Apollo GraphOS vs WunderGraph Cosmo
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Apollo GraphOS and WunderGraph Cosmo built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose 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.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose WunderGraph Cosmo if…
Teams who would rather buy a ceiling than a meter: $499 a month covers two federated graphs and 250 million requests, with the router self-hosted and nothing counted per query.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- 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.
- WunderGraph Cosmo: You run one small graph, or you need SSO and RBAC. The free tier stops at 10 million requests a month and one graph, and both SSO and RBAC first appear on Scale at $3,499 a month — seven times the entry price.
3 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Apollo GraphOS 0
WunderGraph Cosmo 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Apollo GraphOS | WunderGraph Cosmo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| 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. | One federated graph and up to 10 million requests a month, with the self-hosted router and Discord community support. Free forever rather than a trial. |
| 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. | $499/month for Launch: two federated graphs, up to 250 million requests a month and email support. Scale is $3,499/month for five graphs and up to 1 billion requests. |
| 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. | Flat monthly plans bounded by two things at once: how many federated graphs you run, and how many requests a month they serve. Both ceilings rise together tier by tier. |
| Observability | ||
| 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.
- WunderGraph Cosmo
- One federated graph and up to 10 million requests a month, with the self-hosted router and Discord community support. Free forever rather than a trial.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Apollo Pricing and Plans ↗
“Self-hosted GraphOS Router (limited to 60 requests per minute) Built-in support for GraphQL Federation, Connectors, Response Caching, Federated Subscriptions, and more. [...] Developers Up to 3 Data retention for checks and insights 1 day Support Community Support”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- WunderGraph Cosmo Pricing ↗
“Free forever Self-Hosted Router 1 Federated Graph Up to 10M Requests per month Discord Community Support Sign up for free Launch”
Read 2026-09-15 · official 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.
- WunderGraph Cosmo
- $499/month for Launch: two federated graphs, up to 250 million requests a month and email support. Scale is $3,499/month for five graphs and up to 1 billion requests.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Apollo Pricing and Plans ↗
“Developer For small teams operating a production GraphQL API. Starting at $5 per million requests Billed monthly. Automatic volume discounts as your usage scales. Start for free $50 in usage credit when you sign up Credit card required.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- WunderGraph Cosmo Pricing ↗
“Launch Get started with your team. $499 / month Need a custom plan? Self-Hosted Router 2 Federated Graphs Up to 250M Requests per month Email Support”
Read 2026-09-15 · official 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.
- WunderGraph Cosmo
- Flat monthly plans bounded by two things at once: how many federated graphs you run, and how many requests a month they serve. Both ceilings rise together tier by tier.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Apollo Pricing and Plans ↗
“Plan base price $0 Standard GraphQL requests All Query and Mutation GraphQL operations are counted as standard operations, whether they are processed through GraphOS Router, Apollo Server, Apollo Gateway, or another runtime.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- WunderGraph Cosmo Pricing ↗
“Self-Hosted Router 2 Federated Graphs Up to 250M Requests per month Email Support Sign up for free Most Popular Scale For teams with growing needs. $3499 / month Need a custom plan? Self-Hosted Router 5 Federated Graphs Up to 1B Requests per month”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Apollo GraphOS or WunderGraph Cosmo?
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.
WunderGraph Cosmo: $499/month for Launch: two federated graphs, up to 250 million requests a month and email support. Scale is $3,499/month for five graphs and up to 1 billion requests.
Should I choose Apollo GraphOS or WunderGraph Cosmo?
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 WunderGraph Cosmo if Teams who would rather buy a ceiling than a meter: $499 a month covers two federated graphs and 250 million requests, with the router self-hosted and nothing counted per query.