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APIs · head to head

GraphQL Playground vs Portkey

GraphQL Playground logo

GraphQL Playground

APIs

GraphQL IDE and documentation tool for building GraphQL APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Portkey logo

Portkey

APIs

Observe, govern, and secure every AI interaction across your enterprise

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only GraphQL Playground has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Portkey the free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where GraphQL Playground and Portkey differ
AttributeGraphQL PlaygroundPortkey
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelopen-sourceUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Electron, Self-hostedWeb
Founded2018Unknown

Identical on both: 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 GraphQL Playground

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

Only in Portkey

Nothing recorded that GraphQL Playground does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

GraphQL Playground

  • API Developmentnot Portkey
  • API Gatewaynot Portkey
  • API Testingnot Portkey
  • API Documentationnot Portkey
  • Microservicesnot Portkey

Portkey

  • Accessing 1,600+ language models through unified API gatewaynot GraphQL Playground
  • Monitoring and observing LLM behavior in production environmentsnot GraphQL Playground
  • Managing costs and setting budget limits for AI spendingnot GraphQL Playground
  • Implementing guardrails and PII redaction for secure AI interactionsnot 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

Portkey

  • The free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.

Pricing, plan by plan

GraphQL Playground

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full GraphQL IDE
    • Community support

Portkey

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Portkey review.

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 Portkey if

Nothing in the data separates Portkey from GraphQL Playground on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Portkey review

Questions people ask

Is GraphQL Playground or Portkey better?
Neither clearly leads. GraphQL Playground starts at Free and Portkey at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GraphQL Playground or Portkey?
GraphQL Playground has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for GraphQL Playground and On request for Portkey.
Does GraphQL Playground or Portkey run on more platforms?
GraphQL Playground runs on Web, Electron, Self-hosted. Portkey runs on Web.
Can I use GraphQL Playground for free?
Yes. GraphQL Playground has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Portkey starts at On request.
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 Portkey is typically brought in for.
What can GraphQL Playground do that Portkey cannot?
GraphQL Playground covers Query building, Schema introspection, Real-time testing, GraphQL servers.

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
Portkey: What happens if I exceed my Portkey plan's request limit?

Production tier ($49/month) charges $9 per additional 100,000 requests beyond the included 100,000. Enterprise customers have custom limits determined through their service agreement. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

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
Portkey: Can I self-host Portkey to avoid per-request billing?

Yes. Portkey offers an Open Source self-hosted version with unlimited requests at no cost, including universal API, routing, guardrails, and load balancing features. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

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
Portkey: How long does Portkey retain my logs and metrics?

Free Developer tier retains logs 3 days and metrics 30 days. Production tier retains logs 30 days and metrics 90 days. Enterprise tier offers custom retention periods. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source
Portkey: What compliance features are included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise tier includes SOC2 Type 2 certification, GDPR compliance, HIPAA compliance, VPC hosting, SSO, advanced guardrails, and dedicated support. Custom pricing required. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source
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