@apollo/client is a powerful and flexible state management library for building GraphQL clients in JavaScript applications. It provides a robust client caching system, improves query efficiency, enables real-time data updates and supports multiple GraphQL APIs.
Urql is a lightweight and versatile GraphQL client for React applications. It aims to provide a faster and simpler way to query GraphQL APIs compared to other more complex solutions. Urql features a minimal API layer, efficient caching, and supports real-time updates with subscriptions. It also provides an extensible environment, allowing you to customize it to fit your specific needs.
Both @apollo/client and urql are popular libraries for working with GraphQL in JavaScript applications. However, @apollo/client has gained more popularity and has a larger community following compared to urql.
Size
@apollo/client is a more feature-rich library and hence has a larger bundle size compared to urql. urql, on the other hand, is designed to be lightweight and has a smaller bundle size, making it suitable for performance-sensitive applications.
Functionality
@apollo/client provides a comprehensive set of features for working with GraphQL, including caching, optimistic UI, and subscription support. It has built-in integration with React and offers a seamless developer experience. urql, while not as feature-rich as @apollo/client, still provides essential functionality for querying and mutating data with GraphQL.
Developer Experience
@apollo/client offers a highly intuitive and well-documented API, making it easy for developers to get started and work with GraphQL. It has excellent TypeScript support, type generation, and a strong focus on tooling. urql also provides a solid developer experience and TypeScript support but might have a slightly steeper learning curve compared to @apollo/client.
Ecosystem
Both libraries have a vibrant ecosystem and community support. @apollo/client is part of the larger Apollo GraphQL ecosystem, which includes additional tools and libraries for GraphQL development. urql has a smaller ecosystem by comparison but still has integrations with popular libraries and frameworks.
Integration
Both @apollo/client and urql integrate well with React and can be used seamlessly in React applications. They provide hooks-based APIs for working with GraphQL queries and mutations within React components. Additionally, they both support server-side rendering (SSR) and work well in various JavaScript frameworks.
Flexibility
urql is known for its flexibility and allows more fine-grained control over the caching and network layers. It gives developers the ability to customize various aspects of its behavior. @apollo/client, on the other hand, offers a more opinionated approach with its cache implementation and provides a more batteries-included solution for most GraphQL use cases.
