Webhook vs API: When to Use Each (and How They Actually Work Together)

Webhooks and APIs are complementary tools used in software integrations, each serving distinct purposes: APIs are pull-based, allowing applications to request data as needed, while webhooks are push-based, enabling external systems to notify applications when changes occur. While APIs are suitable for situations requiring current state data, mutations, and initial data backfills, webhooks are ideal for real-time change detection, reducing unnecessary API calls and infrastructure resource usage. Since only about 11% of SaaS APIs natively support webhooks, many integrations rely on APIs for data reads and mutations and webhooks for change-driven events, often using polling or virtual webhooks when native support is absent. Unified.to offers a solution by providing both REST APIs and a unified webhook interface for change events, simplifying the integration process across multiple platforms by centralizing change detection within the integration layer, thus minimizing the need for custom polling infrastructure.