Documentation · head to head
BookStack vs GraphQL Apollo
BookStack
Documentation
Self-hosted documentation wiki with a fixed shelf, book, chapter and page structure
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: BookStack there is no vendor-hosted option at all, so you own the server, TLS certificates, database backups and upgrades, or you pay a third-party host that has no support relationship with the project and no ability to fix a bug.; GraphQL Apollo standard and Enterprise plans require sales contact for custom pricing
- They diverge on capability: BookStack covers Shelves, books, chapters, pages, GraphQL Apollo covers Apollo Server.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which BookStack and GraphQL Apollo actually diverge.
| Attribute | BookStack | GraphQL Apollo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Open source, no licence fee | freemium |
| Platforms | Web, Self-hosted, Docker | JavaScript, Node.js, Web, Mobile |
| Category | Documentation | APIs |
| Founded | Unknown | 2016 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 BookStack
- Shelves, books, chapters, pages
- Dual editors
- Granular permissions
- Full text search
- Page revisions
- REST API
- External authentication
- Export
Only in GraphQL Apollo
- Apollo Server
- Apollo Client
- GraphQL Federation
- REST APIs
- Microservices
- Databases
- JavaScript support
- Node.js support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
BookStack
- Running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external SaaSnot GraphQL Apollo
- Documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki producesnot GraphQL Apollo
- Replacing a Confluence licence for a team that needs pages, permissions and search but none of the surrounding suitenot GraphQL Apollo
- Publishing customer-facing manuals from the same instance as internal documentation using per-book permissionsnot GraphQL Apollo
GraphQL Apollo
- GraphQL API managementnot BookStack
- Schema federationnot BookStack
- API analytics and monitoringnot BookStack
- Developer-focused infrastructurenot BookStack
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
BookStack
- There is no vendor-hosted option at all, so you own the server, TLS certificates, database backups and upgrades, or you pay a third-party host that has no support relationship with the project and no ability to fix a bug.
- The shelf, book, chapter, page hierarchy is fixed at four levels and cannot be reshaped, so migrating a deeply nested Confluence or MediaWiki space means flattening content by hand and losing the original structure.
- It requires PHP and MySQL or MariaDB, which is a stack many engineering teams no longer run, so adopting it usually means introducing a database and runtime nobody else in the organisation maintains.
- Development is concentrated on a single maintainer, which makes the bus factor a legitimate procurement question for anything the organisation intends to depend on for a decade.
- Content lives in the database rather than in files under version control, so there is no docs-as-code workflow, no review by pull request and no branch per release.
- Export is per page, chapter or book, so moving a large instance to another platform means writing a script against the REST API rather than copying a directory of Markdown.
GraphQL Apollo
- Standard and Enterprise plans require sales contact for custom pricing
- Free plan limited to 3 developers and 1-day retention
- Self-hosted router on free tier heavily rate-limited to 60 requests/minute
Pricing, plan by plan
BookStack
Free- BookStackFree
- MIT licence with no paid edition
- All features included, no seat limits
- Self-hosted on your own infrastructure
GraphQL Apollo
Free- FreeFree
- 3 developers
- 1-day data retention
- Community support only
- Developer$5/per million requests
- $50 usage credit for new signups
- Up to 10 developers
- 7-day data retention
- Standard$null/custom
- Up to 30 developers
- 90-day data retention
- Standard support with SLA (8x5)
- Enterprise$null/custom
- Unlimited developers
- 18-month data retention
- Business support 24x7x365 with SLA
Which should you pick?
Choose BookStack if
- You need shelves, books, chapters, pages.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Self-hosted, Docker.
- You also want dual editors.
Choose GraphQL Apollo if
- You need apollo server.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on JavaScript, Node.js, Web, Mobile.
- You also want apollo client.
Questions people ask
- Is BookStack or GraphQL Apollo better?
- Neither clearly leads. BookStack starts at Free and GraphQL Apollo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, BookStack or GraphQL Apollo?
- BookStack starts at Free and GraphQL Apollo at Free.
- Does BookStack or GraphQL Apollo run on more platforms?
- BookStack runs on Web, Self-hosted, Docker. GraphQL Apollo runs on JavaScript, Node.js, Web, Mobile.
- Can I use BookStack for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is BookStack best used for?
- BookStack is most often used for running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external saas, documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki produces, replacing a confluence licence for a team that needs pages, permissions and search but none of the surrounding suite, publishing customer-facing manuals from the same instance as internal documentation using per-book permissions. Of those, running an internal knowledge base on infrastructure inside a network that cannot reach external saas and documenting procedures and runbooks where a fixed structure prevents the tree sprawl a free-form wiki produces are not what GraphQL Apollo is typically brought in for.
- What can BookStack do that GraphQL Apollo cannot?
- BookStack covers Shelves, books, chapters, pages, Dual editors, Granular permissions, Full text search. GraphQL Apollo covers Apollo Server, Apollo Client, GraphQL Federation, REST APIs.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
BookStack: Is there a paid or hosted version?
No. BookStack is MIT-licensed with no commercial edition and no official hosted service. Third-party hosts exist but are unaffiliated with the project.
GraphQL Apollo: How much does Apollo GraphQL cost?
Apollo GraphQL is free for up to 3 developers. Paid plans start at $5 per million GraphQL requests on the Developer plan, which includes $50 usage credit for new signups. Standard and Enterprise plans require custom pricing via sales contact.
SourceBookStack: Can I nest pages more deeply?
No. Four levels is the design, not a limitation waiting to be fixed, and content that needs deeper nesting has to be restructured.
GraphQL Apollo: Is there a free version of Apollo GraphQL?
Yes, Apollo GraphQL offers a forever-free plan with no credit card required for up to 3 developers, including 1-day data retention, community support, and self-hosted GraphOS Router rate-limited to 60 requests per minute.
SourceBookStack: Does it support single sign-on?
Yes, through LDAP, SAML2 or OpenID Connect, with group to role mapping, and none of it is gated behind a paid tier because there is no paid tier.
GraphQL Apollo: What does Apollo's Enterprise plan include that Standard does not?
The Enterprise plan offers unlimited developers versus 30 on Standard, 18-month data retention versus 90 days, and 24x7x365 business support with SLA instead of 8x5 support. It also includes premium and professional services add-ons and custom MSA agreements. Both require custom pricing.
SourceBookStack: How hard is it to migrate content in?
Straightforward for flat content through the REST API, awkward for deeply nested wikis, because the structure has to be collapsed to fit.
Related pages
More on GraphQL Apollo
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