Webhook vs REST API: Push vs Pull Explained
A REST API is pull: your app makes a request whenever it wants data or wants to act. A webhook is push: the source sends you data automatically when an event happens. They are complementary rather than competing. You typically call a REST API to fetch or change data on demand, and you register a webhook to be notified in real time instead of polling that same API on a loop.
Webhooks vs REST API at a glance
| Webhooks (push) | REST API (pull) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who starts the exchange | The source, on an event | Your app, on demand |
| Timing | Real-time when something changes | Whenever you choose to call |
| Best for | Being notified of events | Fetching or modifying data |
| Real-time cost | One request per event | Constant polling to stay current |
| Direction | Source to your endpoint | Your app to the source |
When to use each
Use a REST API when you need to request specific data or perform an action at a time you control.
Use webhooks when you need to know about changes as they happen without polling. For real-time integrations the two work together: the webhook tells you an event occurred, and you often call the REST API to fetch the full record behind it.
How Hookdeck fits
Choosing webhooks over constant REST polling trades wasted requests for delivery responsibility: retries, signature verification, ordering, and visibility into failures. Hookdeck's Event Gateway provides that layer so you get real-time push without building the reliability plumbing, and you can still call the source's REST API for the details. See the Event Gateway, or replay and inspect payloads with the CLI.
Related questions
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