Overview

Altair GraphQL Client is an IDE for running and debugging GraphQL queries, mutations, and subscriptions, best suited to developers who want request tools and schema browsing in one client. It pairs that focused workflow with optional cloud collaboration, but the web app is meant for quick or one-time use rather than full development.

Query formatting, multipart file uploads, collection export, reusable environment variables, scripts, and plugins give GraphQL work a useful range of tools. Teams that need shared management can add Altair GraphQL Cloud; people seeking a general-purpose API client may prefer a broader fit.

Compare related options in GraphQL Tools and API clients.

Key features

Build and inspect GraphQL operations

Altair runs and debugs queries, mutations, and subscriptions, with WebSocket support for subscription workflows. Its schema documentation explorer covers types and available operations, which helps developers navigate an API while composing requests. Formatting, multipart-specification file uploads, and collection export round out the day-to-day request work.

Reuse and extend workflows

Environment variables can be shared across endpoints, headers, and queries, reducing repeated edits when switching contexts. Pre-request and post-request scripts add hooks around requests, and the plugin system lets users extend the client. Official integration packages cover Express and Koa middleware, a static build, and a Gatsby plugin.

Cloud collaboration

Altair GraphQL Cloud centralizes query management and collections, keeps query versions, and provides shareable query URLs. That makes it more relevant to teams coordinating query work than to an individual who only needs a local client; the collaboration features are tied to Cloud rather than the core request tools.

Web app and security cautions

The maker positions the web app for quick or one-time use and does not recommend it for full development because of its limitations. For sustained work, the desktop or self-hosted options are more appropriate platform choices. GraphQL introspection can reveal an API schema, so the documentation advises considering whether to disable it in production. Content Security Policy support remains beta, and configurations should be tested before production use.

The privacy notice says Altair does not process sensitive personal information and describes organizational and technical procedures to protect personal information. Its terms provide an email contact but do not obligate the maker to maintain or support the services or provide updates, a meaningful consideration for teams depending on ongoing service support.

Pricing

Altair uses a freemium model, with a free plan and paid pricing from 7.99 USD per user/month. The plans distinguish sharply between capped team use and unlimited collaboration:

Basic: Price not listed. It allows up to 2 team members and 20 queries, with unlimited collections and query history up to 10 revisions. It suits a small team with modest query needs, but the member and query caps constrain growth.
Pro: 7.99 USD per month (billed $ 7.99 per user/month). It includes unlimited team members, teams, queries, and collections, plus query history. This is the clearest fit for teams that need broad collaboration without Basic’s query and membership ceilings; its per-user billing means cost scales with the team.
Enterprise: Custom pricing. It includes the Pro plan’s stated unlimited members, teams, queries, and collections, plus full control. It is aimed at organizations needing those controls, with cost determined by custom pricing.
Self hosted: Price not listed. It includes unlimited team members, teams, queries, and collections, query history, and full control.

The free plan is available, but its named Basic limits mean it is not equivalent to Pro’s unlimited query and team allowances.

Platforms

Altair is available as a web app and desktop software, with platform listings for extension, Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted use. The web-app caveat makes desktop or self-hosted use a better choice for full development workflows.

Who it's for

Altair is a strong fit for GraphQL developers who want schema exploration alongside request composition, reusable environments, scripts, and extensibility. Teams can benefit from Cloud’s query versioning and shareable URLs, particularly when shared query management matters. It is less suitable for developers who expect the web app to serve as a full development environment, or organizations that require a support and update commitment from the maker.

Pros and cons

Pro: The schema explorer, request formatting, file uploads, and collection export bring common GraphQL tasks into one focused client.
Pro: Variables, request scripts, and plugins support reuse and customization across workflows.
Pro: Cloud adds query versioning and shareable URLs for team coordination.
Con: Basic caps teams at 2 members and 20 queries, so growing or query-heavy teams need a different plan.
Con: The web app is explicitly not recommended for full development.
Con: Beta CSP support needs production configuration testing, and introspection can expose a schema if left enabled.
Con: The terms do not promise maintenance, support, or updates.

Alternatives

Apollo Studio is another freemium option, with a free plan for up to 3 developers, a router limited to 60 requests per minute, and one-day data retention. Apollo Client is a free alternative whose free plan also caps teams at 3 developers and includes community support, with a self-hosted GraphOS Router limited to 60 requests per minute and one-day data retention. GraphQL Hive offers a free Hobby plan with 1M operations per month, seven-day usage data retention, and unlimited seats, projects, organizations, and schema pushes. Hot Chocolate is a free, MIT-licensed option for commercial or private projects.

WunderGraph Cosmo has a free Developer plan for one federated graph, 10M requests per month, 10 subgraphs, one team member, and seven-day retention. gqlgen is a free Go library for building GraphQL servers, while GraphQL Kotlin is an Apache License 2.0 option and Strawberry GraphQL is an MIT-licensed open-source Python library.

Verdict

Choose Altair if you want a GraphQL-focused IDE that combines schema browsing, flexible request workflows, and optional cloud collaboration. Its strongest case is the breadth of tools around GraphQL operations; look elsewhere if you need a full-development web app, guaranteed ongoing support, or a platform better matched to a different GraphQL task.

	Altair GraphQL Client	GraphQL Java
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	—	Free
Open source	No	No
Platforms	extension, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows	api, self-hosted
Free plan	Yes	—
Deployment model	—	self-hosted
Operation testing	—	Yes
Server languages	—	Java

Altair GraphQL Client vs GraphQL Java

Altair GraphQL Client

GraphQL Java