Cosmos SDK vs Rarible vs Subgraphs Comparison | Builder's Guide

Comparison Summary

Cosmos SDK, Rarible and Subgraphs each address unique challenges in the web3 ecosystem, offering complementary strengths for builders. A modular, open-source framework for building secure, sovereign, and interoperable Layer 1 blockchains. Rarible API is a fast, unified NFT API infrastructure providing real-time data and executable market features across Ethereum, Base, Polygon, and more than 10 other chains. The Graph is a decentralized indexing protocol that organizes blockchain data and makes it easily accessible via GraphQL. Together, these tools serve different but overlapping user needs, making them valuable components in a modern web3 development stack.

	Cosmos SDK // Web3 Developer Tools // Infrastructure Tools	Rarible // Web3 Developer Tools // NFT APIs	Subgraphs // Web3 Developer Tools // Indexing Tools // Web3 Data Tools
At a Glance
Composability
Cross-Chain
Customizability
Developer Support
Ease of Integration
Performance
Key Features
Core Capabilities	CometBFT Consensus Engine, CosmWasm Smart Contracts, Interchain Accounts	MCP Servers for Market Data, Full-Text Fuzzy Search, SDK with Ready-Made JS Library	Subgraphs, Substreams, Token API
Chain Support	—	+10	+46
Best For	Infrastructure Developers, DeFi Developers	NFT Platform Developers, DeFi Developers	DeFi Developers, NFT Platform Developers
Pricing
Free Tier	Open Source	Free	Hosted Service
Paid Features	—	1 paid tiers	1 paid tiers
Custom Plans	—	Enterprise plans	—

Cosmos SDK

// Web3 Developer Tools // Infrastructure Tools

Rarible

// Web3 Developer Tools // NFT APIs

Subgraphs

// Web3 Developer Tools // Indexing Tools // Web3 Data Tools

At a Glance

Composability

Cross-Chain

Customizability

Developer Support

Ease of Integration