Difference Between SOAP and REST Web Service

Web services enable different applications to communicate with each other over the internet. They allow data exchange between systems, regardless of their underlying platforms or programming languages. Two major types of web services are SOAP and REST. Understanding the difference between them is essential for developers working with APIs or system integrations.

What is SOAP Web Service?

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol-based web service developed by Microsoft. It uses XML to encode messages and relies on application layer protocols like HTTP or SMTP for message negotiation and transmission. SOAP is strict with its standards and is widely used in enterprise-level applications due to its reliability, security, and ACID compliance.

What is REST Web Service?

REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style rather than a protocol. RESTful web services use standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE to perform operations. It supports multiple data formats including XML, JSON, and plain text. REST is lightweight, fast, and more flexible than SOAP, making it suitable for web and mobile applications.

SOAP vs REST Web Services

Some of the differences between SOAP and REST web services are as follows:

Feature	SOAP Web Service	REST Web Service
Protocol	SOAP is a protocol	REST is an architectural style
Data Format	Uses XML only	Supports XML, JSON, HTML, plain text
Message Format	Strict and standardized XML format	Lightweight and flexible format
Transport Protocol	Can use HTTP, SMTP, TCP, etc.	Primarily uses HTTP
Performance	Slower due to heavy XML parsing	Faster due to lightweight messages
Security	Supports WS-Security standards	Depends on HTTPS for security
Statefulness	Can be stateful or stateless	Stateless by design
Ease of Use	Complex to implement	Simple and easy to implement
Best Suited For	Enterprise-level applications	Mobile and web applications