Polling vs WebSockets
Developers should use polling when building applications that need to monitor state changes, fetch updates from APIs without WebSocket support, or in embedded systems where hardware constraints limit push-based methods meets developers should learn and use websockets when building applications that require real-time features, such as live chat, online gaming, financial trading platforms, collaborative editing tools, or live sports updates, as it reduces latency and server load compared to polling techniques like http long-polling. Here's our take.
Polling
Developers should use polling when building applications that need to monitor state changes, fetch updates from APIs without WebSocket support, or in embedded systems where hardware constraints limit push-based methods
Polling
Nice PickDevelopers should use polling when building applications that need to monitor state changes, fetch updates from APIs without WebSocket support, or in embedded systems where hardware constraints limit push-based methods
Pros
- +It is particularly useful for simple monitoring tasks, such as checking for new messages in a chat app, tracking file upload progress, or querying sensor data in IoT devices, where low-frequency updates are acceptable and implementation simplicity is prioritized over efficiency
- +Related to: long-polling, webhooks
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
WebSockets
Developers should learn and use WebSockets when building applications that require real-time features, such as live chat, online gaming, financial trading platforms, collaborative editing tools, or live sports updates, as it reduces latency and server load compared to polling techniques like HTTP long-polling
Pros
- +It is particularly valuable in scenarios where instant data synchronization between clients and servers is critical, such as in IoT device monitoring or interactive dashboards, because it maintains an open connection for continuous data flow
- +Related to: http, real-time-communication
Cons
- -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case
The Verdict
These tools serve different purposes. Polling is a concept while WebSockets is a protocol. We picked Polling based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.
Based on overall popularity. Polling is more widely used, but WebSockets excels in its own space.
Disagree with our pick? nice@nicepick.dev