AppSync versus ALB WebSocket

13 Mar 2026

Learn how AppSync differs from ALB WebSocket.

	AppSync	ALB WebSocket
Type	GraphQL	Websocket
HTTPS/TLS	✅	✅
Backends	✅ Lambda ✅ Public endpoint ❌ Private endpoint ✅ AWS Service APIs	❌ Lambda ❌ Public endpoint ✅ Private endpoint ❌ AWS Service APIs
Costs	💰💰💰	💰💰
Maturity	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Authentication	✅ IAM ✅ API Key ✅ OpenID Connect ✅ SAML ✅ Social ✅ Custom	❌ IAM ❌ API Key ✅ OpenID Connect ✅ SAML ✅ Social ❌ Custom
Tenant-based Throttling	❌	❌
Request Validation	✅	❌
Req./Res. Transformation	✅	❌
Endpoints	✅ Public ❌ Private	✅ Public ✅ Private
WAF	✅	✅

Further reading