# Apollo GraphQL vs Stellate

| Attribute | Apollo GraphQL | Stellate |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 64.3 (59% (medium)) | 60.6 (73% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 1 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 76,434 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 13,947 | - |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 2,958,758 | - |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A complete API orchestration and governance platform that enables teams to build, deploy, and scale GraphQL APIs with support for federation, real-time subscriptions, schema management, and compliance across cloud and self-hosted environments. | 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. |
| features.capabilities | `{"role":"gateway","caching":true,"language":"API-agnostic (supports any GraphQL API regardless of implementation language)","federation":true,"managed_cloud":true,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true,"auth_directives":true,"schema_approach":"introspection","type_generation":true,"db_introspection":false}` | `{"role":"gateway","caching":true,"managed_cloud":true}` |
| integrations.count | 4 | 18 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Apollo Connectors"},{"name":"Apollo MCP Server"},{"name":"GraphQL APIs"},{"name":"REST APIs"}]` | `[{"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"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | - |
| license.spdx | MIT | - |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Forever free, no credit card required","features":["GraphOS platform","Any GraphQL API support","Self-hosted Router","GraphQL Federation","Response Caching","Schema Proposals","SSO","Audit logging"],"minSeats":3,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For students or hobbyists learning GraphQL","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"developers":"Up to 3","data_retention":"1 day","router_rate_limit":"60 requests per minute"}},{"free":false,"name":"Developer","summary":"$5 per million requests, billed monthly with volume discounts. $50 credit on signup.","features":["GraphOS platform","Any GraphQL API support","Self-hosted Router","GraphQL Federation","Response Caching","Schema Proposals","SSO","Audit logging"],"minSeats":10,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"million_requests"},"kind":"metered","amount":5,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"For small teams operating production GraphQL APIs","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"developers":"Up to 10","data_retention":"7 days"}},{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["GraphOS platform","Any GraphQL API support","Self-hosted Router","GraphQL Federation","Response Caching","Schema Proposals","SSO","Audit logging"],"minSeats":30,"description":"For scaling a GraphQL platform across multiple teams","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"developers":"Up to 30","data_retention":"90 days"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["GraphOS platform","Any GraphQL API support","Self-hosted Router","GraphQL Federation","Response Caching","Schema Proposals","SSO","Audit logging"],"description":"For large-scale GraphQL initiatives","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"developers":"Unlimited","data_retention":"18 months"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Premium Support Packages"},{"name":"Professional Services Packages"}],"summary":"From $5 per million requests. Free tier with no credit card required.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.apollographql.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:31:14.928Z","startingPrice":{"amount":5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"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 | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%405.5.1","date":"2026-05-05T16:06:05Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server@5.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-integration-testsuite%405.5.1","date":"2026-05-05T16:06:02Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server-integration-testsuite@5.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/usage-reporting-protobuf%404.1.2","date":"2026-05-04T16:35:44Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/usage-reporting-protobuf@4.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%405.5.0","date":"2026-03-24T19:49:16Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server@5.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-integration-testsuite%405.5.0","date":"2026-03-24T19:49:19Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server-integration-testsuite@5.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%405.4.0","date":"2026-02-04T10:58:26Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server@5.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%404.13.0","date":"2026-02-04T10:56:52Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server@4.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-integration-testsuite%405.4.0","date":"2026-02-04T10:58:23Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server-integration-testsuite@5.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-integration-testsuite%404.13.0","date":"2026-02-04T10:56:49Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server-integration-testsuite@4.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%405.3.0","date":"2026-01-21T11:46:10Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server@5.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-integration-testsuite%405.3.0","date":"2026-01-21T11:46:07Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server-integration-testsuite@5.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%405.2.0","date":"2025-11-21T23:19:03Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server@5.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-integration-testsuite%405.2.0","date":"2025-11-21T23:19:00Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server-integration-testsuite@5.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%405.1.0","date":"2025-10-28T15:47:16Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server@5.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-integration-testsuite%405.1.0","date":"2025-10-28T15:47:13Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server-integration-testsuite@5.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%405.1.0-rc.0","date":"2025-10-21T17:16:53Z","type":"prerelease","version":"@apollo/server@5.1.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-plugin-response-cache%405.0.1-rc.0","date":"2025-10-21T17:16:50Z","type":"prerelease","version":"@apollo/server-plugin-response-cache@5.0.1-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-integration-testsuite%405.1.0-rc.0","date":"2025-10-21T17:16:47Z","type":"prerelease","version":"@apollo/server-integration-testsuite@5.1.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server%405.0.0","date":"2025-07-17T16:58:26Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server@5.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-server/releases/tag/%40apollo/server-plugin-response-cache%405.0.0","date":"2025-07-17T16:58:23Z","type":"stable","version":"@apollo/server-plugin-response-cache@5.0.0"}]` | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.scorecard | 5.8 | - |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":5,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=apollo-server-core&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"MODERATE"}` | - |

## Capabilities (GraphQL Tools)

| Capability | Apollo GraphQL | Stellate |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Role | Gateway / federation | Gateway / federation |
| Primary language | API-agnostic (supports any GraphQL API regardless of implementation language) | - |
| **Modelling** |  |  |
| Schema approach | DB introspection | - |
| **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 2026-09-01T14:44:25.572Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*