Comparison

Relay vs urql

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.
★Relay70
urql60
Score
vioscaleAI score
Relay70 / 100medium · 58%
urql60 / 100medium · 51%
Pricing
Free tier
Relay✓
urql✓
Model
Price level
Relayfree
urqlfree
Adoption
Dependent repos
Relay76,213
urql57,619
Github stars
Relay18,962
urql8,980
Package downloads weekly
Activity
Commits last 30d
Relay100
urql3
Release
Cadence days
Relay47
urql1
History
License
Spdx
RelayMIT
urqlMIT
Language
Primary
Market
Availability
Content
Faq

Capabilities

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

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

What each one is

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

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

urql

A framework-agnostic GraphQL client library that works with React, Preact, Vue, Solid, and Svelte, featuring flexible caching and a highly customizable API.

Independently observed

Pricing

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

Relay

Leader
Open sourceFree tier

Free and open-source

as of verify ↗

urql

Open sourceFree tier

Free and open source (MIT license)

as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platforms
Web
Relay✓
urql✓
iOS
Relay✓
urql✗
CLI
Relay✓
urql✗
Deployment
Self-hosted
Relay✓
urql–
Still deciding?

Relay or urql: 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.