JSONPlaceholder is brilliant for getting started. But at some point, your app stops being a demo-and your fake API starts getting in the way.
This post is about recognizing that moment, and what to do next.
What JSONPlaceholder does really well
JSONPlaceholder shines when you need:
- Instant fake endpoints
- Predictable JSON responses
- Zero setup
- Something to unblock UI work
For tutorials, quick demos, and early prototyping, it’s hard to beat.
The moment it starts to fall apart
Things usually break down when you need one of these:
- Persistence (refresh the page and your data disappears)
- Per-user data (everyone sees the same fake records)
- Auth flows (login screens that don’t lie)
- Logs (what actually happened?)
- Confidence that your frontend matches reality
At this point, developers often reach for a full backend-or start wiring together half a dozen services.
A middle ground: real endpoints without backend overhead
This is where tools like ReqRes come in.
Instead of replacing JSONPlaceholder with a full backend, you get:
- Persistent JSON collections
- Per-user scoped data
- Magic-link auth → session tokens
- Request logs by default
- The same
fetch()calls you already wrote
No servers. No migrations. No infra decisions.
See it working for real
If you want to see the difference immediately, open the Notes example app. It uses real auth and real data-but nothing beyond frontend code.
👉 https://app.reqres.in/examples/notes-app
TL;DR
JSONPlaceholder is great for learning and demos.
ReqRes is what you reach for when the app starts feeling real.
Get started here:
👉 https://app.reqres.in