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APIs · head to head

GraphQL Playground vs Penpot

GraphQL Playground logo

GraphQL Playground

APIs

GraphQL IDE and documentation tool for building GraphQL APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Penpot logo

Penpot

Developer Tools

Open source design and prototyping platform

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; Penpot smaller user base and community compared to Figma means fewer templates and resources
  • They diverge on capability: GraphQL Playground covers Query building, Penpot covers Vector editing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where GraphQL Playground and Penpot differ
AttributeGraphQL PlaygroundPenpot
Pricing modelopen-sourceUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Electron, Self-hostedWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux
CategoryAPIsDeveloper Tools
Founded20182021

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
  • Electron support

Only in Penpot

  • Vector editing
  • Interactive prototyping
  • Design systems
  • Components & libraries
  • Real-time collaboration
  • SVG support
  • CSS Grid & Flexbox
  • Code export

Both cover

  • Web support
  • Self-hosted support

What people use each for

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

GraphQL Playground

  • API Developmentnot Penpot
  • API Gatewaynot Penpot
  • API Testingnot Penpot
  • API Documentationnot Penpot
  • Microservicesnot Penpot

Penpot

  • UI/UX designnot GraphQL Playground
  • Prototypingnot GraphQL Playground
  • Design systemsnot GraphQL Playground
  • Developer handoffnot GraphQL Playground
  • Open source projectsnot 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

Penpot

  • Smaller user base and community compared to Figma means fewer templates and resources
  • Self-hosting requires Linux server and Docker knowledge for technical setup
  • Real-time collaboration features may have performance issues with very large design files

Pricing, plan by plan

GraphQL Playground

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full GraphQL IDE
    • Community support

Penpot

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Cloud-based design
    • Real-time collaboration
    • Components and variants
  • Unlimited$7/month
    • All free features
    • Priority support
    • Advanced cloud features
  • Enterprise$950/month
    • Custom enterprise features
    • Dedicated support
    • Advanced security

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 Penpot if

  • You need vector editing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want interactive prototyping.
Penpot review

Questions people ask

Is GraphQL Playground or Penpot better?
Neither clearly leads. GraphQL Playground starts at Free and Penpot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GraphQL Playground or Penpot?
GraphQL Playground starts at Free and Penpot at Free.
Does GraphQL Playground or Penpot run on more platforms?
GraphQL Playground runs on Web, Electron, Self-hosted. Penpot runs on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux.
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 Penpot is typically brought in for.
What can GraphQL Playground do that Penpot cannot?
GraphQL Playground covers Query building, Schema introspection, Real-time testing, GraphQL servers. Penpot covers Vector editing, Interactive prototyping, Design systems, Components & libraries. Both handle Web support, Self-hosted support.

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
Penpot: Is Penpot really free?

Yes. Penpot is completely free with no feature gates. The open-source version can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure for zero cost beyond server expenses.

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
Penpot: Can I self-host Penpot?

Yes. Penpot can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure with no licensing costs. Organizations with specific privacy or governance needs can run Penpot on their own servers.

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
Penpot: What are the paid plans if I use Penpot cloud?

Penpot's cloud service offers a free tier, Unlimited plan at $7 per user per month for professionals and medium teams, and Enterprise starting at $950 per month for larger organizations.

Source
Penpot: What platforms does Penpot support?

Penpot runs in the browser, so it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and any OS with a web browser. No platform-specific downloads required.

Source
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