Escape GraphQL Armor vs @fastify/helmet: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Escape GraphQL Armor is a free api security tool by Escape Technologies. @fastify/helmet is a free api security tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best api security fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of core features, integrations, here is our conclusion:
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 teams building APIs that need HTTP header security without operational overhead should start with @fastify/helmet; it's a thin wrapper around the battle-tested helmet library, meaning you get OWASP Top 10 mitigations (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options) with minimal configuration beyond `fastify.register()`. The 453 GitHub stars and zero-friction npm install make adoption frictionless for small-to-mid teams. Skip this if you need dynamic policy management, request-level header mutation, or centralized policy enforcement across multiple services; @fastify/helmet is intentionally static and Fastify-bound, not a gateway or orchestration tool.
