JSONPlaceholder is a fantastic tool for learning REST APIs. But many teams eventually hit its limits.
What are JSONPlaceholder's limitations?
Common pain points include:
- Data resets between sessions
- No authentication flows
- No per-user data isolation
- No logs or request history
If any of those sound familiar, you've outgrown a pure fake API.
What do developers need beyond fake APIs?
Once an app becomes interactive, teams usually need:
- Persistent data
- User-specific records
- Real auth flows
- Visibility into requests
This is where many teams migrate away from JSONPlaceholder. If you're teaching with JSONPlaceholder and hitting these limits, see our guide for educators.
How does ReqRes solve these problems?
ReqRes supports both worlds:
- Free fake endpoints for quick testing
- Project-based backends with real persistence and auth
You can start with fake data and graduate to a real backend without rewriting your frontend.
Example: real collections
curl -X POST https://reqres.in/api/collections/todos \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_PROJECT_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{ "title": "Ship onboarding", "done": false }'
A smooth upgrade path
The key difference is continuity. Your frontend code doesn't change, only the capabilities behind it do.
For hands-on examples you can run right now, see our guide to free APIs for testing.
For detailed endpoint documentation, check the ReqRes API docs.
Try the live example here: https://app.reqres.in/?next=/examples/notes-app