API Management · head to head
Apollo GraphQL vs Stoplight

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

Stoplight
API Management
API design, documentation, and governance platform
- 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.; Stoplight the free plan allows one project and one user
- They diverge on capability: Apollo GraphQL covers Apollo Connectors, Stoplight covers API Design.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Apollo GraphQL and Stoplight actually diverge.
| Attribute | Apollo GraphQL | Stoplight |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | web, api | Web, Cloud |
| Founded | Unknown | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (API Management).
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 Stoplight
- API Design
- API Documentation
- Governance
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Jenkins
- Azure DevOps
- Web 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 Stoplight
- Wrapping legacy REST APIs for frontend consumptionnot Stoplight
- Enterprise API governance with schema checks and audit logsnot Stoplight
- Reducing frontend over-fetching and under-fetching of datanot Stoplight
Stoplight
- Designing and documenting OpenAPI specifications visuallynot Apollo GraphQL
- Serving interactive API docs and instant mock servers from a specnot 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.
Stoplight
- The free plan allows one project and one user
- Private projects, multi branch support and custom domains start at the Startup plan, $113 a month billed annually
- SSO and shared style guides are Pro Team only, at $362 a month billed annually
- Seats beyond each plan's allowance are $11 to $27 each per month depending on tier and billing period
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
Stoplight
Free- FreeFree
- API design
- Documentation
- Community support
- Pro$75/monthly
- Governance
- Advanced testing
- Team collaboration
- Enterprise$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- SLA
- Priority 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 Stoplight if
- You need api design.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Cloud.
- You also want api documentation.
Questions people ask
- Is Apollo GraphQL or Stoplight better?
- Neither clearly leads. Apollo GraphQL starts at Free and Stoplight at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Apollo GraphQL or Stoplight?
- Apollo GraphQL starts at Free and Stoplight at Free.
- Does Apollo GraphQL or Stoplight run on more platforms?
- Apollo GraphQL runs on web, api. Stoplight runs on Web, Cloud.
- 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 Stoplight is typically brought in for.
- What can Apollo GraphQL do that Stoplight cannot?
- Apollo GraphQL covers Apollo Connectors, GraphOS Router, Schema registry, Schema checks. Stoplight covers API Design, API Documentation, Governance, GitHub.
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.
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.
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.
SourceRelated pages
More on Apollo GraphQL
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- Stoplight vs Hasura
- Stoplight vs PocketBase
- Stoplight vs Sanity
- Stoplight vs Apigee
- Stoplight vs Ably
- Stoplight vs Pusher
- Stoplight vs Kong Gateway
- Stoplight vs PubNub
- Stoplight vs Treblle
- Stoplight vs Bruno
- Stoplight vs KeystoneJS
- Stoplight vs Moesif
- Stoplight vs Parse Server
- Stoplight vs Stainless
- Stoplight vs Strapi
- Stoplight vs Swagger/OpenAPI
