Demystifying Webhooks vs. APIs 🚀

In the tech space, APIs are the talk of the town, connecting apps, customers, and partners seamlessly. But they often confuse it with a similar technique called Webhook. As a result, we often see these terms sprinkled throughout tools documentation and technical articles, and often, they’re just stuck in without any explanation.

So, let’s understand how webhook compares to API:

📨 APIs keep the conversation flowing, exchanging data in a machine-readable format. They’re your best bet when working with constantly changing data. Think of location-based data — there’s virtually always something new to load.

📥 Webhooks are like anti-API superheroes. They don’t require much “talking” — data flows in one direction. They just send the data when it’s available, making them pretty simple compared to full-on APIs.

Imagine you are going to a candy store and asking the owner for your favorite candy. The owner goes to the shelves, picks up the candy, and gives it to you. Here, you are like a computer program asking for something (candy) using an API (asking the store owner).

Now, let’s say the candy store owner likes you and decides to tell you whenever they get new candy. The owner puts the candy on your doorstep without having you ask every time. In this case, the store owner is like a webhook, automatically letting you know about new candy without having to go to the store and ask.

👉 API: Ask and Receive
👉 Webhook: Get Updates Automatically

Short, sweet, and to the point!