JSONPlaceholder is a fantastic tool for learning REST APIs. But many teams eventually hit its limits.
Common pain points
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 developers need next
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.
How ReqRes differs
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.
Try the live example here: https://app.reqres.in/?next=/examples/notes-app