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REST vs GraphQL vs gRPC — Which One Should You Really Use?

Every few months, the same question comes back:

“Which API style is best — REST, GraphQL, or gRPC?”

The honest answer is: there is no single best option.
Each one solves a different problem.

Let’s break it down without hype, based on real-world usage.

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1️⃣ REST — The Reliable Default

REST is still the most widely used API style.

Why developers still choose REST

• Simple and predictable
• Human-readable JSON
• Excellent tooling (Postman, curl, browser)
• Easy caching and debugging
• Works everywhere

Where REST struggles

• Over-fetching data
• Multiple API calls for complex UI screens

Example

GET /institutions/123/users

Best use cases

• CRUD-heavy applications
• Admin panels
• Public APIs
• Third-party integrations

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2️⃣ GraphQL — UI-First APIs

GraphQL lets the client ask for exactly what it needs — no more, no less.

Why teams adopt GraphQL

• No over-fetching or under-fetching
• Single endpoint
• Perfect for React / mobile apps
• Strongly typed schema

Trade-offs

• More complex backend
• Caching is harder than REST
• Needs careful authorization design

Example

query {
  institution(id: "123") {
    name
    users {
      name
      roles {
        name
      }
    }
  }
}

Best use cases

• Frontend-heavy applications
• Dashboards
• Mobile apps
• Aggregated UI data

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3️⃣ gRPC — Built for Performance

gRPC is designed for service-to-service communication.

Why gRPC shines

• Extremely fast (binary protocol)
• Smaller payloads than JSON
• Strong typing with Protobuf
• Streaming support
• HTTP/2 by default

Limitations

• Not browser-friendly
• Harder to debug manually
• Requires contract-first thinking

Example (Proto)

rpc GetUser (UserRequest) returns (UserResponse);

Best use cases

• Microservices
• High-throughput systems
• Internal APIs
• Event streaming

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4️⃣ The Best Architecture Is Hybrid (Not Religious)

In real production systems, teams don’t choose one — they combine them.

A common enterprise setup

Frontend (Web / Mobile)
        ↓
     GraphQL Gateway
        ↓
REST APIs     gRPC Services

Why this works

• UI gets flexible data → GraphQL
• Internal services stay fast → gRPC
• External APIs remain simple → REST

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5️⃣ Decision Cheat Sheet

Question	Choose
Public API?	REST
UI-driven data needs?	GraphQL
Microservice → Microservice?	gRPC
Performance critical?	gRPC
Simple CRUD?	REST

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6️⃣ Common Mistakes to Avoid 🚫

• Using GraphQL for everything
• Using REST between internal microservices
• Exposing gRPC directly to browsers
• Ignoring caching and security implications

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Final Thoughts

Each API style exists for a reason.

Good architecture is about using the right tool in the right place — not following trends.

If you’re building modern systems:

• Use REST for simplicity
• Use GraphQL for frontend efficiency
• Use gRPC for internal performance

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Comments

[Emir Taner]

It's very interesting, thank you for sharing!