Apollo GraphQL vs Meilisearch Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Apollo GraphQL | Meilisearch | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $5/mo | $20/mo |
| Number of plans | 4 | 2 |
| Free plan | — | |
| Free trial | — | |
| Pricing model | usage-based | hybrid |
Free
- GraphOS - Apollo's complete API management platform
- Supports any GraphQL API
- Self-hosted GraphOS Router (limited to 60 requests per minute)
- Built-in support for GraphQL Federation, Connectors, Response Caching, Federated Subscriptions, and more.
Developer
- GraphOS - Apollo's complete API management platform
- Supports any GraphQL API
- Self-hosted GraphOS Router
- Built-in support for GraphQL Federation, Connectors, Response Caching, Federated Subscriptions, and more.
Standard
- GraphOS - Apollo's complete API management platform
- Supports any GraphQL API
- Self-hosted GraphOS Router
- Built-in support for GraphQL Federation, Connectors, Response Caching, Federated Subscriptions, and more.
- Schema Proposals - Collaboration and approval workflows
- Single sign-on (SSO)
Enterprise
- GraphOS - Apollo's complete API management platform
- Supports any GraphQL API
- Self-hosted GraphOS Router
- Built-in support for GraphQL Federation, Connectors, Response Caching, Federated Subscriptions, and more.
- Schema Proposals - Collaboration and approval workflows
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Audit logging
- Custom MSA
- (Add-on) Premium Support Packages
- (Add-on) Professional Services Packages
Cloud
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required
- Usage-based or resource-based billing
- Fully managed Cloud infrastructure
- Scale seamlessly from prototype to production
- Email support included
Enterprise
- Custom infra and dedicated resources
- Up to 99.999% uptime SLA
- Dedicated Slack support channel
- SSO SAML and SOC 2 compliance
- Enterprise-grade compliance
- Analytics, merchandising, personalization, chat
Apollo GraphQL vs Meilisearch FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Apollo GraphQL starts lower at $5/mo, compared to $20/mo for Meilisearch.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Apollo GraphQL has a free plan. Meilisearch doesn't — though they do offer a free trial.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Apollo GraphQL uses usage-based pricing, while Meilisearch goes with hybrid. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Apollo GraphQL: They're positioned as the accessible entry point into GraphQL federation tooling — $5/mo to start is nearly frictionless compared to enterprise API management suites that require sales calls from day one. The custom-priced tiers exist to compete for platform-level deals against players like Postman or enterprise API gateways once volume and compliance needs escalate. Meilisearch: Sitting comfortably in the mid-tier against Algolia's steeper enterprise-first pricing and open-source alternatives like Elasticsearch that require heavy DevOps investment. Meilisearch is chasing developers who want Algolia-level relevance without the sticker shock, plus teams willing to self-host if they want to skip Cloud entirely.
Still deciding? See the best Apollo GraphQL alternatives or the best Meilisearch alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
Keep tabs on both.
We'll monitor pricing changes for Apollo GraphQL and Meilisearch and let you know when something moves. See how competitor pricing monitoring works.