SOAP vs tRPC

The protocol that made XML feel like a heavyweight champion, but now it's mostly just heavy meets typescript's love letter to api developers. Here's our take.

SOAP

Nice Pick

The protocol that made XML feel like a heavyweight champion, but now it's mostly just heavy.

Pros

• Standardized and platform-agnostic, great for enterprise integration
• Built-in error handling and security features
• Works well with WSDL for clear service contracts

Cons

• Verbose XML bloat makes it slow and bandwidth-hungry
• Complex setup compared to modern REST or GraphQL alternatives

tRPC

TypeScript's love letter to API developers. Write types once, cry about mismatched schemas never.

Pros

• End-to-end type safety without code generation
• Seamless autocompletion and real-time error prevention
• Reduces boilerplate by sharing types between client and server

Cons

• Tightly coupled to TypeScript, limiting use in non-TypeScript projects
• Can feel like magic, making debugging more opaque when things go wrong

The Verdict

Use SOAP if: You want standardized and platform-agnostic, great for enterprise integration and can live with verbose xml bloat makes it slow and bandwidth-hungry.

Use tRPC if: You prioritize end-to-end type safety without code generation over what SOAP offers.

The Bottom Line

SOAP wins

The protocol that made XML feel like a heavyweight champion, but now it's mostly just heavy.