Best GraphQL Tools in 2026
Updated
GraphQL development can involve everything from inspecting APIs to generating clients and managing schemas. Compare API explorer, client code generation, and operation testing to identify tools suited to your workflow; schema registry support, deployment model, and server languages add further distinctions. Free-plan availability and paid-from pricing offer cost context. Apollo Client, Apollo Studio, and GraphQL Hive are among the options to consider. Think about whether your work centers on client development, server implementation, or schema oversight, then weigh the listed capabilities against the languages and deployment approach already used by your team.
GraphQL Tools, one module each.A lit port is something its maker publishes; 19 of 19 with a known API signal have a public API.
- 01 Apollo Client API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4$5/mo
- 02 Apollo Studio API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4$5/mo
- 03 GraphQL Hive API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4$20/mo
- 04 Hot Chocolate API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 05 Lighthouse API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 06 PostGraphile API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4$25/mo
- 07 WunderGraph Cosmo API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4$499/mo
- 08 Ariadne API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 09 GraphQL Kotlin API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 10 GraphQL Ruby API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3$91.67/mo
- 11 GraphQL.js API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 12 Hasura API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 13 Netflix DGS API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 14 Strawberry GraphQL API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.3Free
- 15 GraphQL Java API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.2Free
- 16 Amazon AppSync API yesDOCS 6.9$1/mo
- 17 Sangria API yesDOCS 6.9
- 18 urql API yesDOCS 6.9
- 19 Mercurius API yesDOCS 6.8
- 20 Altair GraphQL Client FREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 21 GraphiQL FREE yesDOCS 6.0Free
- 22 Graphene FREE yesDOCS 5.9Free
- 23 gqlgen FREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 24 async-graphql DOCS 5.6
- 25 Relay DOCS 5.6
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | Schema registry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apollo Client | 7.4 | Free plan | $5/mo | Yes | hybrid | Yes | |
| 2 | Apollo Studio | 7.4 | Free plan | $5/mo | Yes | hybrid | Yes | |
| 3 | GraphQL Hive | 7.4 | Free plan | $20/mo | Yes | 20 /mo | self-hosted | No |
| 4 | Hot Chocolate | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self-hosted | ||
| 5 | Lighthouse | 7.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self-hosted | ||
| 6 | PostGraphile | 7.4 | Free plan | $25/mo | Yes | 25 /mo | self-hosted | No |
| 7 | WunderGraph Cosmo | 7.4 | Free plan | $499/mo | Yes | 499 /mo | hybrid | Yes |
| 8 | Ariadne | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted | |||
| 9 | GraphQL Kotlin | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self-hosted | ||
| 10 | GraphQL Ruby | 7.3 | Free plan | $91.67/mo | Yes | self-hosted | ||
| 11 | GraphQL.js | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self-hosted | ||
| 12 | Hasura | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | 5 /mo | hybrid | |
| 13 | Netflix DGS | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted | |||
| 14 | Strawberry GraphQL | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self-hosted | ||
| 15 | GraphQL Java | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | self-hosted | |||
| 16 | Amazon AppSync | 6.9 | $1/mo | No | cloud | |||
| 17 | Sangria | 6.9 | Yes | self-hosted | ||||
| 18 | urql | 6.9 | Yes | self-hosted | No | |||
| 19 | Mercurius | 6.8 | Yes | self-hosted | ||||
| 20 | Altair GraphQL Client | 6.0 | Free plan | Yes | ||||
| 21 | GraphiQL | 6.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | |||
| 22 | Graphene | 5.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self-hosted | ||
| 23 | gqlgen | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | |||
| 24 | async-graphql | 5.6 | self-hosted | |||||
| 25 | Relay | 5.6 | Yes |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.