Are your REST API clients (mobile, web, partner) each receiving oversized payloads because the API was designed for the most data-hungry consumer and everyone else gets the excess?
Is adding a new field to your REST API responses causing breaking changes for clients that don't need the field?
When your mobile app needs a subset of what your web dashboard needs, a REST API that returns the same payload to both is doing unnecessary work on both ends.
GraphQL lets API consumers request exactly the data they need -- no more, no less. A mobile app that needs a user's name and avatar doesn't receive the full user object. A dashboard that needs nested relationships gets them in a single request rather than multiple round trips. The client specifies the shape of the data and the API delivers it.
RaftLabs builds GraphQL APIs using Apollo Server and GraphQL Yoga for Node.js backends, with schema design, resolver implementation, DataLoader for N+1 query prevention, authentication and authorisation at the resolver level, and schema documentation. For teams replacing a REST API that has become unwieldy to extend, or for new products with multiple client types that need different data shapes.
Schema design that models your business domain cleanly -- types, queries, mutations, and subscriptions for real-time data
DataLoader implementation to prevent N+1 queries that make GraphQL slow in production
Field-level authorisation so different client types see only the fields they're permitted to access
GraphQL Playground and schema introspection documentation that developers can use without reading separate docs
RaftLabs builds GraphQL APIs using Apollo Server and GraphQL Yoga -- schema design, resolver implementation, DataLoader for N+1 prevention, field-level authorisation, and subscriptions for real-time data. For teams with multiple client types or REST APIs that have become difficult to extend. Most GraphQL projects deliver in 6 to 14 weeks at a fixed cost.
GraphQL solves a specific problem that REST doesn't handle well: multiple client types with different data requirements hitting the same API surface. When a mobile app needs three fields and a web dashboard needs thirty, a REST endpoint that returns all thirty to both clients is over-delivering to one and under-serving neither. When a dashboard needs nested relationships, assembling them from multiple REST calls adds round trips that GraphQL eliminates with a single query.
The performance reputation GraphQL has is earned by teams that skip the implementation work that makes it fast in production. N+1 queries -- where each item in a list triggers a separate database call -- are the most common GraphQL performance failure. DataLoader batches those calls into one. Query complexity limits prevent clients from constructing queries that would generate database load you didn't anticipate. RaftLabs builds these as part of every GraphQL project, not as optional additions.
What we build
GraphQL schema design
Type definitions for your business domain: object types, input types, enums, interfaces, and unions. Query definitions for data retrieval, mutation definitions for data modification, and subscription definitions for real-time events. Schema design review before resolver implementation to catch structural problems while they're cheap to fix -- a schema decision that seems reasonable in design becomes expensive to change after resolvers are written against it.
Resolver implementation
Resolver functions for every field in the schema. Context injection for authentication and database access. Error handling that produces structured GraphQL errors rather than unhandled exceptions. Resolver testing with mocked data sources. Separation of business logic from resolver code so the resolvers remain thin and the logic is independently testable -- a maintainability pattern that matters when the schema grows.
N+1 query prevention with DataLoader
DataLoader implementation for every resolver that fetches related data -- batching and caching database calls across resolver executions within a single request. Without DataLoader, a list of 50 items with a related author field generates 51 database calls. With DataLoader, it generates 2. Query complexity analysis to limit requests that would generate excessive database load. Persisted queries for production performance with controlled client code.
Authentication and field-level authorisation
JWT or session-based authentication validated in GraphQL context before resolvers execute. Field-level authorisation directives that restrict which fields are visible to which client types -- public API, partner, and admin clients can share a schema while seeing different fields. Error responses that distinguish unauthenticated from unauthorised without leaking schema structure to unauthenticated callers.
GraphQL subscriptions for real-time data
Subscription implementation for real-time data delivery over WebSocket. Event publishing from mutations to subscription consumers. Subscription filtering so clients receive only events relevant to their query -- a client subscribed to one user's updates doesn't receive events for all users. Connection management for long-lived WebSocket connections in production, including reconnection handling on the client side.
Schema documentation and federation
GraphQL Playground and Apollo Sandbox for interactive schema exploration. Schema documentation from type descriptions and field descriptions written alongside the schema definition. Apollo Federation setup for organisations with multiple GraphQL services that need to be composed into a single graph -- so a product team can own their subgraph without coordinating every change through a central API team. Schema versioning and deprecation annotations for field-level evolution.
Have a GraphQL project?
Tell us your client types, the data relationships that are difficult to express in your current API, and what you're trying to solve. We'll scope it and give you a fixed cost.
Related API development services
API Development Services -- full API development capability overview
REST API Development -- REST APIs for standard integration patterns
Third-Party API Integration -- connecting your GraphQL API to external data sources
API Gateway Development -- API gateway for managing multiple API surfaces
Related services
Custom Software Development -- full-stack builds with GraphQL API included
Web Application Development -- web apps with a GraphQL data layer
Real-Time App Development -- real-time applications using GraphQL subscriptions
Frequently asked questions
GraphQL is the better choice when you have multiple client types with different data requirements (mobile, web, third-party) that would benefit from fetching exactly what they need; when your data has complex relationships that require multiple REST round trips to assemble; or when your schema evolves frequently and you want to add fields without versioning the API. REST is simpler when your clients have uniform data requirements, when your team is not familiar with GraphQL tooling, or when you have simple CRUD operations without complex relationships. Both are valid -- the choice follows your client diversity and schema complexity.
Query complexity analysis assigns a cost to each field in the query and rejects queries whose total cost exceeds a configured limit. Depth limiting rejects queries that nest beyond a maximum depth. Both are implemented at the server level before resolvers execute. Persisted queries -- where production clients only send a query hash rather than the full query text -- prevent arbitrary query construction entirely, and are the most effective defence for production APIs where the client code is controlled.
Yes. Many production APIs serve a GraphQL endpoint for flexible client queries alongside REST endpoints for specific use cases: webhooks (which are inherently REST callbacks), file uploads (which REST handles more naturally than GraphQL multipart), and integrations with third-party systems that expect REST. A common pattern is a GraphQL endpoint for frontend clients alongside REST endpoints for partner integrations and internal service-to-service calls. The two don't need to be an either-or decision.
A focused GraphQL API covering a single domain with schema design, resolvers, DataLoader, and authentication typically runs $25,000 to $60,000. A more complex API with subscriptions, federation, field-level authorisation, and a query complexity layer typically runs $60,000 to $130,000. Fixed cost agreed before development starts.