Four ways to build in-app integrations in 2025 - with pros & cons

Building integrations with third-party APIs can be a complex and time-consuming process, transitioning from a simple proof of concept to a robust production-ready system. This process involves challenges such as implementing retry logic, error handling, managing rate limits, and ensuring scalability and fault tolerance. Fortunately, multiple solutions exist to streamline integration development, each with distinct advantages and limitations depending on factors like the level of interaction, integration depth, complexity of the external system, customer usage, data volume, and the number of systems involved. Options include building from scratch, using low-code/no-code integration builders, leveraging API aggregators, or adopting pre-built infrastructure. Each approach suits different scenarios, from bespoke integrations for enterprise customers to standardized API aggregations across similar systems, allowing engineering teams to choose based on their specific needs and resources.