| GraphQL provides a complete and understandable description of the data in your API, gives clients the power to ask for exactly what they need and nothing more, makes it easier to evolve APIs over time, and enables powerful developer tools. | RESTful API is an interface that two computer systems use to exchange information securely over the internet. Most business applications have to communicate with other internal and third-party applications to perform various tasks. |
| GraphQL is a query language for solving common problems when integrating APIs. | REST API is an architectural style largely viewed as a conventional standard for designing APIs. |
| GraphQL is deployed over HTTP using a single endpoint that provides the full capabilities of the exposed service. | REST API is deployed over a set of URLs where each of them exposes a single resource. |
| GraphQL uses a client-driven architecture. | REST API uses a server-driven architecture. |
| GraphQL lacks in-built caching mechanism. | REST API uses caching automatically. |
| In GraphQL, response output in JSON. | In REST API, response output usually in XML, JSON, and YAML. |
| GraphQL offers type-safety and auto-generated documentation. | REST API doesn't offer type-safety or auto-generated documentation. |
| In GraphQL, no API versioning required. | REST API supports multiple API versions. |
| GraphQL allows for schema stitching and remote data fetching. | In REST API, simplifying work with multiple endpoints requires expensive custom middleware. |
