Webhook vs Polling

The Problem

Your application needs to know when something happens in another system. You have two options: poll for changes or receive webhooks.

Polling

Polling means asking the server 'anything new?' at regular intervals. Simple to implement, but wasteful.

Pros:

• Simple to implement
• No server-side setup needed
• Works with any API

Cons:

• Wastes bandwidth — most polls return 'nothing new'
• Delayed detection — you only find out on your next poll
• Rate limiting — APIs limit how often you can poll
• Scales poorly — 1000 customers polling every 5s = 200 requests/sec

Webhooks

Webhooks mean the server sends you a notification when something happens. More efficient, but requires setup.

Pros:

• Real-time — notified instantly when something happens
• Efficient — no wasted requests
• Scales well — server handles the load
• Standard format (Standard Webhooks)

Cons:

• Requires endpoint setup
• Need to handle retries and failures
• Must verify signatures for security

Comparison

When to Use Polling

• The API doesn't support webhooks
• You need very infrequent updates (daily/weekly)
• You're building a quick prototype

When to Use Webhooks

• You need real-time updates
• High volume of events
• You want to reduce API calls
• Building production integrations