As developers, we’ve long relied on REST APIs as the standard way to build and consume web services. They’re simple, human-readable, and work seamlessly over HTTP. But as systems grow more complex and performance becomes critical, another protocol is gaining traction: gRPC.
In this article, we’ll break down gRPC vs REST from a developer’s point of view—focusing on performance, payload structure, tooling, and real-world use cases.
What is REST?
REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style that uses standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. REST APIs typically exchange data in JSON format and rely on stateless communication.
It’s widely supported, browser-friendly, and easy to test with tools like Postman or directly via curl.
What is gRPC?
gRPC (gRPC Remote Procedure Call) is an open-source framework developed by Google. It uses HTTP/2 under the hood and Protocol Buffers (protobuf) as the message format.
Instead of resources and endpoints, gRPC is based on service definitions and method calls. It’s strongly typed, supports streaming, and is optimized for performance.
Key Differences (Developer View)
| Feature | REST | gRPC |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | HTTP/1.1 | HTTP/2 |
| Data Format | JSON | Protobuf (binary) |
| Speed | Slower | Faster (smaller payloads) |
| Human Readability | Yes | No (protobuf is not human-readable) |
| Streaming | Limited (Server-Sent Events, WebSockets) | Built-in bidirectional streaming |
| Tooling | Easy to test/debug | Requires code generation and tools |
| Language Support | Wide | Wide (codegen needed) |
| Best For | Public APIs, Web Services | Microservices, internal APIs, high-performance apps |
When Should You Use REST?
Choose REST when:
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You’re building public APIs or frontend-to-backend communication
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You need human-readable data formats (JSON)
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You prioritize simplicity and wide compatibility
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Your consumers may include mobile apps, browsers, or third-party developers
When Should You Use gRPC?
Choose gRPC when:
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You need high-performance, low-latency communication
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You’re working with microservices or service-to-service APIs
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You need streaming, like real-time updates or live sensor data
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You want strong typing and schema enforcement (via
.protofiles)
It’s especially powerful in systems written in multiple languages (polyglot architectures) where code generation helps avoid integration bugs.
Final Thoughts
As a developer, I use REST when I want simplicity, readability, and browser compatibility. But for high-throughput, internal systems—especially in microservice setups—gRPC is hard to beat.
Ultimately, it’s not about which one is better in general—it’s about which one is better for your specific use case. Sometimes, the best solution is to use both, depending on who the consumer is and what the performance requirements are.
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