With the speed at which communication occurs, everyone aspires to have lag-free video or voice conversations in their chat platform, but it takes a rough stone to develop a tender video calling software. Aside from the time and money associated with developing video chat software, many company owners are becoming concerned about whether to use WebRTC or WebSocket as the communication protocol, as both are market leaders.
What Is WebRTC?
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) is a Google-created open-source communication technology that allows for real-time chat, phone, and live video conversations between online apps and devices. With the support of signalling servers, they can also handle many device connections without compromising integrity. Because the WebRTC protocol is device and platform agnostic, it may be deployed as an open web standard on any mobile device. WebRTC technology works with any operating system via basic JavaScript APIs, including Android, iOS, and browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, BlackBerry, and Internet Explorer.
What Is WebSocket?
A WebSocket is a form of communication protocol that enables a permanent, bi-directional, full-duplex TCP connection to be established between a user’s browser and a server. Developers mostly employ this server-to-client message delivery mechanism to construct real-time audio and video conversations. WebSockets are often used to show data constantly on the client side. An excellent example would be a Bitcoin trading website, where the backend server continually shows trade data on the dashboard., including Android, iOS, and browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, BlackBerry, and Internet Explorer.
WebSocket v/s Web RTC
WebRTC is used for all peer-to-peer conversations between mobile and online apps that employ UDP connections, whereas WebSockets is a client-server communication protocol that only works over TCP. Because WebSockets employ TCP connections, the likelihood of data integrity is higher than with WebRTC. However, the WebRTC protocol outperforms all others in terms of speed. WebRTC is primarily intended for audio and video streaming. Though WebSockets can also do this, they are ideally suited for transferring data strings in JSON forms. While WebRTC is typically used for real-time audio, video streaming, and video conferencing applications, WebSocket is used for data transmission, collaborative environments, and real-time chat applications.
Here is a comparative breakdown of the key differences between WebRTC and WebSocket:
| Basis Of Distinction | WebRTC | WebSocket |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Real-time communication technology | Bidirectional communication protocol |
| Use case | Video conferencing, peer-to-peer communication | Real-time chat, collaborative environments |
| Video streaming | Native support for real-time video streaming | Primarily focused on data communication |
| Signalling | It requires signalling server for session establishment | It does not require explicit signalling |
| Scalability | Limited scalability due to peer-to-peer nature | Highly scalable with server-based architecture |
| Firewall traversalScalability | Incorporates NAT traversal techniques | May require additional configuration for NAT traversal |
| Security | WebRTC implements encryption and authentication to protect data transmission across the internet. | WebSocket implements secure WebSocket connections with encryption solutions. |
When To Use WebSocket And WebRTC?
Both WebRTC and WebSockets are complementary technologies. One uses the other for developing different use cases. Though WebRTC is used to build P2P video chat apps, it makes use of a signaling server for opening and closing communication. WebRTCs do not provide any signaling implementation on their own. Thus, the WebSocket protocol is used as a signaling mechanism for all WebRTC applications.
WebRTCs are a great choice by developers for developing the following use cases.
• IoT Apps
• Live Broadcasting
• Customer Support
• HR Management
• AI-based Conversational Assistant
• Social Networking
• Healthcare
• Real-time Marketing & Advertising
• Virtual Medical Consultations
On the other hand ,WebSockets are highly preferred for the following use cases.
• Video Conferencing
• Social Feeds
• Sports Updates
• Location-based Apps
• Online Education
Can WebRTCs Replace WebSockets?
A WebSocket is a connection that is established between two browsers (clients) via a web server. When these browsers interact, WebRTCs assist transmit and receive messages between them without contacting the previously specified web server. This clearly communicates that WebSockets and WebRTCs are two distinct things inside the same operation. These technologies serve distinct functions in enabling real-time communication between web programs and browsers.
