# Apollo GraphOS vs Grafbase

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/apollo-graphos-vs-grafbase/

Every value below is read from Apollo GraphOS's and Grafbase's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | Apollo GraphOS | Grafbase |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| What the free plan includes | A self-hosted router rate-limited to 60 requests per minute, up to 3 developers, one day of retention for checks and insights, and community support. Federation, connectors, response caching and federated subscriptions are all included at this tier. | The full Rust gateway under an open-source licence, with what Grafbase calls no feature gating, and community support. A 60-day trial of the commercial platform is offered separately, with no card required. |
| Entry paid plan | Developer starts at $5 per million requests, billed monthly, with a $0 plan base price and automatic volume discounts — a per-request rate rather than a plan fee, so no magnitude is recorded. New signups get $50 of usage credit and a card is required. | Not published. The pricing page offers the free open-source edition or an Enterprise tier marked Custom pricing with a Contact Sales button, and names no figure between the two. |
| Pricing model | Per request, with a $0 plan base. Every query and mutation counts as a standard operation whichever runtime processes it, and subscription update events are metered independently on top. | Two options and no ladder: run the open-source gateway for nothing, or contact sales for an enterprise contract. The page's own headline says pricing scales with usage, but no rate is given. |
| Self-hostable | Supported | Supported |

## Where they differ

### What the free plan includes

- Apollo GraphOS: A self-hosted router rate-limited to 60 requests per minute, up to 3 developers, one day of retention for checks and insights, and community support. Federation, connectors, response caching and federated subscriptions are all included at this tier. ([source](https://www.apollographql.com/pricing))
- Grafbase: The full Rust gateway under an open-source licence, with what Grafbase calls no feature gating, and community support. A 60-day trial of the commercial platform is offered separately, with no card required. ([source](https://grafbase.com/pricing))

### Entry paid plan

- Apollo GraphOS: Developer starts at $5 per million requests, billed monthly, with a $0 plan base price and automatic volume discounts — a per-request rate rather than a plan fee, so no magnitude is recorded. New signups get $50 of usage credit and a card is required. ([source](https://www.apollographql.com/pricing))
- Grafbase: Not published. The pricing page offers the free open-source edition or an Enterprise tier marked Custom pricing with a Contact Sales button, and names no figure between the two. ([source](https://grafbase.com/pricing))

### Pricing model

- Apollo GraphOS: Per request, with a $0 plan base. Every query and mutation counts as a standard operation whichever runtime processes it, and subscription update events are metered independently on top. ([source](https://www.apollographql.com/pricing))
- Grafbase: Two options and no ladder: run the open-source gateway for nothing, or contact sales for an enterprise contract. The page's own headline says pricing scales with usage, but no rate is given. ([source](https://grafbase.com/pricing))

## Which should you choose?

Pick Apollo GraphOS if A federated graph whose traffic is spiky or unknown, where a $0 plan base and $5 per million requests means the bill tracks usage instead of a tier — and where metering subscription update events separately is a feature rather than a surprise.

Pick Grafbase if Running the whole platform yourself. The gateway is open source under what Grafbase describes as no feature gating, it is written in Rust, and the enterprise tier is explicitly fully self-hostable rather than a managed service you rent.

Consider something else: Apollo GraphOS — You want a fixed number to budget. Apollo's price moves with every query and mutation whichever runtime processes them, and subscription events are counted on top; a flat plan at a higher headline figure can cost less and is easier to forecast.

Consider something else: Grafbase — You need to know the cost before talking to anyone. Grafbase publishes the open-source edition and an Enterprise tier marked Custom pricing, with no figure between them — its 99.99% SLA, 24/7 support and Slack channel all sit behind Contact Sales.

## Documented by only one

- Uptime SLA: Grafbase: Up to 99.99%, listed on the Enterprise tier only and worded as a ceiling rather than a commitment. No figure is attached to the open-source edition, and no service-credit terms are published.
- Real-time subscriptions: Apollo GraphOS: Federated subscriptions on every tier including the free one, but metered separately: update events are counted independently of standard operations and priced per million.
- Support on entry paid plan: Grafbase: Community support on the open-source edition. Enterprise adds a dedicated customer success team, a Slack Connect channel and 24/7/365 support.
- SOC 2: Grafbase: SOC 2 Type II, stated in the pricing page footer alongside a link to a trust centre.

## Questions this comparison answers

**Entry paid plan: Apollo GraphOS or Grafbase?**

Apollo GraphOS: Developer starts at $5 per million requests, billed monthly, with a $0 plan base price and automatic volume discounts — a per-request rate rather than a plan fee, so no magnitude is recorded. New signups get $50 of usage credit and a card is required.
Grafbase: Not published. The pricing page offers the free open-source edition or an Enterprise tier marked Custom pricing with a Contact Sales button, and names no figure between the two.

**Should I choose Apollo GraphOS or Grafbase?**

Pick Apollo GraphOS if A federated graph whose traffic is spiky or unknown, where a $0 plan base and $5 per million requests means the bill tracks usage instead of a tier — and where metering subscription update events separately is a feature rather than a surprise.
Pick Grafbase if Running the whole platform yourself. The gateway is open source under what Grafbase describes as no feature gating, it is written in Rust, and the enterprise tier is explicitly fully self-hostable rather than a managed service you rent.