Softwr

APIs · head to head

GraphQL Playground vs Strapi

GraphQL Playground logo

GraphQL Playground

APIs

GraphQL IDE and documentation tool for building GraphQL APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Strapi logo

Strapi

APIs

Headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs

From
$35/month
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; Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
  • They diverge on capability: GraphQL Playground covers Query building, Strapi covers REST API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where GraphQL Playground and Strapi differ
AttributeGraphQL PlaygroundStrapi
Starting priceFree$35/month
Pricing modelopen-sourcesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Electron, Self-hostedNode.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker
Founded20182015

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 Strapi

  • REST API
  • GraphQL API
  • Content management
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • AWS
  • Webhooks

Both cover

  • Self-hosted support

What people use each for

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

GraphQL Playground

  • API Developmentnot Strapi
  • API Gatewaynot Strapi
  • API Testingnot Strapi
  • API Documentationnot Strapi
  • Microservicesnot Strapi

Strapi

  • Running a self hosted headless CMS with a REST or GraphQL APInot GraphQL Playground
  • Giving editors a content admin panel over a custom content modelnot 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

Strapi

  • Cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
  • Starter at $35 a month allows 100,000 API requests, and overage is $1.50 per 25,000
  • Extra bandwidth is $30 per 100 GB and extra asset storage $0.60 per GB
  • Backups start at the Pro plan, weekly, and only become daily at Business
  • An uptime SLA is Business only, at $450 a month per project
  • Additional environments cost $60 a month on Pro and $300 a month on Business

Pricing, plan by plan

GraphQL Playground

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full GraphQL IDE
    • Community support

Strapi

$35/month
  • Starter$35/month
    • 100k API requests
    • 50 GB asset storage
    • 50 GB asset bandwidth
  • Pro$90/month
    • 1M API requests
    • 250 GB asset storage
    • 500 GB asset bandwidth
  • Business$450/month
    • 10M API requests
    • 1000 GB asset storage
    • 1000 GB asset bandwidth

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 Strapi if

  • You need rest api.
  • You work on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want graphql api.
Strapi review

Questions people ask

Is GraphQL Playground or Strapi better?
Neither clearly leads. GraphQL Playground starts at Free and Strapi at $35/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GraphQL Playground or Strapi?
GraphQL Playground has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for GraphQL Playground and $35/month for Strapi.
Does GraphQL Playground or Strapi run on more platforms?
GraphQL Playground runs on Web, Electron, Self-hosted. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use GraphQL Playground for free?
Yes. GraphQL Playground has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Strapi starts at $35/month.
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 Strapi is typically brought in for.
What can GraphQL Playground do that Strapi cannot?
GraphQL Playground covers Query building, Schema introspection, Real-time testing, GraphQL servers. Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL. Both handle 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
Strapi: How much do API request overages cost?

Additional API requests beyond the plan limit cost $1.50 per 25000 requests. Extra asset storage costs $0.60 per GB, and additional bandwidth costs $30 per 100 GB.

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
Strapi: Is yearly billing available?

Yes, yearly billing saves up to 17% compared to monthly billing on Strapi Cloud plans.

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
Strapi: What is included with the Pro plan?

The Pro plan costs $90 per month per project and includes 1M API requests, 250 GB asset storage, 500 GB bandwidth, multi-environment support, weekly backups, and manual backups.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on GraphQL Playground

More on Strapi

Keep looking

Other head to heads