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APIs · head to head

Apollo GraphQL vs Codat

Apollo GraphQL logo

Apollo GraphQL

APIs

GraphQL platform and API orchestration layer for building unified graphs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Codat logo

Codat

APIs

One API for small business accounting, banking and commerce data

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Apollo GraphQL has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Apollo GraphQL pricing beyond the Developer tier requires contacting sales, making cost comparison harder for mid-size teams.; Codat the accounting platforms are metering developer access themselves, with Xero introducing tiered connection based developer pricing from 2 March 2026, so a cost you do not control has been inserted between you and the data and it scales with the number of customers you connect.
  • They diverge on capability: Apollo GraphQL covers Apollo Connectors, Codat covers Normalised accounting API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Apollo GraphQL and Codat actually diverge.

Attributes where Apollo GraphQL and Codat differ
AttributeApollo GraphQLCodat
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiAPI, Web

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Apollo GraphQL

  • Apollo Connectors
  • GraphOS Router
  • Schema registry
  • Schema checks
  • Response caching
  • Audit logging

Only in Codat

  • Normalised accounting API
  • Banking and commerce data
  • Lending products
  • Write-back
  • Business verification
  • Supplier onboarding
  • Connection management
  • Data quality handling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Apollo GraphQL

  • Federating multiple backend services into one GraphQL APInot Codat
  • Wrapping legacy REST APIs for frontend consumptionnot Codat
  • Enterprise API governance with schema checks and audit logsnot Codat
  • Reducing frontend over-fetching and under-fetching of datanot Codat

Codat

  • A business lender that wants live ledger data for underwriting rather than a borrower emailing exported PDF accountsnot Apollo GraphQL
  • A commercial bank monitoring covenant compliance across a portfolio of small business borrowers continuously rather than quarterlynot Apollo GraphQL
  • A payment company verifying a merchant trading history before extending working capitalnot Apollo GraphQL
  • A B2B platform writing bills and payments back into a customer accounting system so reconciliation happens automaticallynot Apollo GraphQL

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Apollo GraphQL

  • Pricing beyond the Developer tier requires contacting sales, making cost comparison harder for mid-size teams.
  • Adopting GraphOS effectively requires buy-in to the GraphQL paradigm, which is a larger architectural shift than adding a REST gateway.
  • The free plan's 1-day data retention and 60 req/min self-hosted router limit make it unsuitable for production use.
  • Volume-based per-request pricing can become expensive at very high request volumes compared to flat-rate API gateways.

Codat

  • The accounting platforms are metering developer access themselves, with Xero introducing tiered connection based developer pricing from 2 March 2026, so a cost you do not control has been inserted between you and the data and it scales with the number of customers you connect.
  • Pricing is opaque and enterprise shaped for a product developers expect to evaluate technically first, so build decisions get made before anyone knows the unit economics.
  • Normalisation hides but does not remove the underlying differences between accounting systems, and edge cases in multi-currency, journals and tax handling surface as data quality problems that your team must reason about in each source system anyway.
  • Data quality depends on the small business keeping its books properly, so a lender using ledger data for underwriting inherits the bookkeeping standard of its worst borrower and needs its own validation layer regardless.
  • Connection breakage from expired tokens and platform API changes is an ongoing operational load, and a borrower whose connection lapses stops being monitored silently, which is the failure mode that matters most in a lending portfolio.

Pricing, plan by plan

Apollo GraphQL

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 3 developers
    • 1-day data retention
    • Community support
  • Developer$5/month
    • $5 per million requests with volume discounts
    • $50 usage credit for new signups
    • Up to 10 developers
  • Standard$undefined/month
    • Up to 30 developers
    • 90-day data retention
    • Standard support with SLA
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited developers
    • 18-month data retention
    • 24x7x365 support with SLA

Codat

On request
  • Codat Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by connected companies, data types and products
    • Lending and verification products priced above core data access
    • Annual enterprise agreements

Which should you pick?

Choose Apollo GraphQL if

  • You need apollo connectors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want graphos router.
Apollo GraphQL review

Choose Codat if

  • You need normalised accounting api.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want banking and commerce data.
Codat review

Questions people ask

Is Apollo GraphQL or Codat better?
Neither clearly leads. Apollo GraphQL starts at Free and Codat at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apollo GraphQL or Codat?
Apollo GraphQL has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Apollo GraphQL and On request for Codat.
Does Apollo GraphQL or Codat run on more platforms?
Apollo GraphQL runs on web, api. Codat runs on API, Web.
Can I use Apollo GraphQL for free?
Yes. Apollo GraphQL has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Codat starts at On request.
What is Apollo GraphQL best used for?
Apollo GraphQL is most often used for federating multiple backend services into one graphql api, wrapping legacy rest apis for frontend consumption, enterprise api governance with schema checks and audit logs, reducing frontend over-fetching and under-fetching of data. Of those, federating multiple backend services into one graphql api and wrapping legacy rest apis for frontend consumption are not what Codat is typically brought in for.
What can Apollo GraphQL do that Codat cannot?
Apollo GraphQL covers Apollo Connectors, GraphOS Router, Schema registry, Schema checks. Codat covers Normalised accounting API, Banking and commerce data, Lending products, Write-back.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Apollo GraphQL: What does Apollo GraphQL cost?

The Free plan supports up to 3 developers at no cost. Developer plan starts at $5 per million requests with a $50 signup credit, while Standard and Enterprise require contacting sales for custom pricing.

Source
Codat: What is changing with Xero in 2026?

Xero is introducing a tiered, usage based developer pricing model effective 2 March 2026, with tiers based on the number of customer connections an app holds. That is a new cost in the chain for anyone reading Xero data at scale, whether directly or through Codat.

Apollo GraphQL: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?

Yes, the Free 'Forever Free' plan supports up to 3 developers, 1-day data retention for checks and insights, and a self-hosted router capped at 60 requests per minute.

Source
Codat: Can Codat write data back?

Yes. It supports pushing bills, payments and journal entries into accounting systems, not only reading from them.

Apollo GraphQL: How is usage metered on paid plans?

Standard requests are billed per million operations with tiered volume discounts, starting at $5.00/million for the first 250M and dropping to $3.00/million beyond 5B, with similar tiered pricing for subscription update events.

Source
Codat: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by connected companies, data types and products, and users consistently describe it as opaque.

Codat: Does it replace bank data aggregation?

Not entirely. It covers banking alongside accounting and commerce, but lenders commonly run it beside a bank aggregator for transaction level cash flow.

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