SSE vs WebSocket: Choose the Smaller Connection

engineering #realtime #sse #websocket

SSE vs WebSocket: Choose the Smaller Connection

Real-time features do not automatically need WebSockets: if the server only needs to push updates to the browser, Server-Sent Events are often simpler to build, operate, and debug. This post will compare the two protocols around direction, reconnects, scaling, and the point where bidirectional messaging justifies WebSockets.