Webhook vs. API: What’s Best to Use?

You may be wondering whether Webhooks and APIs are the same, and if not, what is the difference between them and which one is best to use?

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) enable two-way communication between different types of software applications driven by requests.

Webhooks are a sort of “lightweight” API that drives one-way data sharing which is triggered by events.

Together, webhooks and APIs enable apps to share data and functionality in order to transform the web into something much greater than the mere sum of its parts.

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The apps on your phone, as well as the websites you visit online all “talk” to each other.

They do this by sending requests and responses to one another so you can view the response to any request you make in an easy, flawless, and convenient way.

For example, if you were to purchase a book on Amazon and make a payment through your credit card, you would receive a message from your bank on your mobile phone letting you know that the payment had been processed and that X amount of dollars had been sent to Amazon.

Your bank knows how much was paid and where you make the purchase through its connection to Amazon (or any other store that you purchase from).

This connection is an application integration that helps to synchronize data between apps, platforms, databases, etc. and the connection can either be a Webhook or an API, depending on the specific situation.

To help you understand more about APIs and Webhooks, this article breaks down the differences between the two, as well as the instances when you should use each one.

We’ll start with the basics:

What is a Webhook and How is it Used?

Webhooks are integrations designed to help send messages, notifications, and alerts from server-side applications to client-side applications.

The webhook sends real-time information to the application, which means users can receive timely responses.

In other words, the webhook only sends a message after an event has occurred on the server app.

Rather than the client-side app having to constantly check the server (which would waste a lot of resources), webhooks make it so that the server app gets the notification as soon as there is an update.

For this process to work, you must input the webhook URL of whichever application needs the data into the one sending the information.

Specific events trigger webhooks, and whenever a trigger event takes place within the source site, the webhook immediately collects the data and sends it to the URL you specified using an HTTP request.

To use a webhook, first, register a URL with the company that provides the service.

The URL is a place in your application where data will be accepted and interpreted so something can be done with it.

Whenever there is something new, the webhook will send the update to your URL. In some cases, it’s possible to tell the service provider the specific situations when you would like to receive the data.

Webhook Use Case

Here’s an example of when you might use a webhook.

Say you purchased a pair of shoes from a popular fashion eCommerce store (client-side application).

As soon as you click the “buy” button, an event has taken place. That is, your registered credit card has a change in monetary balance.

This new event is then transmitted to the client-side app via a confirmation message stating that the order has been processed for X amount of dollars.

This process is possible through the use of a webhook.

The next step after this typically involves you getting an order confirmation email, but that may just be due to the email software the company is using, which takes things a step further.

What Is API and How Is It Used?

An API is an integration that allows apps to connect with or talk to each other. It helps to list, create, edit or delete the set of items once instructed by the client-side app.

However, unlike a webhook, the request for information in an API originates from the client-side app and is then transmitted to the server-side.

Once the information is located, a response is sent back to the client-side app.

Here’s an example of how this works:

When you open an app on your phone, it first connects to the internet, after which it sends data to a server.

That data is retrieved, interpreted by the server, and then sent back to your phone, where the app can interpret the data and present you with the information you requested in a clear and legible way.

This whole process takes place through the use of an API.

API Use Case

Say you want to book a vacation to the Maldives, for a week, through a travel website.

You might check for hotels by feeding in information such as the type of hotel, area, date, and so on.

The travel website then interacts with the different hotel APIs to find the ones that match your requirements.

The results are brought back to you via API, and those hotels are then presented to you in a way that is easily readable.

Therefore, the API serves as a messenger between you, the travel website, and the various hotels.

For the API to work, first there must be a request for data.

Next, there must be a response to the initial request.

This data is typically delivered in JSON or other similar formats.

There are 3 types of APIs:

• Private API: This is for internal use within a company which allows complete control over its use.

• Public API: This type of API can be accessed by anyone, which means that developers can interact with it and share data.

• Partner API: This links to your business partners, for example, if you have a website focused on helping people in a specific industry find a job, instead of building your own database of job listings you could use your partners API to show listings and then get your own listings in addition to that.  

Regardless of the type of API used, the goal is to create a portal that can get different software systems to easily connect with each other and share information.

As software applications are increasingly interconnected, it’s becoming more essential for developers to understand the differences between these two methods of sharing data so they can choose the tool that’s best for the task at hand.

Main Differences between Webhook and API

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The main differences between webhook and API lie in what they are and when the request is made.

Below are the differences in more detail.

• Webhooks are event-based, which means that they will run whenever a specific event takes place in the source app. Webhooks send alerts, notifications, or messages from the server-side app to the client-side app.

• APIs are request-based, which means that they operate only when requests are made from third-party apps. APIs send requests from the client to the server app and then deliver the information back to the client-side.

• Webhooks receive calls with HTTP requests from external systems whenever there are data updates. They do not have to give a request in order to get a response. They simply let you receive.

• APIs place requests whether or not there will be a data update in response. They need to send the request in order to receive a response. In other words, APIs require you to retrieve.

Here is a real-world analogy to help you understand the difference between webhooks and APIs:

An API is like calling Amazon repeatedly to find out whether or not they have restocked your favorite brand of shampoo.

A webhook is like asking Amazon to call you once the shampoo is in stock so you can stop wasting your time and theirs.

Things to Consider When Choosing between Webhooks and API

When deciding which one to use between webhooks and APIs, there are certain things to consider, such as ease-of-use, efficiency, and meeting the set-out objective.

One of the disadvantages of using web books over APIs is that they often meet with compatibility and support issues.

Also, some services don’t yet support webhooks, which makes setting them up even more difficult.

It’s a lot easier to integrate an API more quickly from one point or another since APIs are more detailed and manual.

Every service typically offers an API, which makes for easier implementation compared to webhooks.

What’s more?

There are numerous tools that can help you manage your APIs with ease. This ease of handling APIs makes them the more favorable option of the two.

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When choosing between the two, it’s also important to consider that sometimes, you may want to know about a result as opposed to being informed about every event (that is, every permutation) that is taking place.

Since webhooks can only notify you about events, if you want to make a change according to new information, you will need an API.

In such a case, a webhook payload might not contain all the information you need regarding an event, which is why an API would be more useful.

Webhook vs. API: When to Use Either One

Use a Webhook If:

Webhooks typically act as messengers for smaller amounts of data and are particularly useful for sending or extracting real-time updates.

They are great for use in situations where APIs would result in a lot of wasted resources and higher costs.

If there are no constant updates, it’s probably better to use a webhook as opposed to an API as this will help you avoid getting entangled with the setups.

Webhooks can also be a more suitable alternative in case of a poor API or if one isn’t available for linking the apps.

Just remember, webhooks are only triggered once a new update is available.

This means that if your system were to go off-line for any reason, you are likely to miss out on any new updates.

Use an API If:

APIs are ideal for use when there are frequent changes on the server-side app.

An API is particularly useful when there is a constant or incremental change in data since you have to “call” it regularly in order to get updates.

So, it wouldn’t be as useful if the data you require isn’t updated on a frequent basis. In fact, using an API in such a case would just be a blatant waste of resources.

For example, a banking company regularly needs to update banking data for its clients (such as transactions, balance, etc.) This means that there will be constant requests, and an API would be the most suitable solution here.

 Yet another case is a healthcare provider with an app where patients can scan the QR code to gather their health details.This is also another instance where an API would be the best option that would allow the healthcare provider’s app and products to communicate with each other in a way that saves time and costs.

Conclusion

We’ve come to the end of our post on using a Webhook vs. API.

Modern web development continues to evolve, and with that evolution comes an ever-increasing desire to communicate effectively.

Developers are working to meet this communication demand and find better and more efficient ways for these technologies to talk to each other.

APIs and webhooks play a major part in all this as they each enable syncing and relaying data between applications.

Bottom line, If your goal is to send data between two services, you may be better served by a webhook.

However, if your app or platform demands frequent data changes, an API would be the best option for you.

* Note that you could use both webhooks and APIs together to develop a system that can transmit the right types of data whenever necessary to suit your application.

Did this post answer your questions on the differences between webhooks and APIs and when you should use either one? Sound off in the comments!

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Prof. Ron Stefanski is a successful online entrepreneur and college professor who helps people create and market their own online businesses.  Learn more about Ron by visiting OneHourProfessor.com 

You can also connect with him on YouTube or Linkedin, or on his Facebook Community.