01 May, 2025

Microservices vs Monolithic Architecture

 Microservices vs Monolithic Architecture

Here’s a clear side-by-side comparison between Microservices and Monolithic architectures — from a system design and engineering perspective:


Aspect

Monolithic Architecture

Microservices Architecture

Definition

A single, tightly coupled codebase where all modules run as one unified application

A collection of small, independent services that communicate over the network (e.g., HTTP, gRPC)

Codebase

Single repository/project

Multiple repositories or modular projects per service

Deployment

Deployed as one unit (e.g., one WAR, JAR, EXE)

Each service is deployed independently

Scalability

Vertical scaling (scale entire app)

Horizontal scaling (scale services independently based on load)

Technology Stack

Generally a unified stack (e.g., Java/Spring, .NET)

Polyglot — different services can use different languages, databases, tools

Development Speed

Faster in early stages; becomes slower as app grows

Allows parallel development across teams

Team Structure

Centralized team ownership

Distributed team ownership; often organized by business domain (aligned with DDD)

Fault Isolation

A failure in one module can crash the whole application

Failures are isolated to individual services

Testing

Easier for unit and integration testing in one app

Requires distributed test strategy; includes contract and end-to-end testing

Communication

In-process function calls

Over network — usually REST, gRPC, or message queues

Data Management

Single shared database

Each service has its own database (DB per service pattern)

DevOps Complexity

Easier to deploy and manage early on

Requires mature CI/CD, service discovery, monitoring, orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes)

Change Impact

Any change requires full redeployment

Changes to one service don’t affect others (if contracts are stable)

Examples

Legacy ERP, early-stage startups

Amazon, Netflix, Uber, Spotify


🚀 Use Cases

Architecture

Best Suited For

Monolithic

- Simple, small apps
- Early-stage products
- Teams with limited resources

Microservices

- Large-scale apps
- Need for frequent releases
- Independent team scaling


⚖️ When to Choose What?

If You Need

Go With

Simplicity and speed

Monolith

Scalability, agility, resilience

Microservices

Quick prototyping

Monolith

Complex domains and team scaling

Microservices

 


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Microservices vs Monolithic Architecture

 Microservices vs Monolithic Architecture Here’s a clear side-by-side comparison between Microservices and Monolithic architectures — fro...