GraphQL.js vs gRPC

Developers should learn GraphQL 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.js

Nice Pick

Developers should learn GraphQL

Pros

• js when building APIs that require flexible data retrieval, such as in modern web or mobile applications where clients need to request specific data fields to avoid over-fetching
• Related to: graphql, node-js

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.js is a library while gRPC is a framework. We picked GraphQL.js based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

GraphQL.js wins

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