| SOAP | REST API |
|---|---|
| SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol. | REST stands for Representational State Transfer. |
| It is a protocol and follows a strict standard to allow communication between the client and the server. | It is an architectural style that follows six constraints – Uniform Interface, Client-Server, Layered System, Stateless, Cacheable, Code on Demand. |
| SOAP only uses XML for exchanging information. | REST is not restricted to XML. It permits different data formats such as Plain text, XML, HTML, and JSON. |
| SOAP cannot use REST. | REST can use SOAP protocol. |
| Difficult to implement. | Easy to implement. |
| Requires more bandwidth. | requires less bandwidth. |
