# Absinthe vs Pothos

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Pothos

| Attribute | Absinthe | Pothos |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 44.8 (35% (low)) | 60.8 (46% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 1 | 26 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1,257 | 316 |
| adoption.github_stars | 4,399 | 2,611 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 487,927 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | - | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"role":"server","language":"Elixir","managed_cloud":false,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true}` | `{"role":"schema_builder","federation":true,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true,"schema_approach":"code_first","type_generation":true,"db_introspection":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 6 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Prisma"},{"name":"NestJS"},{"name":"Next.js"},{"name":"Apollo"},{"name":"Mercurius"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry"}]` |
| language.primary | Elixir | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | - | ISC |
| platform.support | - | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://absinthe-graphql.org/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T13:20:08.370Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://pothos-graphql.dev/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T09:17:12.302Z"}` |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 24 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.11.0","date":"2026-06-04T19:07:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.10.0","date":"2026-04-03T16:08:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.9.0","date":"2025-11-21T15:08:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.8.0","date":"2025-11-06T13:26:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.7.11","date":"2025-10-30T13:52:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.7.10","date":"2025-06-09T16:38:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.7.9","date":"2025-03-14T12:16:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.7.8","date":"2025-03-14T12:09:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.7.7","date":"2024-07-11T20:29:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.6","date":"2021-09-28T21:41:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.5","date":"2021-08-03T16:35:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.4","date":"2021-04-16T21:34:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.3","date":"2021-04-16T21:34:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.2","date":"2021-02-05T07:13:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.1","date":"2021-02-01T19:20:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.0","date":"2021-01-15T23:24:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.0-rc.1","date":"2021-01-14T22:25:31Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.6.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.6.0-rc.0","date":"2021-01-02T21:49:41Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.6.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.5.5","date":"2020-12-08T22:55:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe/releases/tag/v1.5.4","date":"2020-11-28T21:56:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.4"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-validation%404.3.2","date":"2026-08-25T22:31:21Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-validation@4.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-drizzle%400.18.0","date":"2026-08-21T02:07:00Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-drizzle@0.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-drizzle%400.17.6","date":"2026-08-18T20:51:35Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-drizzle@0.17.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-federation%404.5.0","date":"2026-07-23T19:25:33Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-federation@4.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/tracing-xray%401.1.4","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:11Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/tracing-xray@1.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/tracing-sentry%401.1.5","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:32Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/tracing-sentry@1.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/tracing-opentelemetry%401.2.1","date":"2026-07-08T23:27:47Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/tracing-opentelemetry@1.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/tracing-newrelic%401.1.4","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:29Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/tracing-newrelic@1.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/test-utils%402.2.1","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:17Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/test-utils@2.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-zod%404.3.1","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:35Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-zod@4.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-with-input%404.1.5","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:26Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-with-input@4.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-validation%404.3.1","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:47Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-validation@4.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-tracing%401.1.3","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:14Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-tracing@1.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-sub-graph%404.5.1","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:44Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-sub-graph@4.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-smart-subscriptions%404.1.5","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:38Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-smart-subscriptions@4.1.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-simple-objects%404.1.4","date":"2026-07-08T23:27:53Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-simple-objects@4.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-scope-auth%404.1.7","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:20Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-scope-auth@4.1.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-relay%404.7.1","date":"2026-07-08T23:28:02Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-relay@4.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-prisma%404.15.0","date":"2026-07-08T23:27:32Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-prisma@4.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/hayes/pothos/releases/tag/%40pothos/plugin-prisma-utils%401.3.4","date":"2026-07-08T23:27:41Z","type":"stable","version":"@pothos/plugin-prisma-utils@1.3.4"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 4.5 | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":4,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=hex&package_name=absinthe&per_page=100","last_12m":4,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"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 | Absinthe | Pothos |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Role | Server | Schema builder |
| Primary language | Elixir | - |
| **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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:30:50.075Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*