# Pothos vs urql

| Attribute | Pothos | urql |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 58.8 (48% (low)) | 59.9 (51% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 3 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 316 | 57,619 |
| adoption.github_stars | 2,623 | 8,980 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 477,926 | 1,178,429 |
| 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":"A JavaScript GraphQL client that integrates with popular frameworks like React and Vue. The library is designed to be lightweight with optional features for caching and optimization. It is indexed under GraphQL Tools.","source":"https://urql.dev","question":"What is urql?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"urql 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://urql.dev","question":"Is urql free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to urql. 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://urql.dev","question":"What platforms does urql support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. urql 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/urql-graphql/urql","question":"Is urql open source?","confidence":0.99}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":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. | A framework-agnostic GraphQL client library that works with React, Preact, Vue, Solid, and Svelte, featuring flexible caching and a highly customizable API. |
| 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":"client","caching":true,"language":"TypeScript","subscriptions":true}` |
| integrations.count | 12 | - |
| 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"}]` | - |
| language.primary | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | ISC | MIT |
| 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":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source (MIT license)","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://urql.dev","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:40:56.515Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | - | 1 |
| 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"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/exchange-graphcache%409.0.2","date":"2026-10-02T04:49:37Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/exchange-graphcache@9.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/urql%405.0.4","date":"2026-08-21T17:08:08Z","type":"stable","version":"urql@5.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/core%406.0.3","date":"2026-06-22T10:46:51Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/core@6.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/urql%405.0.3","date":"2026-06-15T17:41:31Z","type":"stable","version":"urql@5.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/vue%402.1.1","date":"2026-06-15T17:41:19Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/vue@2.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/next%402.0.1","date":"2026-06-15T17:41:22Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/next@2.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/exchange-graphcache%409.0.1","date":"2026-06-15T17:41:25Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/exchange-graphcache@9.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/core%406.0.2","date":"2026-06-15T17:41:28Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/core@6.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/urql%405.0.2","date":"2026-04-15T03:03:48Z","type":"stable","version":"urql@5.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/vue%402.1.0","date":"2026-04-01T18:38:53Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/vue@2.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/solid-start%400.2.0","date":"2026-04-01T18:38:56Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/solid-start@0.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/solid%401.0.1","date":"2026-01-25T10:17:50Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/solid@1.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/solid-start%400.1.0","date":"2026-01-25T10:17:47Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/solid-start@0.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/storage-rn%401.1.2","date":"2026-01-23T06:42:22Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/storage-rn@1.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/exchange-refocus%402.1.0","date":"2026-01-23T06:42:16Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/exchange-refocus@2.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/exchange-graphcache%409.0.0","date":"2026-01-23T06:42:19Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/exchange-graphcache@9.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/urql%405.0.1","date":"2025-08-29T08:06:41Z","type":"stable","version":"urql@5.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/exchange-persisted%405.0.1","date":"2025-08-11T05:29:00Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/exchange-persisted@5.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/%40urql/core%406.0.1","date":"2025-08-11T05:29:03Z","type":"stable","version":"@urql/core@6.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/urql-graphql/urql/releases/tag/urql%405.0.0","date":"2025-08-09T13:26:59Z","type":"stable","version":"urql@5.0.0"}]` |
| 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}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40urql%2Fcore&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (GraphQL Tools)

| Capability | Pothos | urql |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Role | Schema builder | Client |
| Primary language | TypeScript | 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 2026-10-16T02:48:32.160Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*