Fetch API vs Axios: Which HTTP Client Works Best in Real Projects?

Handling HTTP requests is an everyday necessity in modern React development. Whether you’re pulling user data, submitting a form, or connecting to a backend service, the client you choose directly impacts performance, readability, and long-term maintainability. Two of the most common tools are the native Fetch API and the third-party library Axios.

Both options accomplish the same goal, but their design philosophies are quite different. In this article, we’ll compare Fetch and Axios with practical scenarios, so you can decide which tool best fits your project’s needs.

Quick Overview

• Fetch API: A browser-native feature requiring no installation. It’s lightweight, promise-based, and good for simple use cases.
• Axios: A popular HTTP client that offers a cleaner syntax, automatic JSON handling, and features like interceptors and built-in timeout support.

At first glance, they may seem interchangeable. But as projects grow more complex—especially when dealing with authentication, error handling, and global configurations—the differences become more apparent.

Case Study 1: GET and POST Requests

Let’s start with the basics: fetching a list of posts and creating a new one.

Using Fetch API

const getPosts = async () => {
  try {
    const response = await fetch('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts');
    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`Failed: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`);
    }
    return await response.json();
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Fetch error:', error);
  }
};

const createPost = async (post) => {
  try {
    const response = await fetch('https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts', {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify(post),
    });
    if (!response.ok) throw new Error('Post creation failed');
    return await response.json();
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Create error:', error);
  }
};

With Fetch, you must:

• Manually check response.ok.
• Explicitly parse the JSON with response.json().
• Provide headers like Content-Type for JSON requests.

Using Axios

import axios from 'axios';

const api = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com',
});

const getPosts = async () => {
  try {
    const { data } = await api.get('/posts');
    return data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Axios error:', error.message);
  }
};

const createPost = async (post) => {
  try {
    const { data } = await api.post('/posts', post);
    return data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Create error:', error.message);
  }
};

Axios simplifies things:

• JSON is parsed automatically (response.data).
• HTTP errors (like 404/500) are caught without manual checks.
• Common headers are applied by default.

For small scripts, Fetch works fine. But for larger apps, Axios offers a smoother developer experience.

Case Study 2: Authentication and Global Error Handling

Real-world apps usually require authentication and consistent error management.

Fetch with a Wrapper

const fetchWithAuth = async (url, options = {}) => {
  const token = localStorage.getItem('authToken');
  const headers = { ...options.headers, Authorization: token ? `Bearer ${token}` : '' };

  const response = await fetch(url, { ...options, headers });

  if (response.status === 401) {
    window.location.href = '/login';
  }

  return response;
};

This works, but it forces you to use a custom wrapper everywhere. Global rules like redirects or retries must be repeated across the codebase, which becomes hard to maintain.

Axios with Interceptors

import axios from 'axios';

const api = axios.create({ baseURL: '/api' });

api.interceptors.request.use((config) => {
  const token = localStorage.getItem('authToken');
  if (token) config.headers.Authorization = `Bearer ${token}`;
  return config;
});

api.interceptors.response.use(
  (res) => res,
  (err) => {
    if (err.response?.status === 401) {
      window.location.href = '/login';
    }
    return Promise.reject(err);
  }
);

Here, authentication and error handling happen automatically for all requests. This centralization reduces duplication and keeps components focused on UI logic.

Common Tasks Compared

Task	Fetch	Axios
Basic GET	fetch().then(res.json())	axios.get() → res.data
POST JSON	Requires manual headers & stringify	Pass object directly
Auth Tokens	Add manually each request	Inject globally via interceptors
Handle 401	Check status each time	Interceptor redirects globally
Timeout	Requires AbortController	Built-in timeout option
File Upload	Manual FormData setup	Handles FormData automatically

Which Should You Choose?

• Use Fetch if you’re building small apps, internal tools, or want to avoid extra dependencies. It’s minimal, native, and works well for straightforward cases.
• Use Axios if you’re working on larger applications with authentication, retries, or shared error handling. Its defaults and interceptors make complex workflows easier to manage.

Migration Tips

If you start with Fetch and later need Axios:

1. Wrap Fetch in utilities first to isolate logic.
2. Identify common needs (auth, errors, retries).
3. Introduce Axios gradually by creating a central client.
4. Replace endpoints step by step while testing thoroughly.

Final Thoughts

Fetch and Axios both solve the same problem but serve different needs. Fetch is perfect for simplicity and minimalism, while Axios excels in scalability and consistency. The key is to pick the tool that matches your project’s complexity today and the challenges you expect tomorrow.