
Capability	Apollo GraphQL	Grafbase
Core
Role	Gateway / federation	Gateway / federation
Primary language	API-agnostic (supports any GraphQL API regardless of implementation language)	GraphQL
Modelling
Schema approach	DB introspection	Schema-first
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

Apollo GraphQLGateway / federation

GrafbaseGateway / federation

Primary language

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

GrafbaseGraphQL

Modelling

Schema approach

Apollo GraphQLDB introspection

GrafbaseSchema-first

Scale

Federation / subgraph composition

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Realtime

Real-time subscriptions

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Performance

Response / edge caching

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Typed code generation

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase-

Automation

Generates API from a database

Apollo GraphQL✗

Grafbase✓

Security

Built-in authz / permissions

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Deployment

Official hosted offering

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Self-hostable

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

What each one is

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

Apollo GraphQL

Leader

A complete API orchestration and governance platform that enables teams to build, deploy, and scale GraphQL APIs with support for federation, real-time subscriptions, schema management, and compliance across cloud and self-hosted environments.

Independently observed

Grafbase

A GraphQL Federation platform providing enterprise-grade governance, control, and observability for unified API management. Supports cloud, hybrid, and on-prem deployment with AI-native capabilities.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

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 ↗

Grafbase

HybridFree tier60-day trial

Free open-source tier. 60-day free trial. Enterprise pricing available via contact sales.

Open SourceFree
- High performance Rust gateway
- Open-source license
- No feature gating
- Community support
EnterpriseContact sales
- Unified schema composition
- Schema proposal & approval workflows
- Entity-level caching
- Persisted queries
- Intelligent query execution
- +9 more

as of 2026-08-13verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Apollo GraphQL	Grafbase
WebPlatforms	✓	✓
CLIPlatforms	✓	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✗	✓
HybridDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

CLI

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

Self-hosted

Apollo GraphQL✓

Grafbase✓

On-premise

Apollo GraphQL✗

Grafbase✓

Hybrid

Apollo GraphQL✗

Grafbase✓

Integrations

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

Apollo GraphQL

Leader

4 total

Apollo Connectors
Apollo MCP Server
GraphQL APIs
REST APIs

Independently observed

Grafbase

7 total

Snowflake
NATS
Kafka
Postgres
gRPC
REST
JWT

Independently observed

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