RESTful APIs have been the standard for years — they're simple, cacheable, and work over HTTP. But GraphQL is gaining ground, especially in mobile apps where bandwidth is limited. The India API market research study shows that RESTful APIs hold the largest share (48%), but GraphQL is the fastest‑growing. Why? Because GraphQL allows a client to request exactly the fields it needs, reducing data transfer and speeding up app performance.

What's the use case in pharma? Imagine a doctor's app that needs a patient's drug history, allergies, and current prescriptions. With REST, you might need three separate API calls. With GraphQL, one call returns exactly the data you need. The India API market trends highlight that mobile applications are the largest application segment, which is why GraphQL is growing — mobile developers love its efficiency.

But GraphQL isn't perfect. It's harder to cache, and complex queries can overwhelm servers. That's why many companies use a hybrid approach: REST for public APIs, GraphQL for internal mobile apps.

The takeaway: if you're building a mobile health app, consider GraphQL. If you're building a public API for many different clients, stick with REST.