When building APIs, developers often face the decision of whether to use GraphQL or REST, two of the most popular architectures for APIs.

Both technologies offer unique approaches and come with their own sets of advantages and challenges. Understanding the main differences between GraphQL and REST is crucial for selecting the right tool for your project's needs.

In the following article, we will talk about their main differences and similarities, their benefits, and the best moments to use them.

Differences and Similarities Between GraphQL and REST

GraphQL and REST are two distinct approaches to building APIs, each with its own unique features and benefits.

What is REST?

REST API utilizes HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) in a flexible data format. Changes on the front end often necessitate corresponding adjustments in the API, with data organized by endpoints, each representing a different resource. REST has a moderate learning curve, as its concepts align closely with standard HTTP methods and URLs. When using JSON in a network with established conventions, productivity can be increased by leveraging generalized tooling and best practices. However, performance across platforms can be challenging due to the multiple endpoints and the flexible nature of HTTP responses.

What is GraphQL?

In contrast, GraphQL pulls data from multiple sources within a single API call, with data defined in terms of a schema, specifying types and relationships. This structure allows clients to request exactly what they need, accommodating rapidly changing frontend requirements. However, GraphQL presents a steeper learning curve due to its complex query language and schema definitions. Consistency can be an issue when multiple backend services are integrated into the schema, potentially leading to inconsistencies from one subgraph to another. Despite this, GraphQL provides a consistent and high-quality user experience across different operating systems, thanks to its uniform query structure.

If you want to learn more about the key differences between REST and GraphQL, read here our article "GraphQL vs REST in 2024". 

Now, let’s review some of the benefits of GraphQL and REST in detail.

Benefits of GraphQL in 2024

GraphQL orchestrates the flow of data between servers and clients with precision and elegance, enabling an efficient, client-driven approach to data retrieval, allowing each client to specify exactly what data it needs from a single endpoint.

Here are some benefits of GraphQL as an APIs architecture:

1. Single Endpoint Efficiency: GraphQL operates through a single endpoint, simplifying the architecture significantly. Clients send queries specifying exactly what data they need, and the server responds with a JSON object that precisely matches the structure of the request. This streamlined approach reduces the overhead associated with managing multiple endpoints and improves the efficiency of data retrieval.
2. Fine-Grained Data Control: Clients have the ability to dictate exactly which fields they require, avoiding unnecessary data transfers. This level of detail control helps minimize over-fetching, where clients receive more data than needed, thus optimizing the performance and responsiveness of applications.
3. Self-Documenting Type System: The type system within GraphQL acts as a self-documenting guide that defines all available data and operations. This makes the API easier to understand and consume, as developers can quickly discover available fields, types, and their relationships without extensive documentation.
4. Optimized Data Retrieval: By enabling clients to request exactly what they need in a single query, GraphQL effectively addresses common issues of over-fetching and under-fetching. This capability not only reduces the amount of data transmitted over the network but also enhances the overall performance and efficiency of the API.
5. Dynamic Query Capabilities: GraphQL provides dynamic and flexible query capabilities that adapt to the needs of each client, similar to how a maestro tailors performance to suit the mood and response of the audience. This flexibility is key for applications requiring real-time data updates and customized interactions.

Benefits of REST in 2024

REST APIs tower over other technologies due to their robustness, widespread adoption, and ability to handle vast data interactions across the web. Yet, despite their size and strength, they exhibit remarkable flexibility, adapting to the varied needs of developers and businesses alike.

REST APIs are often regarded as the "Flexible Giants of the Modern Web," a technology that powers countless web services and applications. This metaphor aptly captures their role and characteristics in today’s digital landscape. 

Here’s an expanded discussion integrating this metaphor:

1. Strength and Reach: Just as giants cover vast distances with each step, REST APIs handle extensive data transfers across different systems with ease. They support the heavy lifting required in large-scale applications, from social media platforms to enterprise-level solutions, ensuring that different parts of an application can communicate effectively regardless of the underlying technology.
2. Flexibility and Adaptability: Like a giant who can perform tasks both gentle and powerful, REST APIs are flexible enough to manage diverse tasks. They adapt to different data types and operations through simple HTTP methods—GET for retrieving data, POST for creating new entries, PUT for updating existing data, and DELETE for removing it. This adaptability makes them suitable for various applications, from simple websites to complex distributed systems.
3. Simplicity and Versatility: Giants are often seen in myths as straightforward beings, and similarly, REST APIs provide a straightforward approach to web communication. This simplicity in design, utilizing standard HTTP protocols, makes REST APIs versatile and easy to implement, allowing them to serve a broad range of industries and applications.
4. Modular and Independent: Just as giants are often depicted as solitary figures, each component of a RESTful system operates independently. The modular nature of REST APIs allows developers to modify or replace parts of the system without affecting others. This independence is crucial for evolving applications dynamically and maintaining them efficiently.
5. Powerful and Reliable: Giants are known for their power and endurance, qualities that REST APIs embody by managing thousands of requests per second and ensuring that applications perform reliably under heavy load. Their ability to scale and handle concurrency makes them indispensable for modern web applications.

Benefits of GraphQL and REST

GraphQL vs REST: Comparison between both

GraphQL and REST each have their strengths and limitations. GraphQL's client-centric approach, strong typing, and single endpoint offer advantages in terms of flexibility and consistency, particularly beneficial for rapidly changing frontend requirements. On the other hand, REST's simplicity, maturity, and adherence to HTTP standards make it a reliable choice for many traditional web services. The decision between GraphQL and REST depends largely on the specific needs of the application, the desired speed of development, and the consistency required across various platforms.

When comparing GraphQL and REST, it's essential to understand their distinct characteristics and how they impact web service design and implementation.

Here's an integrated view of the differences between GraphQL and REST:

Architectural Style and Data Fetching

GraphQL is designed specifically for executing queries with existing data. It operates on a client-driven architecture, allowing clients to request exactly what they need. Data is organized in terms of a schema, defining types and relationships, which gives a clear structure to the data fetched.

REST, on the other hand, follows a server-driven architecture where the server defines the endpoints and the shape of the responses. In REST, data is arranged in terms of endpoints, with each endpoint representing a different resource, making it more rigid in how data is accessed and manipulated.

Community and Development Speed

GraphQL has a growing community, with increasing adoption in modern web development. It is known for its faster development speed, thanks to its flexible query language and the reduced need for server-side changes to meet frontend data requirements. This flexibility allows developers to move quickly and efficiently, adapting to changes as needed.

REST boasts a large, established community with a wealth of resources and best practices accumulated over the years. However, the development speed can be slower compared to GraphQL, as changes on the frontend often necessitate corresponding adjustments in the API. This can lead to longer development cycles, especially when dealing with complex data requirements.

Learning Curve and Resource Representation

GraphQL presents a steeper learning curve due to its complex query language and schema definition. However, it offers high consistency across platforms with its strongly typed system and single endpoint for all queries and mutations. This uniformity simplifies data fetching and manipulation, providing a more predictable development experience.

REST generally has a moderate learning curve, with concepts closely aligned with standard HTTP methods and URLs, making it easier for developers to understand and implement. Achieving consistency across platforms can be challenging, though, due to multiple endpoints and the flexible nature of HTTP responses, which can vary depending on the server and context.

Message Format and Validation

GraphQL requires that the message format for mutations be a string, which can streamline the data submission process. It also utilizes metadata for query validation, ensuring that requests conform to the defined schema. This built-in validation helps maintain data integrity and reduces the risk of errors.

REST allows various message formats for mutations, providing more flexibility in how data is submitted. However, it lacks a machine-readable, cacheable metadata system for automatic query validation. This can lead to potential inconsistencies and requires additional effort to ensure that requests are correctly formatted and validated.

Customization and Flexibility

GraphQL partners and clients often require API customization to suit their specific data needs. It provides a consistent and high-quality user experience across different operating systems due to its uniform query structure. This consistency makes it easier to build applications that work seamlessly across various environments.

REST offers more flexibility in public API design, enabling easier integration with new applications. However, achieving a consistent user experience across different systems can be more challenging due to the variability in API responses. The flexibility in response formats can lead to differences in how data is presented and consumed, which may require additional effort to standardize.

When to use GraphQL vs REST

When deciding between using GraphQL and REST for your web development projects, it's important to understand the distinct advantages each offers under different circumstances. 

Here are scenarios where one might be preferred over the other:

Use REST for:

• Simplicity and Cacheability: REST is ideal for scenarios where the data does not change often and can be easily cached. HTTP caching is well-supported and can significantly reduce the load on the server by serving cached data from intermediary nodes between the client and the server.
• Fixed Data Structure: REST APIs are great when the client's requirements for data are consistent and predictable. Since REST endpoints return a fixed data structure, this predictability allows for straightforward implementation without the overhead of crafting complex queries.
• Less Overhead: If the data interactions are limited to straightforward CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations, REST can be more efficient to implement and maintain due to its less complex nature compared to GraphQL.

Use GraphQL for:

• Flexible Data Fetching: GraphQL allows clients to request exactly what they need, nothing more, nothing less. This is particularly beneficial in SPAs where different views and components may need diverse sets of data.
• Efficient Data Retrieval: With GraphQL, you can get multiple resources in a single request. This reduces the need for multiple round trips between the client and the server, enhancing the application's performance.
• Strong Typing and Self-Documenting: GraphQL’s type system facilitates quicker frontend development, as it clearly defines what operations can be performed. It also provides auto-completion features in many IDEs, which speeds up the development process.
• Composability with Composabase: Using a service like Composabase, which provides a production-ready GraphQL API, can accelerate development. Its composable architecture allows for easy integration with existing data sources and includes built-in features such as caching and security, further streamlining the development workflow.

Choosing between REST and GraphQL depends largely on the specific needs of your project. For applications requiring high performance, flexible data retrieval, and rapid development cycles, GraphQL offers distinct advantages. However, for simpler applications with stable and predictable data needs, REST remains a powerful and efficient choice.

If you want to learn more about APIs deployment, integration and everything GraphQL related, visit our full guide on the topic here.