Kaizen #173: A Comparison of Zoho CRM REST APIs and GraphQL APIs
Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!
Zoho CRM offers two API architectures for its users: REST API and GraphQL API. Each of these API architectures has its own strengths and ideal use cases. In this post, we will discuss the difference between REST API and GraphQL API.
REST APIs, or RESTful APIs, allow clients to interact with server resources using standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE. GraphQL is a query language that provides a more flexible and efficient way to access data and metadata within your Zoho CRM. Unlike REST APIs that return fixed datasets, GraphQL allows you to request specific resources, fields of the resources and relationships of the resources, reducing redundant data and streamlining your development process.
Endpoints
REST APIs access information through dedicated endpoints.
REST APIs: Multiple endpoints for different resourcesIn contrast, GraphQL APIs operate through a single endpoint. In Zoho CRM, it is {api-domain}/crm/graphql
GraphQL APIs: Single endpoint for different resourcesOver-fetching and under-fetching of data
REST APIs use Unique Resource Identifiers (URIs) for identifying resources. This approach allows clients to access specific data, but it can also lead to inefficiencies such as over-fetching or under-fetching of information. Over-fetching occurs when the client receives much more data than it requires. Under-fetching occurs when the client requires to send multiple requests to fetch all the data it requires.
In GraphQL APIs, the client controls the structure of the response by specifying the exact information they need. This enables the clients to have precise data control and avoids over-fetching and under-fetching of data. It fetches required data from different resources and provides it as a single resource.
Schema Introspection
GraphQL APIs have a schema that outlines the different types of data that can be queried in the server. This is like a blueprint for the API and serves as a contract between the server and client for data exchange. Refer to this post on Interpreting Zoho CRM GraphQL schema for more details.
Editions supported
REST APIs are available across all versions of Zoho CRM, including trial versions. GraphQL APIs are supported for Enterprise, Zoho One Enterprise, CRM Plus and Ultimate edition orgs. Please note that GraphQL APIs are not available for trial edition of these editions.
Status Codes
Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs mostly return 200 status code except for a few errors that return 400 status code. Refer to this page on GraphQL error and status code for details.
Zoho CRM REST APIs return different status codes. Refer to this page on REST API status code for more details.
Credits Consumption
API rate limiting is crucial to ensure fair resource distribution, maintain optimal service quality for all users, and safeguard our system from potential security threats.
Both Zoho CRM REST APIs and Zoho CRM GraphQL API calls are associated with credits. Number of credits consumed depends on the intensity of the API call.
Additionally, Zoho CRM REST APIs have Concurrency and Sub-concurrency limits. Concurrency limits the number of API calls that can be active at one time instance. It varies across different editions of Zoho CRM. For a few APIs that are more resource-intensive, there is an additional limit called sub-concurrency, The APIs that will fall under the sub-concurrency limit are
- Get Records with cvid or sort_by parameters
- Convert Lead
- Insert, Update, or Upsert records (when the record count is greater than 10)
- Send Mail
- Search records API invoked from function
- Query API
- Composite API
Sub-concurrency limit across different editions is 10.
In GraphQL APIs, we have different concepts called Complexity, and Depth. Query Complexity refers to the workload imposed on servers by a specific query. This complexity increases with the number of fields requested and the depth of the query structure. Query Depth refers to the nesting level of a field that is being queried. In Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs it is limited to seven.
Suitable scenarios for GraphQL APIs and REST APIs
Let’s explore a scenario - the case of Zylker Manufacturing, an industrial equipment manufacturer. Their sales team uses Zoho CRM to enhance their sales operations and manage customer relationships effectively. Meanwhile, their sales support team relies on a legacy system to oversee their activities.
The support team needs to retrieve comprehensive information about one account and its associated contacts to track all support tickets related to that account. They also need associated deals of the account for contextual information.
With GraphQL APIs they can use a single API call to fetch all required information to create a unified view. The below query fetches specific data related to Accounts and their Contacts and Deals, as well as metadata about the fields in the Accounts , Contacts and Deals modules.
{ Records { Accounts(where: { Account_Name: { like: "%King%" } }) { _data { Account_Name { value } Contacts__r { _data { Email { value } Full_Name { value } } } Deals__r { _data { Expected_Revenue { value } Deal_Name { value } Stage { value } } } } } } account_meta: Meta { Modules(filter: { api_name: "Accounts" }) { _data { plural_label id api_name module_name description singular_label fields(filter: { api_names: "Account_Name" }) { _data { id api_name display_label json_type data_type } } } } } contact_meta: Meta { Modules(filter: { api_name: "Contacts" }) { _data { plural_label id api_name module_name description singular_label fields(filter: { api_names: ["Email", "Full_Name"] }) { _data { id api_name display_label json_type data_type } } } } } deals_meta: Meta { Modules(filter: { api_name: "Deals" }) { _data { plural_label id api_name module_name description singular_label fields(filter: { api_names: ["Expected_Revenue", "Deal_Name", "Stage"] }) { _data { id api_name display_label json_type data_type } } } } } } |
Using REST APIs in this scenario will require multiple API calls to the following APIs
- Query API
- Related Records API
- Modules meta API, and
- Fields meta API.
We had explored another scenario involving Zylker Manufacturing in detail in an earlier Kaizen post where their sales support team needed the below details from Zoho CRM
- details of the contact, such as email, phone, and Account details
- details of the ongoing deals of the contact, including potential revenue and stages.
GraphQL APIs are beneficial in these cases as they can fetch the required data in a single data query.
Conversely, in simpler use cases, REST APIs may be more suitable. Let’s examine a second scenario involving an inventory management system. Zenith Products needs to manage its product catalog. The inventory management system requires the ability to:
- Fetch Details of a Single Product
- Fetch Details of Multiple Products
- Update Product Information
Each product can be accessed via a unique URL (endpoint), allowing for straightforward requests. For example:
- To fetch a single product: GET /crm/{version}/products/{product_id}
- To fetch multiple products: GET /crm/{version}/products
- To update a product: PUT /crm/{version}/products/{product_id}
In such cases, REST APIs are preferred due to their simplicity.
Note
Currently, Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs only support queries. Queries allow you to fetch data from the server.
You can choose to use Zoho CRM REST APIs or GraphQL APIs depending on the specific need of your application. REST APIs are suitable for straightforward data retrieval needs whereas GraphQL is useful in situations involving complex queries and need precise data control.
We hope you found this post useful. Stay tuned for more insights in our upcoming Kaizen posts!
More enhancements in the COQL API are now live in Zoho CRM API Version 7. Check out the V7 Changelog for detailed information on these updates.
Previous Kaizen: Kaizen #172 - Leveraging the 'crmAPIResponse' Object in Queries | Kaizen Directory
Cheers!
Mable
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Mable Mary M P
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes areKaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms
Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achievedKaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI
Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Experience Zoho Show on Mac now!
Work today isn’t tied to a single place, time, or routine. It happens in cafes between meetings, on flights, or late at night when ideas strike. And when ins, your tools need to be ready, wherever you are. That’s why we built the Zoho Show app for Mac.【開催報告】東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.4 | Zoho CRM 自動化のコツ ・Bookings のビジネス活用シーンとおすすめ機能を紹介
ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 11月28日(金)に新橋で「東京 ユーザー交流会 Vol.4」を開催しました。ご参加くださったユーザーの皆さま、ありがとうございました。ユーザー交流会の年内開催は、今回が最後でした。 この投稿では、当日のセッションの様子や使用した資料を紹介しています。残念ながら当日お越しいただけなかった方も、ぜひチェックしてみてください😊 ユーザー活用事例セッション：関数やクライアントスクリプトまで、CRMをもっと便利に Zoho CRM には、ワークフローやブループリントなど、さまざまな自動化に役立つ標準機能が備わっています。さらに、関数（Deluge）のようにスクリプトを記述して高度な自動化を実現することもできます。Kiosk Button Actions
I need to add an action to a Kiosk Button to loop me back to start the kiosk again and I am not sure what that looks like (function, etc.).[Webinar] Automate generation of wills, trusts, POAs, and other estate planning documents with Zoho Writer
Managing the lifecycle of the estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, and POAs, from client intake to final storage, can be complex and time-consuming. Join our live webinar to learn how Zoho Writer transforms this process by automating documentDependent drop-downs... how?
Good day. I have 2 different situations where I need a dependent drop-down field. First is for a subform, where I want to show related fields for a specific customer on the main form. In my case it is a parent whose children make use of our school transportReporting Limitation on Lead–Product Relation in Zoho CRM
I noticed that Zoho CRM has a default Products related list under Leads. However, when I try to create a report for Lead–Product association, I’m facing some limitations. To fix this, I’m considering adding a multi-lookup field along with a custom relatedSeries Label in the Legend
My legend reads 'Series 1' and 'Series 2'. From everything I read online, Zoho is supposed to change the data names if it's formatted correctly. I have the proper labels on the top of the columns and the right range selected. I assume it's something inDynamic Signature - Record owner
Hi everyone, I’m using Zoho Writer merge templates from Zoho CRM and have two questions: Owner signature: How can I automatically insert the CRM record owner’s signature in the merged document? I’m not sure where this signature is stored or how to referenceSet Warehouse based on Vendor
Greetings. I would like to set automaticaly the Warehouse based on the Vendor. Context: I am working on an adaptation of a Purchase Order to be used as a Quotation. I have defined that when a user has to raise a quote the Vendor will be "PROCUREMENT" I would like to set the Warehouse to a predefined value when "PROCUREMENT" is set as Vendor. I have tried to do with the Automation feature using the Field Update option, but Warehouse does not is listed as a field. Can you help? Thanks in advance.Printing from Zoho Creator hosted on my own server to printers hosted on my clients local network
Hello. Fairly new to Zoho Creator and looking for best options to be able to print from my application hosted on my own server to any printer hosted on my clients own local network. Any advice is welcome. Thank you.Add System Pre-Defined Lookup Field to Subform?
Hi there! New to using Zoho, so this may already exist, but I'm having trouble figuring it out. Is there a way to get the system pre-defined Account Lookup field (in our case, renamed to Company Name), as the starting point for a subform? In our company,Numbered / bullet point List in Zho Cliq
Hi, is there a way to format chat messages in Cliq like this Topic 1 Hey, I finished this project yesterday etc... Topic 2 I am still working on this etc...Cannot Access Subform Display Order in Deluge
As highlighted in this community post, we still have to deal with the significant limitation of not being able to access the user-sorted order of subform rows through Deluge. This creates a major disconnect between the UI capabilities and backend automation,Update related module entry Zoho Flow not working with custom module ?
Hi everyone. I am facing an issue here on Zoho Flow. Basically what I am doing is checking when a module entry is being filled in with an Event ID. Event is a custom module that I created. If the field is being filled in I fetch the contact with its IDHow many groups in Zoho Mail can I make?
I'm currently on the free plan, which has a limit of 10 users. Does that limit includes groups too? If not, what is the limit for groups? Thanks!Feature Suggestion for Zoho Social: Auto-reply to Comments or Keywords
Hi Zoho team, I'd like to suggest a very specific feature that would be extremely helpful for customer engagement: the ability to automatically send a reply to comments on posts — either all comments or those containing specific keywords. For example,My domain did not activate
Hi, my domain (apsaindustrial.com.ar) did not activate, and the phone verification message never arrived. Please would you solve this problem? Thanks.Already have Zoho account. Not letting me log in
I already have a Zoho account that is associated with my Google email and my phone number. Even though I'm already logged in to Zoho, when I click on the mail icon to access my email, it takes me to the pricing page. When I click on the free option, itZOHO Mail App Not working
There seems to be an issue with Zoho Mail App today. It is not connecting to server, internet is working fine, tried uninstalling app and reinstalling, loading circle keeps spinning round. Is there an update on the way?facing error 550 5.4.6 while sending emails
Please help me fix this issueAllow Itemization for Recurring Expenses
For whatever reason, one cannot itemize a Recurring Expense. This capability should be added. The use cases to support this are largely the same as what they were to allow for itemization in Expenses. Anything that would need to be itemized for a regularZoho reply to not working. just reply to my self
Hello. i using on my wordpress website a contact form from Wsform. i can set the reply to email there. normally it works. but since i am using your wordpress plugin zoho mail it doesn`t work. its not using the reply to (email from customer). I just canCan't receive any email from other platform
Hello,everyone, i'm just join zoho and create two email accounts for my own business. I was using it to get a verified email from stripe, but can't receive it. and I use my private gmail account to send test email twice, first time show below reply, butYour Incoming has been blocked and the emails will not be fetched in your Zoho account and POP Accounts
Can some on help me regarding our account . thank you so muchZoho Creator integration with Sage 50
Hi, Wondering if anyone has had any experience connecting Zoho to Sage 50 and could share any information on this matter. Thank you.Conditional Email Forwarding
How can I set conditional email forwarding of the users? For example: Mail should be forwarded to a address only if it comes from a particular sender. So, I want such email forwarding, which forwards mails based on particular conditions, like the incomingIncoming emails not appearing in Inbox
Hello, I have an issue with incoming emails sent from my website (domain: h2ostop.si). Emails are visible in the Sent folder, which means they are successfully sent through Zoho SMTP, but they never appear in my Inbox. Nothing arrives in Inbox, Spam,Automatic Matching from Bank Statements / Feeds
Is it possible to have transactions from a feed or bank statement automatically match when certain criteria are met? My use case, which is pretty broadly applicable, is e-commerce transactions for merchant services accounts (clearing accounts). In theseEmail Opt Out Question
Has the problem where if a customer is emailed opt out prevents you sending standard emails? For me this feature is simply to stop any email marketing and should not block people from receiving emails via Zoho mobile, which makes no sense.Can No Longer Access Zoho Email Accounts from iPhone or iPad Apple Mail Apps ,.
Keeps asking for password, Says ID or password incorrect. Tried creating a new app specific password. Same result. Is this possibly related to the server maintenance. Have verified all email settings, userid and password. This has worked for years untilLatest update caused issue in using marathi typingzoho
With latest update now marathi typing does Not work in zohonotebook. I preferred zoho over other because it was supporting marathi font without any distortion.. But after new update,keyborad simply does not workLogin verification emails never received.
I can't login to my account. You send a verification email, but it never arrives. This is a common problem, frequently caused by some relay point out there classifying the sender as a spammer. Is there anything I can do to bypass this? Maybe get a textGlobal lists for Multi select
It would be great if I could select a global list to use for a multi select dropdown filed.Yahoo is rejecting e-mails sent from a Zoho server
Diagnostic-Code: 4.7.0 [TSS04] Messages from 136.143.169.51 temporarily deferred due to unexpected volume or user complaints - 4.16.55.1; see https://postmaster.yahooinc.com/error-codes Remote-MTA: dns; mta5.am0.yahoodns.netYahoo blocks e-mail sent from Zoho servers
Getting this for a bunch of Yahoo addresses. Do you know if some of your servers got blacklisted? Diagnostic-Code: 4.7.0 [TSS04] Messages from 136.143.169.51 temporarily deferred due to unexpected volume or user complaints - 4.16.55.1; see https://postmaster.yahooinc.com/error-codesWorking with dates and Function Field
Hello friends! I'm trying to add days to a date, however the field function will always shows 00:00:00 after the resultant date. How can I display only the date, whithout the time? toDate(input.request_date.addDay(input.Prazo_acordado),"MM,d,yyyy") The code above will result something like "11-Feb-2020 00:00:00", but I want to display only "11-Feb-2020"What's New in Zoho Analytics - November 2025
We're thrilled to announce a significant update focused on expanding your data connectivity, enhancing visualization capabilities, and delivering a more powerful, intuitive, and performant analytics experience. Here’s a look at what’s new. Explore What'sUnable to send message;Reason:550 5.4.6 Unusual sending activity detected. Please try after sometime.
Please help my account got blocked automatically, can you help me how to avoid it? Thanks so muchUnusual activity detected from this IP. Please try again after some time
When i try to create new addresses on my account i am getting this error, it has been 24 hours now and i am still getting this error can anyone helptemporary system errorlouis
J'essaye d'envoyer des mails avec mes 2 adresses mail qe nous avons sur le compte arthur@lepunch.fr et louis@lepunch.fr mais j'ai toujours le message temporaire system error, je reçois les mails mais impossible d'en envoyer a qui que ce soitNext Page