specificationVersion: '1.0'
id: graphql-hive-finops
name: GraphQL Hive FinOps Framework
description: >-
  FinOps guidance for managing GraphQL Hive cloud spend. The primary cost
  driver is monthly GraphQL operations volume. The platform offers a free
  Hobby tier for low-volume usage, usage-based Pro pricing, and custom
  Enterprise agreements with volume discounts.
url: https://the-guild.dev/graphql/hive/pricing
framework: FOCUS
vendor: GraphQL Hive (The Guild)
currency: USD
billingModel: usage-based
costDrivers:
  - name: OperationsVolume
    description: >-
      The primary cost driver. Each GraphQL operation tracked by Hive
      counts toward the monthly operations quota. Pro plan charges
      $10 per million operations beyond the 1M base inclusion.
    unit: operations
    tier: Pro
    pricePerUnit: 0.00001
    pricePerMillion: 10
    notes: >-
      An "operation" is a tracked GraphQL request flowing through
      Hive's usage reporting. Batched reports can combine multiple
      operations. Self-hosted Hive has no operations cost.
  - name: BaseSubscription
    description: >-
      Pro plan monthly base subscription fee, which includes the first
      1 million operations per month.
    unit: month
    tier: Pro
    pricePerUnit: 20
  - name: DataRetention
    description: >-
      Data retention window affects historical analytics availability.
      Hobby provides 7 days, Pro provides 90 days, Enterprise provides
      a minimum of 1 year. No separate charge for retention — included
      in plan pricing.
    unit: days
    notes: Retention is bundled into plan; not billed separately.
optimization:
  - name: UseHobbyForDevelopment
    description: >-
      Use the free Hobby plan for all non-production environments.
      Development, staging, and testing targets do not require a paid plan.
    impact: cost-reduction
    effort: low
  - name: SampleUsageReporting
    description: >-
      Configure Hive client SDKs to report a percentage sample of
      operations rather than 100% to reduce operations count against
      the monthly quota. Hive's analytics remain statistically
      representative at 10-20% sampling rates.
    impact: cost-reduction
    effort: medium
  - name: SelfHostForHighVolume
    description: >-
      GraphQL Hive is fully open-source (MIT licensed). High-volume
      organizations can self-host to eliminate per-operation costs,
      paying only infrastructure costs instead.
    impact: cost-elimination
    effort: high
  - name: MonitorOperationsGrowth
    description: >-
      Set up alerts on operations volume to anticipate when Pro plan
      overage billing will activate. The Hive Console dashboard shows
      current period operations usage.
    impact: cost-visibility
    effort: low
  - name: EnterpriseVolumeDiscounts
    description: >-
      Negotiate Enterprise contracts for predictable high-volume usage.
      Enterprise tiers offer volume discounts and ensure no data is lost
      when exceeding limits, unlike the Hobby plan which drops excess data.
    impact: cost-reduction
    effort: medium
budgetGuidance:
  - scenario: SideProject
    description: Personal or hobbyist GraphQL API with low traffic
    recommendedPlan: Hobby
    estimatedMonthlyCost: 0
    operationsEstimate: "< 1M/month"
  - scenario: SmallTeam
    description: Small production API with moderate traffic
    recommendedPlan: Pro
    estimatedMonthlyCost: 20
    operationsEstimate: "~1M/month"
  - scenario: GrowingAPI
    description: Production API with growing usage, 5M ops/month
    recommendedPlan: Pro
    estimatedMonthlyCost: 60
    operationsEstimate: "~5M/month"
    calculation: "$20 base + 4 x $10 overage = $60/month"
  - scenario: HighTrafficAPI
    description: High-traffic API with 50M operations per month
    recommendedPlan: Enterprise
    estimatedMonthlyCost: custom
    operationsEstimate: "50M+/month"
    notes: "Contact The Guild for volume discount pricing"