WebSocket vs tRPC

HTTP's chatty cousin meets typescript's love letter to api developers. Here's our take.

WebSocket

Nice Pick

HTTP's chatty cousin. Real-time without the constant handshakes.

Pros

• Full-duplex communication reduces latency for real-time apps
• Persistent connection eliminates HTTP overhead per message
• Widely supported in modern browsers and servers

Cons

• Requires explicit connection management and error handling
• Can be tricky with firewalls and proxies that block non-HTTP traffic

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 WebSocket if: You want full-duplex communication reduces latency for real-time apps and can live with requires explicit connection management and error handling.

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

The Bottom Line

WebSocket wins

HTTP's chatty cousin. Real-time without the constant handshakes.