A practical comparison of Server-Sent Events (SSE) and WebSockets for real-time features, arguing that SSE is the right default for most one-way server-to-client flows. Covers the protocol differences, auth handling, the HTTP/1.1 connection limit gotcha and its HTTP/2 fix, framework and serverless platform implications, and concrete code examples for both approaches. The author advocates using SSE for notifications, AI token streams, progress bars, dashboards, and log tails, reserving WebSockets only for genuinely bidirectional, low-latency conversations like multiplayer games or collaborative editors.
Table of contents
What Each One Actually IsThe Reflex To Reach For WebSocketsWhen WebSockets Actually WinWhen SSE Actually Wins (Which Is Most Of The Time)The Code Comparison That Made It Click For MeAuth, Which Is Where People Get StuckThe Connection Limit TrapWhat About Long PollingFrameworks Are Quietly Choosing For YouWhat I Run In ProductionWhat I Would Tell You If You AskedSort: