With GraphQL you have the flexibility to utilize both REST and RPC patterns, with the added benefit of a type system and ability to choose the fields returned o

With GraphQL you have the flexibility to utilize both REST and RPC patterns, with the added benefit of a type system and ability to choose the fields returned on the client. You can write common CRUD queries/mutations similar to how you would with REST (allUsers/allProjects. If you have a query that you know ahead of time will be inefficient, you can add in a more RPC or dedicated endpoint style query that you can optimize how you see fit on backend (getAllCrazyThings(filters) etc). For the performance aspect, check out Apollo Engine, which allows you to track the latency and implications of using different fields within your queries and mutations over time: https://www.apollographql.com/docs/engine/performance.html https://www.apollographql.com/docs/engine/performance.html