Use webhooks when a provider supports the events you need and your system should hear about changes without repeatedly asking. Use polling when updates are only needed occasionally, the monitored set is small, or no suitable webhook exists. The choice depends on freshness, event coverage, request limits, and whether your team can securely operate a receiver.
Webhooks vs polling: what is the difference?
A webhook sends an event notification from a provider to a server you designate after a subscribed event occurs. Polling reverses the initiative: your system calls the provider’s API on a schedule to ask whether relevant data has changed. GitHub describes webhooks as near-real-time notifications and notes that subscriptions can reduce the work and resource use of repeated checks, particularly when monitoring many resources. Shopify similarly presents webhooks as an alternative to continuously polling for changes.
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Neither approach guarantees a particular end-to-end update time. A webhook depends on the provider’s event coverage and delivery behavior; polling depends on its interval and the provider’s API behavior.
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Choose based on the actual event and operating requirements, not on a universal claim that one pattern is always better.
#1 Best Overall
| Factor | Webhooks | Polling |
|---|---|---|
| Update urgency | Can notify your system when a subscribed event occurs, without waiting for the next scheduled check. Delivery timing depends on the provider. | Freshness depends on how often you check and how the provider serves the data. |
| Monitored resources and request volume | Subscriptions can avoid unnecessary repeated checks, especially across many resources. Provider quotas still apply. | Repeated checks grow with the number of resources and the frequency of requests. |
| Event coverage | Useful only if the provider offers a subscription for the event you need. | Can work when there is no suitable event subscription, provided the API exposes the state you need. |
| Operational work | Requires a reachable receiver, request validation, prompt acknowledgment, and a plan for failures and redelivery. | Requires a scheduler, deliberate cadence, and handling of API limits and retry guidance. |
| Good fit | Timely event-driven updates, especially when monitoring many resources. | Occasional checks, a small resource set, or a provider without suitable webhooks. |
Choose webhooks for timely, event-driven updates
A webhook is a strong fit when your application needs to react to specific changes and the provider exposes those events. It can spare your system from asking repeatedly when nothing has changed. The benefit is most relevant as the set of monitored resources grows, though the provider’s own quotas and delivery contract still matter.
Choose polling for limited or intermittent needs
Polling is reasonable when you need information once or intermittently, monitor only a small set of resources, or cannot subscribe to the necessary event. GitHub explicitly describes API calls as appropriate for these limited cases. Polling can also check current state, but that does not establish a universal requirement or guarantee for combining polling with webhooks.
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How do I avoid polling an API too often?
Set the cadence from the freshness your application needs, then follow the API provider’s specific instructions. GitHub’s REST API guidance recommends a fixed schedule, honoring an x-poll-interval header when present, using authenticated conditional requests, and requesting only the data needed.
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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →- Set a deliberate schedule. Avoid an aggressive constant loop; choose an interval that fits the real need for fresh data.
- Honor provider-supplied intervals. If the API returns a polling interval such as
x-poll-interval, follow it. - Use conditional requests. For GitHub REST API polling, use authenticated conditional requests so unchanged resources can be handled efficiently.
- Limit the requested data. Ask only for the fields or records your system needs.
- Handle rate limits and retries as documented. Slack’s HTTP APIs use HTTP 429 responses and a
Retry-Afterheader; its limits are method-specific and can change. Do not assume Slack’s behavior or limits apply to another provider.
What does a webhook receiver need to handle?
A webhook shifts repeated checking into event delivery, but it also makes your service responsible for receiving and processing inbound requests safely. Follow the provider’s current webhook documentation; GitHub’s recommendations include:
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- Subscribe only to the event types your application uses.
- Verify requests with the provider’s signing secret or equivalent mechanism. Use HTTPS with certificate verification; a public endpoint URL alone does not prove a request is authentic.
- Check the event type and action before triggering application behavior.
- Acknowledge requests promptly. GitHub recommends responding within 10 seconds; this is GitHub-specific guidance, not a universal webhook service-level target.
- Understand how the provider reports failed deliveries and supports redelivery, and use that mechanism for missed GitHub deliveries.
GitHub’s guidance names Hookdeck and queue libraries such as Resque, RQ, and RabbitMQ as examples relevant to webhook delivery handling. Their mention is an example, not an endorsement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should you think about failures and delivery guarantees?
Do not assume exactly-once delivery, a universal retry policy, or a fixed webhook latency. Delivery, retries, event coverage, and rate limits are provider-specific; consult the documentation for the service you integrate. The cited guidance recommends learning redelivery procedures for missed GitHub events and using efficient polling practices, but does not establish one universal webhook-plus-polling reconciliation design.
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In practice, decide how your system will detect and recover from missed or delayed updates using the provider’s documented delivery and state-checking options. If you add polling as a fallback, set its cadence deliberately and observe the same API limits.
Quick Recap
A practical decision checklist
- Use webhooks if the provider supports the events you need and you need timely reactions.
- Use polling if checks are intermittent, the resource set is small, or an appropriate webhook is unavailable.
- Before adopting webhooks, confirm you can expose and secure a receiver, acknowledge requests promptly, and handle failed deliveries.
- Before adopting polling, confirm your cadence fits the freshness requirement and the provider’s interval and rate-limit guidance.
- For either option, verify the actual provider’s event, delivery, and API-limit documentation rather than assuming one platform’s rules apply elsewhere.
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