2023 State of the API Report
While REST remains the most-used API architecture by far, it has lost a bit of ground to newcomers. This year, 86% of respondents said they used REST, down from 89% last year and 92% the year prior.
SOAP registered a notable drop. It was used by just 26% of all respondents this year versus 34% last year. The decline makes SOAP the fourth most-used architecture in our survey, down from the third spot last year.
GraphQL took SOAP's spot and was used by 29% of survey-takers.
REST: 86%
Webhooks: 36%
GraphQL: 29%
SOAP: 26%
Websockets: 25%
gRPC: 11%
MQTT: 9%
AMQP: 9%
Server-Sent Events: 6%
EDI: 4%
EDA: 3%
Multiple choices allowed.
We also asked folks which API specifications they use and love. JSON Schema remains the top pick, named by almost twice as many respondents as any other. Swagger/Open API 2.0 and Open API 3.x were the next most popular choices, almost evenly tied.
Never heard of it
Aware but don't use it
Use it
Use it and love it
Multiple choices allowed.
June 3 & 4, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA
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