Chromatic vs Apollo GraphQL Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Chromatic | Apollo GraphQL | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $179/mo | $5/mo |
| Number of plans | 4 | 4 |
| Free plan | ||
| Free trial | — | — |
| Pricing model | usage-based | usage-based |
Free
- Test on Chrome
- Unlimited projects & users
- Unlimited collaborators
- Git and CI integrations
- UI version tracking
Starter
- Extra billed snapshots $0.008
- Test on Safari, Firefox, Edge
Pro
- Custom domain
Enterprise
- Unlimited accessibility usage
- SSO & custom Git integrations
- Priority support & SLA
- Data retention
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
Chromatic vs Apollo GraphQL FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- Apollo GraphQL is the cheaper option, starting at $5/mo vs $179/mo for Chromatic.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
- How do they charge?
- Both use a usage-based model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Chromatic: At $179-399/mo before Enterprise, Chromatic sits mid-to-premium for a specialized visual testing tool — it's not competing on price against generic QA platforms, it's justifying the spend to teams already sold on Storybook-driven workflows. They're chasing teams that have outgrown manual visual QA and need automated snapshot testing wired into their CI, not budget-conscious shoppers comparing every testing tool on cost. 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.
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