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APIs · head to head

GraphQL Playground vs Logto

GraphQL Playground logo

GraphQL Playground

APIs

GraphQL IDE and documentation tool for building GraphQL APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Logto logo

Logto

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity and authentication infrastructure for apps and APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: GraphQL Playground apollo's own documentation states GraphQL Playground is officially retired and no longer recommended, directing users to Apollo Sandbox instead; Logto advanced features like RBAC, organizations, MFA, and enterprise SSO are billed as separate paid add-ons rather than included in Pro.
  • They diverge on capability: GraphQL Playground covers Query building, Logto covers Prebuilt sign-in UI.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GraphQL Playground and Logto actually diverge.

Attributes where GraphQL Playground and Logto differ
AttributeGraphQL PlaygroundLogto
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsWeb, Electron, Self-hostedweb, api
CategoryAPIsCybersecurity
Founded2018Unknown

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 GraphQL Playground

  • Query building
  • Schema introspection
  • Real-time testing
  • GraphQL servers
  • Apollo Studio
  • Custom servers
  • Web support
  • Electron support

Only in Logto

  • Prebuilt sign-in UI
  • Social connectors
  • Role-based access control
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Machine-to-machine apps
  • Audit logs

What people use each for

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

GraphQL Playground

  • API Developmentnot Logto
  • API Gatewaynot Logto
  • API Testingnot Logto
  • API Documentationnot Logto
  • Microservicesnot Logto

Logto

  • Adding sign-in to a new SaaS productnot GraphQL Playground
  • Implementing SSO for B2B customersnot GraphQL Playground
  • Securing internal APIs with M2M tokensnot GraphQL Playground
  • Adding RBAC and organizations to a multi-tenant appnot GraphQL Playground

Where each one falls short

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

GraphQL Playground

  • Apollo's own documentation states GraphQL Playground is officially retired and no longer recommended, directing users to Apollo Sandbox instead

Logto

  • Advanced features like RBAC, organizations, MFA, and enterprise SSO are billed as separate paid add-ons rather than included in Pro.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published and requires contacting sales.
  • Token-based billing can make cost forecasting harder than flat per-MAU pricing for high-traffic apps.

Pricing, plan by plan

GraphQL Playground

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full GraphQL IDE
    • Community support

Logto

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 50,000 MAU
    • 50K tokens included
    • 3 applications
  • Pro$24/month
    • Unlimited MAU and applications
    • 3 included API resources
    • Passkey sign-in

Which should you pick?

Choose GraphQL Playground if

  • You need query building.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Electron, Self-hosted.
  • You also want schema introspection.
GraphQL Playground review

Choose Logto if

  • You need prebuilt sign-in ui.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want social connectors.
Logto review

Questions people ask

Is GraphQL Playground or Logto better?
Neither clearly leads. GraphQL Playground starts at Free and Logto at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GraphQL Playground or Logto?
GraphQL Playground starts at Free and Logto at Free.
Does GraphQL Playground or Logto run on more platforms?
GraphQL Playground runs on Web, Electron, Self-hosted. Logto runs on web, api.
Can I use GraphQL Playground for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is GraphQL Playground best used for?
GraphQL Playground is most often used for api development, api gateway, api testing, api documentation. Of those, api development and api gateway are not what Logto is typically brought in for.
What can GraphQL Playground do that Logto cannot?
GraphQL Playground covers Query building, Schema introspection, Real-time testing, GraphQL servers. Logto covers Prebuilt sign-in UI, Social connectors, Role-based access control, Multi-factor authentication.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GraphQL Playground: Is GraphQL Playground free to use?

GraphQL Playground is a testing tool for Apollo Server and is free to use as part of the Apollo Server documentation. However, the broader Apollo GraphQL platform has various paid tiers available for production use.

Source
Logto: What does Logto cost?

Logto offers a Free plan at $0/month, a Pro plan starting at $24/month with 50K free tokens included, and a custom-priced Enterprise plan. Extra add-ons like RBAC or MFA are billed separately on Pro.

Source
GraphQL Playground: Is GraphQL Playground part of a paid product?

GraphQL Playground is a testing tool within the Apollo ecosystem. While Playground itself is free, Apollo offers paid tiers starting at $5 per million requests for the Developer tier, with Standard and Enterprise plans available at custom pricing.

Source
Logto: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes. The Free plan supports up to 50,000 monthly active users, 3 total applications, 1 machine-to-machine app, 3 social connectors, 1 webhook, and 3-day audit log retention.

Source
GraphQL Playground: What is the cost structure for Apollo GraphQL's paid plans?

Apollo uses volume-based tiered pricing for requests: first 250M operations cost $5.00 per million plus $2.00 for performance add-on; next 750M operations are $4.25 per million plus $1.50 add-on; additional tiers scale down to $3.00 per million plus $0.50 add-on for operations over 5 billion.

Source
Logto: How is usage metered?

Logto uses token-based billing: only access tokens issued for authentication and authorization activity are counted, rather than charging purely per MAU.

Source
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