July 20, 2017

Apollo Optics is now free up to 1 million GraphQL requests a month

Rohit Bakhshi

Rohit Bakhshi

Update: There is a new version of Optics! Apollo Engine has everything Optics does plus error tracking, query caching, and more. Engine is free for 1 million requests a month and it’s easy to switch from Optics to Engine using our migration guide.

Since Apollo Optics launched 8 months ago, it has become an indispensable tool for thousands of GraphQL developers. Teams at companies like Product Hunt, Udacity, and Heroku are using Optics to visualize the execution of their GraphQL queries, monitor performance trends, and track how clients are consuming their API. It’s also been exciting to see developers like Tim Griesser mention Optics in their talks about GraphQL. (Thanks for the shoutout, Tim!)

But there’s been one problem with Optics: up until now, not everyone has been able to use it. Free usage was limited to 10,000 requests and the minimum paid plan was $49/month. That pricing didn’t make sense for every project. We want there to be no reason not to use Optics in your app. So, starting today, Optics is now free up to 1 million requests per month. That’s a 100x increase, meaning that even many complex production apps can use Optics for free. Our intention is to make Optics a community-driven tool that’s accessible to everyone, with any server or client and across all stages of development, and making it free under a million requests per month helps make that possible. It’s all part of Apollo’s mission: to remove any and all obstacles to industry-wide GraphQL adoption. We’re proud of Optics and we hope you’ll check it out! You can add Optics to your GraphQL app in just a few minutes. Click here to get started or join us in #optics on Apollo Slack if you have questions!

Optics Pro

It’s been incredible to watch GraphQL’s growth over the past six months. GraphQL now powers mission-critical apps across a range of industries, and Optics is often a part of that story. For example, Express.com uses Optics and GraphQL to power their entire online shopping experience. We have good news for these large customers too. We’ve heard your requests for advanced features to scale and protect your most important apps. So today, we’re also announcing Optics Pro — an add-on to Optics for businesses that are embracing GraphQL and its power to transform their product development process. Optics Pro includes:

  • 30 days of historical data retention
  • An architectural review session with a GraphQL expert
  • A private, dedicated Slack channel with Apollo engineers
  • Prioritized Optics support cases

Our goal with Optics Pro is to provide you with everything you need to operate and scale your most important apps with confidence. Extended data retention has been one of our most-requested features — it allows teams to identify and respond to performance trends that take place over multiple weeks, as well as track field usage to manage API changes over time. And with priority support, an architectural review session and a direct channel to Apollo engineers, you’ll have GraphQL experts available whenever you need them.

View field usage over a 30 day period

But these features are just the beginning. There’s more in store later this year for Optics and Pro customers. We’re committed to your team’s success by building the tools and support you need to unlock the full value of GraphQL. The Optics Pro add-on starts at $499/month and is available now. If you’re ready to take the next step with your production GraphQL usage, contact us today to enable Pro on your Optics accounts!

Written by

Rohit Bakhshi

Rohit Bakhshi

Read more by Rohit Bakhshi