Apollo GraphQL vs Strapi 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 | Strapi | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $5/mo | $35/mo |
| Number of plans | 4 | 3 |
| Free plan | — | |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Pricing model | usage-based | flat-rate |
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
Starter
- 100k API requests
- 50 GB asset storage
- 50 GB asset bandwidth
- Unlimited database entries
- Built in email provider
- Fast and global CDN
- Custom domains
- Observability
Pro
Popular- 1M API requests
- 250 GB asset storage
- 500 GB asset bandwidth
- Unlimited database entries
- Multi-environment
- Weekly backups
- Manual backups
- CRON jobs
Business
- 10M API requests
- 1,000 GB asset storage
- 1,000 GB asset bandwidth
- Unlimited database entries
- 1 extra environment included
- Daily backups
- Uptime SLA (99.9%)
Apollo GraphQL vs Strapi FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Apollo GraphQL starts lower at $5/mo, compared to $35/mo for Strapi.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Apollo GraphQL has a free plan. Strapi doesn't — you'll need to pay from day one.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Apollo GraphQL uses usage-based pricing, while Strapi goes with flat-rate. 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. Strapi: Strapi sits in the mid-range of the headless CMS market — cheaper than Contentful's team tiers but pricier than self-hosted alternatives where you absorb infra costs yourself. They're clearly targeting developer teams who want managed hosting without the enterprise price tag of Contentful or Sanity.
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