GraphQL vs gRPC

Developers should learn GraphQL when building APIs that require complex data fetching, such as in modern web apps with dynamic UIs, mobile apps with varying data needs, or microservices architectures where multiple data sources need to be aggregated meets developers should learn grpc when building microservices architectures, real-time applications, or systems requiring low-latency, high-throughput communication, such as in cloud-native environments or iot platforms. Here's our take.

GraphQL

Nice Pick

Developers should learn GraphQL when building APIs that require complex data fetching, such as in modern web apps with dynamic UIs, mobile apps with varying data needs, or microservices architectures where multiple data sources need to be aggregated

Pros

• It is particularly useful for reducing network overhead by allowing clients to specify nested queries in a single request, making it ideal for performance-critical applications like e-commerce platforms or social media feeds
• Related to: apollo-client, relay

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

gRPC

Developers should learn gRPC when building microservices architectures, real-time applications, or systems requiring low-latency, high-throughput communication, such as in cloud-native environments or IoT platforms

Pros

• It is particularly useful for polyglot systems where services are written in different languages, as it provides language-agnostic contracts via protobuf
• Related to: protocol-buffers, http-2

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. GraphQL is a tool while gRPC is a framework. We picked GraphQL based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

GraphQL wins

Based on overall popularity. GraphQL is more widely used, but gRPC excels in its own space.