Comparison

Nexus vs Relay

On the evidence we track, Relay leads this comparison with a composite score of 70/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Nexus49
★Relay70
Score
vioscaleAI score
Nexus49 / 100medium · 66%
Relay70 / 100medium · 58%
Pricing
Free tier
Nexus✓
Relay✓
Model
Price level
Nexusfree
Relayfree
Integrations
Count
Nexus4
Relay–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Nexus2,363
Relay76,213
Github stars
Nexus3,430
Relay18,962
Package downloads weekly
Activity
Commits last 30d
Nexus0
Relay100
Release
Cadence days
Nexus27
Relay47
History
License
Spdx
NexusMIT
RelayMIT
Language
Primary
RelayRust
Market
Availability
Nexus–
Content
Faq
Nexus3 items
Relay5 items

Capabilities

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

Core
Role
NexusSchema builder
RelayClient
Primary language
NexusTypeScript/JavaScript
RelayJavaScript / TypeScript
Modelling
Schema approach
NexusCode-first
RelayCode-first
Scale
Federation / subgraph composition
Nexus-
Relay✗
Realtime
Real-time subscriptions
Nexus✓
Relay✓
Performance
Response / edge caching
Nexus-
Relay✓
DX
Typed code generation
Nexus✓
Relay✓
Automation
Generates API from a database
Nexus-
Relay✗
Security
Built-in authz / permissions
Nexus-
Relay✗
Deployment
Official hosted offering
Nexus✗
Relay✗
Self-hostable
Nexus✓
Relay✓

What each one is

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

Nexus

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.

Independently observed

Relay

Leader

A GraphQL client for React that automates data fetching and manages normalized client-side state across components. It provides type-safe queries, mutations with optimistic updates, streaming support, and maintains data consistency across the application.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

Nexus

Open source
as of verify ↗

Relay

Leader
Open sourceFree tier

Free and open-source

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Nexus✓
Relay✓
iOS
Nexus✗
Relay✓
CLI
Nexus✗
Relay✓
Deployment
Self-hosted
Nexus✓
Relay✓

Integrations

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

Nexus

5 total
  • Prisma
  • Next.js
  • graphql-js
  • graphql-yoga
  • graphql-middleware
Independently observed

Relay

Leader

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

Nexus or Relay: 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.