JSON vs XML: Which Should You Use?

JSON and XML are both widely used for structured data, but they serve different needs. Understanding their trade-offs helps you pick the right format for APIs, configs, and integrations.

JSON Advantages

JSON is lighter, faster to parse, and more readable for developers. It maps directly to objects in JavaScript, Python dicts, and similar structures. Most modern REST APIs default to JSON.

When XML Still Wins

XML supports attributes, namespaces, and mixed content — useful for documents, SOAP services, and legacy enterprise systems. RSS feeds and Office document formats still rely on XML.

WaiHub's JSON Formatter can convert between JSON and XML when you need to bridge both worlds.