Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Graphcool VS Apollo Engine

Compare Graphcool VS Apollo Engine and see what are their differences

Graphcool logo Graphcool

The GraphQL backend for mobile & web developers to build better apps faster ⚡️

Apollo Engine logo Apollo Engine

Unlock the full power of GraphQL
  • Graphcool Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-16
  • Apollo Engine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-25

Graphcool features and specs

  • Rapid Development
    Graphcool offers a serverless GraphQL backend which allows developers to quickly set up and deploy applications without worrying about infrastructure management.
  • Scalability
    Because it's serverless, Graphcool can easily scale to handle increased load, providing reliable performance even as your application grows.
  • Real-time Capabilities
    Graphcool provides real-time GraphQL subscriptions that allow developers to easily implement features that require real-time data updates.
  • Automated Backups
    Advanced backup features are offered, ensuring that your data is safe and can be restored when needed, enhancing data security and reliability.

Possible disadvantages of Graphcool

  • Vendor Lock-in
    Relying heavily on Graphcool may lead to vendor lock-in, restricting flexibility if you wish to migrate to another platform in the future.
  • Limited Customization
    Being a managed service, there might be limitations on customizing the backend to suit very specific use cases which aren't supported out-of-the-box.
  • Learning Curve
    While there are benefits, new users might face a learning curve to fully utilize the features of Graphcool, especially those unfamiliar with GraphQL.
  • Pricing
    As with many managed services, pricing can become a concern, especially for startups or projects with limited budgets as the service scales.

Apollo Engine features and specs

  • Performance Monitoring
    Apollo Engine provides real-time performance metrics for GraphQL queries, helping developers identify and optimize slow queries, which can significantly enhance application performance.
  • Error Tracking
    Apollo Engine offers comprehensive error tracking, allowing developers to quickly identify, diagnose, and resolve issues in their GraphQL APIs.
  • Caching
    It offers built-in caching capabilities, which can reduce the load on your servers and improve data retrieval times for clients by caching responses to frequent queries.
  • Schema Management
    Apollo Engine provides tools for managing and tracking changes to GraphQL schemas, ensuring smooth and collaborative development workflows.
  • Insights and Analytics
    Developers can access insights and analytics about query usage patterns, which helps in understanding how APIs are being used and where optimizations are needed.

Possible disadvantages of Apollo Engine

  • Cost
    While Apollo Engine offers a powerful suite of features, it may become expensive for large teams or projects, especially when advanced features are required.
  • Complexity
    Integrating Apollo Engine into an existing infrastructure can be complex, requiring a learning curve for teams unfamiliar with its components and setup procedures.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Relying heavily on Apollo's ecosystem can lead to vendor lock-in, which might restrict flexibility if you want to switch to different solutions in the future.
  • Overhead
    Although useful, the additional monitoring and tracking capabilities can introduce overhead to your application, which may not be suitable for all environments.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Storing and analyzing query data with Apollo Engine could raise privacy concerns, especially for applications dealing with sensitive data.

Graphcool videos

Review: Graphcool - GraphQL backend as a service

More videos:

  • Demo - Graphcool Framework Demo (GraphQL Backend Framework)
  • Review - #5 Intro To GraphCool UI & GraphQL - Level 2 React Native with GraphQL

Apollo Engine videos

I Asked An Actual Apollo Engineer to Explain the Saturn 5 Rocket - Smarter Every Day 280

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Graphcool and Apollo Engine)
Developer Tools
62 62%
38% 38
APIs
29 29%
71% 71
Realtime Backend / API
100 100%
0% 0
GraphQL
41 41%
59% 59

User comments

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Graphcool and Apollo Engine, you can also consider the following products

Prisma - Art filters using artificial intelligence to transform your photos into classic artwork.

GraphQL Hive - Open Source GraphQL Federation Platform

How to GraphQL - Open-source tutorial website to learn GraphQL development

Hasura - Hasura is an open platform to build scalable app backends, offering a built-in database, search, user-management and more.

Firebase - Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications for mobile and web.

Grafbase - Unify the data layer with GraphQL