# Absinthe vs Relay

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Relay

| Attribute | Absinthe | Relay |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 44.8 (35% (low)) | 71.4 (57% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 1 | 72 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 1,257 | 76,213 |
| adoption.github_stars | 4,399 | 18,956 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 5,142,504 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | - | An open-source framework that enables type-safe GraphQL queries in JavaScript applications, with built-in support for caching, error handling, and server-side rendering via React Server Components. |
| features.capabilities | `{"role":"server","language":"Elixir","managed_cloud":false,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true}` | `{"role":"client","caching":true,"language":"JavaScript / TypeScript","federation":false,"managed_cloud":false,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true,"auth_directives":false,"schema_approach":"code_first","type_generation":true,"db_introspection":false}` |
| language.primary | Elixir | Rust |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| 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","summary":"Free and open-source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://relay.dev","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T16:35:58.790Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 24 | 47 |
| 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/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v21.0.1","date":"2026-05-27T17:05:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v21.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v21.0.0","date":"2026-05-18T22:35:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v21.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v20.1.1","date":"2025-08-06T23:45:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v20.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v20.1.0","date":"2025-07-28T18:02:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v20.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v20.0.0","date":"2025-06-14T01:18:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v20.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v19.0.0","date":"2025-05-02T21:35:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v19.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v18.2.0","date":"2024-11-21T18:42:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v18.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v18.1.0","date":"2024-10-04T21:25:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v18.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v18.0.0","date":"2024-09-07T01:12:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v18.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v17.0.0","date":"2024-06-14T23:56:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v16.2.0","date":"2024-01-23T16:49:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v16.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v16.1.0","date":"2023-12-11T20:21:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v16.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v16.0.0","date":"2023-10-19T22:38:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v16.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v15.0.0","date":"2023-03-08T22:16:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v15.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v14.1.0","date":"2022-07-27T17:37:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v14.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v14.0.0","date":"2022-06-08T15:11:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v14.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v13.2.0","date":"2022-03-10T18:08:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v13.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v13.1.1","date":"2022-02-09T18:02:09Z","type":"stable","version":"v13.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v13.1.0","date":"2022-02-08T16:53:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v13.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebook/relay/releases/tag/v13.0.3","date":"2022-02-07T21:41:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v13.0.3"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 4.5 | 5.8 |
| 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=relay-runtime&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (GraphQL Tools)

| Capability | Absinthe | Relay |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Role | Server | Client |
| Primary language | Elixir | JavaScript / 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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:44:31.135Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*