Webhooks vs polling for integrations
When two systems need to stay in sync — your app and a payment provider, a CRM, a shipping service — you have two basic options: poll for changes, or receive webhooks. Here's how they differ and when to use each.
Polling
Polling means your system regularly asks the other one, "has anything changed?" — every minute, every few seconds, whatever you set. It's simple to build and works everywhere. The downsides: you make lots of requests that usually return nothing (wasteful), and you only find out about changes on your next check (not instant).
Webhooks
A webhook flips it around: instead of you asking, the other system tells you the moment something happens, by sending a message to a URL you provide. It's efficient (no wasted requests) and real-time. The cost: you need a publicly reachable endpoint, and you must handle delivery details — retries, duplicates, and verifying the message is genuine.
How to choose
- Need real-time updates or high efficiency? Webhooks.
- Only need occasional checks, or no webhooks available? Polling is simpler and fine.
- Best of both: many systems use webhooks for speed plus an occasional poll as a safety net in case one is missed.
Frequently asked questions
Are webhooks reliable?
They are when built well — but messages can occasionally be missed or duplicated, so you should handle retries, deduplicate, and consider an occasional poll as a backstop for critical data.
Do I need a server for webhooks?
You need a reachable endpoint to receive them. That can be a small serverless function — it doesn't require heavy infrastructure.
Is polling ever the better choice?
Yes — when the other system doesn't support webhooks, when updates are infrequent, or when the simplicity is worth more than real-time speed.
ZIVARA builds reliable integrations between your systems and the services you rely on. Let's talk. Related: how to design a clean REST API.