API Management · head to head
Apollo GraphQL vs Pusher

Apollo GraphQL
API Management
GraphQL platform and API orchestration layer for building unified graphs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -

Pusher
API Management
Realtime messaging API for building live features into apps
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Apollo GraphQL pricing beyond the Developer tier requires contacting sales, making cost comparison harder for mid-size teams.; Pusher the free Sandbox plan is capped at 100 concurrent connections, which is quickly outgrown by production apps.
- They diverge on capability: Apollo GraphQL covers Apollo Connectors, Pusher covers Pub/sub channels.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Apollo GraphQL and Pusher actually diverge.
| Attribute | Apollo GraphQL | Pusher |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | web, api | web, ios, android, api |
| Category | Unknown | API Management |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Pusher
- Pub/sub channels
- Presence channels
- Client libraries
- Webhooks
- 24/7 monitoring
- Priority support
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 Pusher
- Wrapping legacy REST APIs for frontend consumptionnot Pusher
- Enterprise API governance with schema checks and audit logsnot Pusher
- Reducing frontend over-fetching and under-fetching of datanot Pusher
Pusher
- Adding live chat to a web or mobile appnot Apollo GraphQL
- Showing realtime presence of online usersnot Apollo GraphQL
- Pushing live notifications or dashboard updatesnot Apollo GraphQL
- Building collaborative features without managing WebSocket serversnot 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.
Pusher
- The free Sandbox plan is capped at 100 concurrent connections, which is quickly outgrown by production apps.
- Pricing jumps sharply between tiers (e.g. $49 to $99 to $299), leaving few options for teams with moderate but growing usage.
- Priority support with faster response times costs an additional $3,000/month on top of plan pricing.
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
Pusher
Free- SandboxFree
- 200k messages/day
- 100 concurrent connections
- Standard support
- Startup$49/month
- 1M messages/day
- 500 concurrent connections
- Pro$99/month
- 4M messages/day
- 2,000 concurrent connections
- Business$299/month
- 10M messages/day
- 5,000 concurrent connections
- Premium support
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.
Choose Pusher if
- You need pub/sub channels.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, ios, android, api.
- You also want presence channels.
Questions people ask
- Is Apollo GraphQL or Pusher better?
- Neither clearly leads. Apollo GraphQL starts at Free and Pusher at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Apollo GraphQL or Pusher?
- Apollo GraphQL starts at Free and Pusher at Free.
- Does Apollo GraphQL or Pusher run on more platforms?
- Apollo GraphQL runs on web, api. Pusher runs on web, ios, android, api.
- Can I use Apollo GraphQL for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- 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 Pusher is typically brought in for.
- What can Apollo GraphQL do that Pusher cannot?
- Apollo GraphQL covers Apollo Connectors, GraphOS Router, Schema registry, Schema checks. Pusher covers Pub/sub channels, Presence channels, Client libraries, Webhooks.
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.
SourcePusher: What does Pusher cost?
Pusher Channels offers a free Sandbox plan (200k messages/day, 100 connections) and paid plans starting at $49/month for Startup, scaling up through Pro, Business, and several higher tiers up to $1,199/month, plus custom Enterprise pricing.
SourceApollo 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.
SourcePusher: Can I change or cancel my plan?
Yes, customers can log into the dashboard and adjust their plan at any time, including upgrading, downgrading, or cancelling.
SourceApollo 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.
SourcePusher: How is usage metered?
Usage is measured by concurrent connections and messages per day; a message counts both the publish and each delivery, so publishing one message to 50 subscribers counts as 51 messages.
SourceRelated pages
More on Apollo GraphQL
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