Escape GraphQL Armor vs @fastify/rate-limit: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Escape GraphQL Armor

Node.js teams running Apollo or Envelop GraphQL servers should start here if your API security program has no GraphQL-specific controls; Escape GraphQL Armor blocks common query attacks like deeply nested resolvers and circular fragments at the middleware layer before they hit your business logic. The free tier removes friction for teams testing GraphQL security without budget approval, and the 56-person vendor size means faster iteration than enterprise platforms. Skip this if you need WAF-style DDoS protection or per-endpoint rate limiting orchestrated across multiple API gateways; Escape solves the GraphQL query problem, not network-layer threats.

@fastify/rate-limit

Teams building Node.js APIs who need rate limiting without the operational overhead of a separate service should reach for @fastify/rate-limit. The plugin ships as a native Fastify middleware with sub-millisecond latency overhead, making it practical for high-throughput routes where traditional gateway-level rate limiting adds unacceptable latency. Not for buyers who need distributed rate limiting across multiple instances without in-memory state coordination or those who require sophisticated quota management beyond simple request-per-window rules.