PostGraphile vs Stainless

PostGraphile creates GraphQL APIs backed primarily by PostgreSQL, for applications such as SaaS backends and internal business tools. Its core features include GraphQL queries and mutations, automatic CRUD mutations, filtering, ordering, plugins, and authentication using JWT or custom pgSettings. It also supports row-level security and role-based access control. PostGraphile V4 Core and Version 5 are open source under the MIT license. Version 5 is built on Grafast, a planning and execution engine intended to improve performance and maintainability. The project can be self-hosted, and its homepage offers an `npx pgl` command to start with a PostgreSQL connection string. PostGraphile Pro adds query-cost, pagination, and query-depth limits, as well as a facility for scaling through database read replicas. The Pro plugin is for V4 Core; Version 5 remains open source and under development. V4 Core costs nothing. Pro License Only costs $25 a month, with up to four production instances and 100 development instances; larger clusters require custom licensing.

Stainless generates SDKs, documentation and MCP servers from OpenAPI specifications. Its SDK product lists TypeScript, Python, Go, Java, Kotlin, Ruby, Terraform, C# and PHP, with rich types, automatic pagination and retries included. The Docs Platform, built on Astro, keeps REST API, SDK and narrative documentation in sync with an API. Its listed features include AI-powered hybrid search, Markdown copying, AI-tool integration, and light and dark modes. Stainless also generates code-mode MCP servers so agents can work with SDKs and documentation rather than many endpoint schemas; the MCP product page names Claude Code and Cursor as clients. The Free plan costs nothing and allows up to five generators, five seats and 25 endpoints, with 100 preview builds per month and a rate limit of 25 per day. Email support is listed for Free. Users need a GitHub account for authentication and access to generated staging repositories. Exceeding Free plan terms triggers automatic enrollment in a 30-day free trial of a paid plan. Code generation cannot be hosted on-premise, although generated SDKs can be hosted in a private GitHub repository.