# Pothos vs Stellate

| Attribute | Pothos | Stellate |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 58.8 (48% (low)) | 60.6 (69% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 316 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 2,623 | - |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 477,926 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"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}]` | `[{"answer":"Stellate is a GraphQL CDN that sits at the edge to cache queries, limit request rates, and provide detailed metrics. It helps developers reduce API latency, minimize origin server load, and protect against malicious queries at scale. It is indexed under GraphQL Tools.","source":"https://stellate.co/blog/updates-to-stellates-pricing-model","question":"What is Stellate?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Stellate offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $5. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://stellate.co/blog/updates-to-stellates-pricing-model","question":"Is Stellate free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Stellate. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://stellate.co/blog/updates-to-stellates-pricing-model","question":"What platforms does Stellate support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Stellate, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://stellate.co/blog/updates-to-stellates-pricing-model","question":"Can Stellate be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 18 integrations for Stellate, including Fastly, CloudFlare, AWS, Auth0, DataDog, Grafana, Stripe and Vercel, plus 10 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://stellate.co/blog/updates-to-stellates-pricing-model","question":"What does Stellate integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and GDPR for Stellate. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Stellate not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://stellate.co/security","question":"What security certifications does Stellate have?","confidence":0.7}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | Stellate is a service for running GraphQL APIs securely at the edge with built-in caching to avoid redundant query processing, observability to monitor every request, and security protections against attacks. |
| features.capabilities | `{"role":"schema_builder","language":"TypeScript","federation":true,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true,"schema_approach":"code_first","type_generation":true,"db_introspection":true}` | `{"role":"gateway","caching":true,"managed_cloud":true}` |
| integrations.count | 12 | 18 |
| integrations.list | `[{"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"}]` | `[{"name":"Fastly"},{"name":"CloudFlare"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Auth0"},{"name":"DataDog"},{"name":"Grafana"},{"name":"Stripe"},{"name":"Vercel"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Aiven"},{"name":"Altinity"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"Hex"},{"name":"Intercom"},{"name":"Mixpanel"},{"name":"Postmark"},{"name":"Retool"},{"name":"WorkOS"},{"name":"WPGraphQL","native":false,"category":"cms"},{"name":"Strapi","native":false,"category":"cms"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | - |
| license.spdx | ISC | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://pothos-graphql.dev/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T09:17:12.302Z"}` | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free (up to 100k requests/mo)","features":["100k requests per month","Pass-through gateway for excess requests"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Complimentary tier for developers and small projects","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"requests_per_month":"100k"}},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"$10/1M metrics, $5/1M cacheable requests, $5/1M rate-limited requests (min $249/mo)","features":["Metrics","Edge Caching","Rate Limiting","Threat Monitoring","Persisted Queries","Partial Query Caching"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"M requests"},"kind":"metered","amount":10,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"M requests"},"kind":"metered","amount":5,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"M requests"},"kind":"metered","amount":5,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Usage-based pricing for metrics, caching, and rate limiting","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"metrics_requests":"25M at $249 minimum"}}],"summary":"Free: 100k requests/month. Paid: $10/1M metrics + $5/1M cacheable + $5/1M rate-limited. Business minimum: $249/mo","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://stellate.co/blog/updates-to-stellates-pricing-model","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:38:11.676Z","startingPrice":{"amount":5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.history | `[{"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"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"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 | Pothos | Stellate |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Role | Schema builder | Gateway / federation |
| Primary language | TypeScript | - |
| **Modelling** |  |  |
| Schema approach | 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 2026-10-16T19:27:21.540Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*