Why everyone's moving from REST to GraphQL (and why you might not want to)

Been seeing a lot of debate about this lately, so decided to dig into the real trade-offs between these two approaches: REST or GraphQL for a new API

Here's what I discovered after comparing both case by case:

The GraphQL Promise:
✅ Single endpoint for all data
✅ Client specifies exactly what data it needs
✅ Strong typing with schema
The Reality Check:
❌ Over-fetching problem just became an under-fetching problem
❌ Caching becomes significantly more complex
❌ Learning curve for the entire team

For example:
👉 REST API approach:
// Multiple calls, but predictable
GET /api/users/123
GET /api/users/123/sessions
GET /api/users/123/events
// Easy caching, clear boundaries
👉 GraphQL Approach:
// One call, but complex
query {
user(id: "123") {
name
sessions { duration }
events { timestamp, type }
}
}
// Flexible, but caching nightmares

My take:
GraphQL shines for client-heavy apps with diverse data needs. But if your API consumers are predictable (like internal dashboards), REST's simplicity often wins.
The insight:
Sometimes boring technology is the right technology 🙂‍↕️

What's your take on this? Are you team GraphQL or team REST? Share your war stories below! 👇
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