Client Libraries

Comprehensive comparison of .NET libraries for consuming REST APIs

In this documentation only some client libraries are shown. Evaluate for yourself if and what kind of library you want or need.

Which client library is the best?

This question cannot be answered in general terms. But here are a few notes:

  • If you don’t want any dependency or external library: use only the HttpClient .
  • If you take a very simple json query in a demo or in a tool, then you can use any library shown here.
  • If you want a very powerful library that is very efficient and suitable for both simple and complex scenarios, use Refit .

My personal recommendation in general is: Refit

Make sure that you use a library that is actively being developed. The trick at the end is to integrate the library correctly into your code base.


HttpClient

Best practices for consuming REST APIs with native .NET HttpClient

Refit

Guide to using Refit for type-safe REST API calls in .NET applications

Flurl

Guide to using Flurl, a fluent URL builder and HTTP client library for .NET

RestSharp

About RestSharp: A popular REST and HTTP API Client library for .NET

ServiceStack

Guide to using ServiceStack for REST service consumption in .NET applications