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Tuesday, February 11, 2025

REST vs. GraphQL vs. tRPC: Choosing Your API Architecture

Your API architecture choice will haunt you for years - unless you focus on what actually matters instead of what's trending on GitHub.
REST vs. GraphQL vs. tRPC: Choosing Your API Architecture

Your API architecture choice today will impact your team's productivity for years. Choose wrong, and you're looking at months of refactoring, performance issues, and developers asking "why did we build it this way?"

The problem isn't lack of options - it's having too many. REST remains the default, GraphQL promises to solve everything, and tRPC claims to make your TypeScript dreams come true. Each has its evangelists telling you their way is the only way.

But here's the truth: there's no universal solution. What works for a tech giant with infinite resources won't necessarily work for your team. Let's look at what actually matters when choosing an API architecture in 2025.

The Current State of API Architecture

Most technical leaders face a common challenge in 2025: their API needs have outgrown their architecture.

REST APIs struggle with complex data requirements, GraphQL adds complexity teams might not need, and tRPC looks appealing but limits your options. The fact that the API market will hit $267 billion this year tells us one thing - we're building more APIs than ever, but not necessarily building them better.

What matters isn't which technology is trending on GitHub. It's understanding the actual trade-offs each option brings to your specific situation.

Understanding Your Options

REST: The Reliable Veteran

REST is like that dependable infrastructure you can count on - it's not the newest option, but it gets the job done consistently. Built on HTTP standards, it's stateless, cacheable, and easy to debug thanks to simple HTTP methods. The main drawbacks? Over-fetching and under-fetching data are common pain points that teams have to work around.

GraphQL: The Flexible Powerhouse

GraphQL lets clients specify exactly what they need, which explains why 62% of developers report increased productivity when using it. It offers precise data fetching and a strong typing system, but it comes with trade-offs. Performance tests show GraphQL averaging 1864.50ms compared to REST's 922.85ms for simple queries - a significant consideration for performance-critical applications.

tRPC: The TypeScript Specialist

tRPC shines in TypeScript environments, offering end-to-end type safety and minimal boilerplate code. It's incredibly efficient within its ecosystem, but it's really only an option if you're committed to TypeScript.

When to Use What

Here's what really matters when choosing your API architecture:

  • REST: Best when you need wide platform compatibility, simple CRUD operations, or public API adoption.
  • GraphQL: Best when you have complex data requirements, multiple client platforms, or need to reduce resource usage by about 30%
  • tRPC: Best when you're TypeScript-first, building internal tools, or prioritizing development speed

API Architecture   When to Use

Real-World Decision Making

Consider these three key factors when making your choice:

Team Expertise

What does your team already know? A polyglot team might prefer REST or GraphQL, while TypeScript experts could leverage tRPC.

Project Scope

Public API? REST is your friend. Mobile app with varying data needs? GraphQL shines. Internal dashboard? tRPC might be perfect.

Performance Requirements

Heavy caching needs point to REST, complex data fetching suggests GraphQL, and TypeScript-native performance requirements might make tRPC your best bet.

The Bottom Line

The best API architecture is the one that matches your team's capabilities and project requirements. REST isn't going anywhere, GraphQL isn't just hype, and tRPC isn't merely a trend for TypeScript enthusiasts.

Don't let the "X vs Y" debates fool you - you can even mix and match these approaches. Use REST for your public API, GraphQL for your mobile app, and tRPC for your internal tools.

Shameless Marketing Plug 🔌 🐰

By the way, Directus supports both REST and GraphQL out of the box. No buzzwords, just APIs that work the way you expect them to. Check it out if you're into that sort of thing.

Check it out (if you're into that sort of thing)

Posted By

Bryant Gillespie

Bryant Gillespie

Growth Engineer

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