Softwr

APIs · head to head

Apollo GraphQL vs Trustly

Apollo GraphQL logo

Apollo GraphQL

APIs

GraphQL platform and API orchestration layer for building unified graphs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Trustly logo

Trustly

APIs

Pay-by-bank payments network, majority-owned by private equity firm Nordic Capital

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.; Trustly it is majority-owned by Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, so its long-term roadmap is ultimately oriented toward an eventual sale or IPO rather than indefinite independent operation.
  • They diverge on capability: Apollo GraphQL covers Apollo Connectors, Trustly covers Pay by bank checkout.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Apollo GraphQL and Trustly differ
AttributeApollo GraphQLTrustly
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (web, api), 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 Trustly

  • Pay by bank checkout
  • Instant refunds
  • Verified payouts
  • Multi-market bank connectivity
  • Merchant dashboard and reconciliation
  • Fraud and risk tooling

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 Trustly
  • Wrapping legacy REST APIs for frontend consumptionnot Trustly
  • Enterprise API governance with schema checks and audit logsnot Trustly
  • Reducing frontend over-fetching and under-fetching of datanot Trustly

Trustly

  • An e-commerce merchant wanting a lower-cost alternative or complement to card payment acceptancenot Apollo GraphQL
  • A gaming or gambling operator needing verified, instant payouts to players' bank accountsnot Apollo GraphQL
  • A merchant wanting instant refunds processed directly to a customer's bank account rather than card reversal delaysnot Apollo GraphQL
  • A business in a market with strong open banking adoption wanting pay-by-bank as a checkout optionnot 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.

Trustly

  • It is majority-owned by Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, so its long-term roadmap is ultimately oriented toward an eventual sale or IPO rather than indefinite independent operation.
  • Consumer familiarity with paying by bank transfer still lags card payments in most markets, so merchants typically see it used as a secondary option rather than a full card replacement.
  • The 1.15 to 3.15% merchant fee range is not a single published rate, so a merchant cannot know its actual cost without a sales negotiation.
  • As with all open banking-dependent payment methods, reliability depends on the consistency of the underlying banks' own APIs, which Trustly does not control.
  • Its verified payout functionality is heavily used in gaming and gambling, a sector with additional regulatory scrutiny, which is worth factoring in when evaluating vendor risk exposure by association.

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

Trustly

On request
  • Trustly$undefined/month
    • Typical merchant cost of 1.15% to 3.15% depending on volume and market
    • Exact rate negotiated per merchant, not published as a flat card

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 Trustly if

  • You need pay by bank checkout.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want instant refunds.
Trustly review

Questions people ask

Is Apollo GraphQL or Trustly better?
Neither clearly leads. Apollo GraphQL starts at Free and Trustly at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Apollo GraphQL or Trustly?
Apollo GraphQL has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Apollo GraphQL and On request for Trustly.
Does Apollo GraphQL or Trustly run on more platforms?
Apollo GraphQL runs on web, api. Trustly runs on Web, API.
Can I use Apollo GraphQL for free?
Yes. Apollo GraphQL has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Trustly 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 Trustly is typically brought in for.
What can Apollo GraphQL do that Trustly cannot?
Apollo GraphQL covers Apollo Connectors, GraphOS Router, Schema registry, Schema checks. Trustly covers Pay by bank checkout, Instant refunds, Verified payouts, Multi-market bank connectivity.

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
Trustly: Who owns Trustly?

Nordic Capital, a private equity firm, holds a 51.1% majority stake; Alfven & Didrikson and BlackRock hold smaller stakes.

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
Trustly: Is Trustly going public?

It has discussed an IPO but as of its most recent comments said one remained at least a year away.

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
Trustly: What does it typically cost a merchant?

Roughly 1.15% to 3.15% of transaction value depending on volume and market, negotiated per merchant.

Share

Related pages

More on Apollo GraphQL

More on Trustly

Keep looking

Other head to heads