𝗴𝗥𝗣𝗖 𝘃𝘀 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝘃𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗤𝗟: 𝗔 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸

𝗴𝗥𝗣𝗖 𝘃𝘀 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝘃𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗤𝗟: 𝗔 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸

You need the right API for your project. Your choice depends on your clients and your team.

Use REST for public APIs.

• It uses standard HTTP methods.
• Every developer knows it.
• It works for diverse clients.
• It often fetches too much data.

Use GraphQL for complex data needs.

• Clients ask for specific data.
• Frontend teams move faster.
• It adds server complexity.
• Caching is hard.

Use gRPC for internal services.

• It is built for high performance.
• Strong typing stops bugs.
• Browser support is poor.
• The learning curve is steep.

Need real-time data?

• Use WebSockets for two-way chat.
• Use SSE for simple notifications.

Avoid over-engineering. Build the simplest tool for the job today. Use technology your team knows.

Add these three things from day one:

• Structured logs.
• Metrics.
• Distributed tracing.

Measure your data before you optimize. Build for today. Not for next year.

Source: https://dev.to/therizwansaleem/grpc-vs-rest-vs-graphql-a-decision-framework-for-modern-apis-oac