# Nexus vs Pothos

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Pothos

| Attribute | Nexus | Pothos |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 48.8 (66% (medium)) | 58.8 (48% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 0 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 2,363 | 316 |
| adoption.github_stars | 3,430 | 2,623 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 239,628 | 477,926 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"An open-source GraphQL schema library that enables developers to define GraphQL types programmatically in TypeScript/JavaScript with full type safety and IDE intellisense. It bridges the simplicity of schema-definition-language approaches with the flexibility and long-term maintainability of code-based construction. It is indexed under GraphQL Tools.","source":"https://nexusjs.org/docs/","question":"What is Nexus?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Nexus is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://nexusjs.org/docs/","question":"Is Nexus free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Nexus is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus","question":"Is Nexus open source?","confidence":0.99}]` | `[{"answer":"Pothos is a GraphQL schema builder for TypeScript that emphasizes type-safety and ease of use. It features a plugin ecosystem for extending functionality while maintaining zero-overhead at runtime. It is indexed under GraphQL Tools.","source":"https://pothos-graphql.dev/","question":"What is Pothos?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Pothos is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the ISC licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://pothos-graphql.dev/","question":"Is Pothos free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Pothos supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://pothos-graphql.dev/","question":"What platforms does Pothos support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Pothos can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://pothos-graphql.dev/","question":"Can Pothos be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 6 integrations for Pothos, including Prisma, NestJS, Next.js, Apollo, Mercurius and OpenTelemetry. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://pothos-graphql.dev/","question":"What does Pothos integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Pothos is published under the ISC licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos","question":"Is Pothos open source?","confidence":0.99}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source library enabling declarative GraphQL schema construction with automatic TypeScript type generation and GraphQL SDL schema output. It provides a strongly-typed, code-first API for building GraphQL servers without separate schema definition files. | A GraphQL schema builder that leverages TypeScript's type system to minimize manual type annotations, integrating with databases like Prisma and Drizzle through a modular plugin architecture. |
| features.capabilities | `{"role":"schema_builder","language":"TypeScript/JavaScript","managed_cloud":false,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true,"schema_approach":"code_first","type_generation":true}` | `{"role":"schema_builder","language":"TypeScript","federation":true,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true,"schema_approach":"code_first","type_generation":true,"db_introspection":true}` |
| integrations.count | 4 | 12 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Prisma"},{"name":"Next.js"},{"name":"graphql-js"},{"name":"graphql-yoga"},{"name":"graphql-middleware"}]` | `[{"name":"Prisma"},{"name":"NestJS"},{"name":"Next.js"},{"name":"Apollo"},{"name":"Mercurius"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry"},{"name":"Drizzle","native":true,"category":"database","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Zod","native":true,"category":"validation","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Valibot","native":true,"category":"validation","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"ArkType","native":true,"category":"validation","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"GraphQL Yoga","native":false,"category":"server","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Apollo Server","native":false,"category":"server","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Apollo Federation","native":true,"category":"federation","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"New Relic","native":true,"category":"observability","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Dataloader","native":true,"category":"data_loading","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Grafast","native":true,"category":"execution_engine","direction":"bidirectional"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | MIT | ISC |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://nexusjs.org/docs/","retrievedAt":"2026-10-13T13:54:44.471Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://pothos-graphql.dev/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T09:17:12.302Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 27 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/next","date":"2020-07-07T22:25:09Z","type":"prerelease","version":"next"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v1.3.0","date":"2022-03-07T13:45:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/1.1.0","date":"2021-06-23T20:39:56Z","type":"stable","version":"1.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/1.0.0","date":"2020-12-14T18:10:17Z","type":"stable","version":"1.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.19.2","date":"2020-11-27T17:29:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.19.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.19.1","date":"2020-11-25T14:51:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.19.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.19.0","date":"2020-11-25T13:56:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.18.0","date":"2020-11-12T14:14:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.17.0","date":"2020-10-28T13:27:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.16.0","date":"2020-09-30T14:47:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.15.0","date":"2020-08-04T13:56:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.14.0","date":"2020-06-03T20:11:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.13.1","date":"2020-03-30T20:40:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.13.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.12.0-rc.7","date":"2020-01-23T01:22:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.12.0-rc.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.12.0-rc.5","date":"2019-11-20T13:21:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.12.0-rc.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.12.0-rc.4","date":"2019-11-07T22:38:39Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.12.0-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.12.0-rc.3","date":"2019-11-07T22:39:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.12.0-rc.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/graphql-nexus/nexus/releases/tag/v0.12.0-rc.2","date":"2019-11-07T22:39:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.12.0-rc.2"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-drizzle%400.20.0","date":"2026-09-14T17:05:23Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-drizzle@0.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-zod%404.3.2","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:53Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-zod@4.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-validation%404.3.4","date":"2026-09-13T22:49:26Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-validation@4.3.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-validation%404.3.3","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:26Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-validation@4.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-tracing%401.1.4","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:38Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-tracing@1.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-sub-graph%404.5.3","date":"2026-09-13T22:49:23Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-sub-graph@4.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-sub-graph%404.5.2","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:17Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-sub-graph@4.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-smart-subscriptions%404.1.7","date":"2026-09-13T22:49:14Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-smart-subscriptions@4.1.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-smart-subscriptions%404.1.6","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:29Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-smart-subscriptions@4.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-scope-auth%404.2.1","date":"2026-09-13T22:48:59Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-scope-auth@4.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-scope-auth%404.2.0","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:35Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-scope-auth@4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-relay%404.8.1","date":"2026-09-13T22:49:08Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-relay@4.8.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-relay%404.8.0","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:14Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-relay@4.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-prisma%404.17.0","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:44Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-prisma@4.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-prisma-utils%401.3.6","date":"2026-09-13T22:49:11Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-prisma-utils@1.3.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-prisma-utils%401.3.5","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:59Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-prisma-utils@1.3.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-mocks%404.1.4","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:56Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-mocks@4.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-federation%404.5.3","date":"2026-09-13T22:48:56Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-federation@4.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-federation%404.5.2","date":"2026-09-13T21:56:50Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-federation@4.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-errors%404.9.3","date":"2026-09-13T22:49:17Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-errors@4.9.3"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 3.5 | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=nexus&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40pothos%2Fcore&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (GraphQL Tools)

| Capability | Nexus | Pothos |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Role | Schema builder | Schema builder |
| Primary language | TypeScript/JavaScript | TypeScript |
| **Modelling** |  |  |
| Schema approach | Code-first | Code-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 | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:03:32.898Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*