# gqlgen vs Pothos

| Attribute | gqlgen | Pothos |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 62.8 (36% (low)) | 60.8 (46% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 20 | 26 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 3,167 | 316 |
| adoption.github_stars | 10,753 | 2,611 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 487,927 |
| deployment.options | - | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A schema-first code generation library for Go that lets developers define GraphQL APIs using the schema definition language and automatically generates type-safe server implementations. It eliminates boilerplate by handling code generation while enforcing type safety throughout. | 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","caching":false,"language":"Go","federation":true,"managed_cloud":false,"self_hostable":true,"subscriptions":true,"auth_directives":false,"schema_approach":"schema_first","type_generation":true,"db_introspection":false}` | `{"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 | Go | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | MIT | ISC |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://gqlgen.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T21:39:40.951Z"}` | `{"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 | 15 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.94","date":"2026-07-09T15:29:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.94"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.93","date":"2026-06-25T23:54:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.93"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.92","date":"2026-06-21T13:23:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.92"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.91","date":"2026-06-11T14:33:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.91"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.90","date":"2026-04-25T19:11:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.90"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.89","date":"2026-03-24T18:45:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.89"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.88","date":"2026-03-09T00:10:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.88"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.87","date":"2026-02-19T14:14:40Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.87"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.86","date":"2026-01-12T01:28:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.86"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.85","date":"2025-12-17T02:21:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.85"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.84","date":"2025-11-24T16:56:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.84"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.83","date":"2025-11-11T02:05:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.83"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.82","date":"2025-11-07T01:29:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.82"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.81","date":"2025-09-25T23:00:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.81"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.80","date":"2025-09-17T16:13:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.80"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.79","date":"2025-09-14T19:35:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.79"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.78","date":"2025-07-27T23:09:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.78"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.77","date":"2025-07-27T03:26:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.77"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.76","date":"2025-06-28T23:25:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.76"},{"url":"https://github.com/99designs/gqlgen/releases/tag/v0.17.75","date":"2025-06-16T14:42:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.17.75"}]` | `[{"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 | 6.6 | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2F99designs%2Fgqlgen&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"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 | gqlgen | Pothos |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Role | Server | Schema builder |
| Primary language | Go | - |
| **Modelling** |  |  |
| Schema approach | Schema-first | 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 2026-09-01T16:46:21.293Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*