Serverless vs. Microservices: What Are Key Differences And Which Works Best For Your Deployment?
Web Development
Serverless vs. Microservices: What Are Key Differences And Which Works Best For Your Deployment?
Dec 12, 2024
about 8 min read
Discover key differences between serverless vs. microservices to know which is best-fit to your deployment stage.
Did you know that by 2025, 75% of enterprises are predicted to migrate to cloud-native technologies, with serverless and microservices leading the way? This shift to decentralized computing has left 65% of companies grappling with the decision between serverless vs. microservices architectures.
Whether you’re a startup chasing agility or an enterprise seeking flexibility, these 2 groundbreaking transformations will transform yours one way or another. But here’s the catch: serverless and microservices aren’t the same—and choosing the wrong one could spell disaster for your project.
In this blog, we’ll break down the key differences, highlight the pros and cons, and help you uncover which approach is the perfect fit for your business.
What is Serverless Architecture?
Serverless architecture is an innovative cloud-computing model where developers focus solely on writing and deploying code without managing the underlying infrastructure.
👉Here’s the deal: in a serverless model, you write small, independent pieces of code called functions that perform specific tasks. These functions only run when triggered by an event—like a user clicking a button, uploading a file, or making an API call. When the task is done, the function stops running, and you stop being billed.
The name “serverless” can be confusing because there are servers involved, but the key difference is that you don’t manage them. Instead, the cloud provider takes care of all the heavy lifting—like scaling, running, and maintaining the servers behind the scenes.
There are 2 types of serverless you may know, which is:
Here are easy-to-understand benefits of serverless:
Easier to scale your application: Serverless platforms automatically adjust resources based on the demand of your application. It means that as more users interact with your app, it can grow without requiring manual adjustments.
Save amount of money: In serverless computing, you only pay for what you use, not for unused resources. The "pay-as-you-go" model is great for businesses with variable workloads and saves a great deal of money on infrastructure costs.
Faster Development: Serverless removes the complexity of managing servers, so developers can focus on coding and feature development. As a result, new features and applications can be delivered more rapidly to the market.
What is Microservices Architecture?
Microservices architecture is a way of building applications as a collection of small, independent services that each perform a specific business function.
Instead of building one large, monolithic application where all features are tightly coupled together, you break it down into multiple services that work together to complete the overall task.
Each service plays a unique functionality, such as handling user authentication, managing inventory, or processing payments. These services communicate with each other through lightweight protocols like APIs or messaging systems.
Some benefits of Microservices includes:
Independent development and deployment: One of the best things about microservices is that each service can be developed and deployed on its own. Different teams can work on different parts of the app at the same time.
Fault isolation: If one service fails, the others usually keep running smoothly, which is a huge advantage when you're trying to minimize downtime.
Allocate resources: Since each service can be scaled independently, you can adjust resources based on what each service needs and optimize performance.
4 Key Differences between Serverless vs. Microservices
Serverless and microservices are both ways to design scalable applications, but they differ in how they handle resources and structure. For the sake of clarity, let’s take a closer look at serverless vs. microservices differences.
Serverless
Microservices
Core strategies
Short-term
Long-term
Infrastructure maintenance
Cloud provider
Whole team
Cost
Low
High
Runtime
Limited time
Long run
1. Core strategies
At the core of the difference between serverless and microservices is their design philosophy. Microservices are built for long-term, complex applications.
For example, an e-commerce platform or a CRM system would typically rely on a microservices architecture to manage different aspects of the app (payments, user management, inventory).
On the flip side, serverless is all about efficiency and cost-effectiveness. In this model, each function runs only when it is triggered by an event. If no event occurs, no resources are used, which means no unnecessary CPU or memory consumption. This makes serverless perfect for short-term tasks like processing data or sending notifications.
2. Responsible in maintenance
Microservices require a dedicated team to manage everything, from deployment and scaling to security and updates. Serverless, however, the cloud provider takes care of all the infrastructure.
3. Costs
Microservices can become quite costly, particularly in the early stages of development. Additionally, infrastructure costs rise because resources need to be provisioned, even when the services aren’t being used. However, microservices offer independence from third-party providers, which some companies prefer to avoid vendor lock-in.
Serverless, yet, typically offers lower costs due to its pay-as-you-go model. Developers are charged only for the time their code runs, meaning you’re not paying for idle servers. It will work best for projects with unpredictable usage patterns, as you only pay for what you use.
4. Runtime
A significant difference between the two architectures is runtime. Serverless functions have time limits for how long they can run—often just a few minutes.
For example, AWS Lambda limits functions to 15 minutes of execution time. This makes serverless ideal for tasks that are short-lived and require minimal processing time.
In contrast, microservices are not restricted by such limitations, which makes them a better fit for tasks that need to run continuously or handle large-scale data processing. If your application requires long-running processes or complex transactions management, microservices can handle that better.
Which Architecture Works Best for Your Deployment?
Does the action of choosing serverless vs. microservices rely on companies’ size?
The answer is yes, but it’s not the only factor. Product's complexity, growth expectations, budget, and technical expertise are also key considerations, too.
Larger companies with simpler needs might still find serverless a good fit, while smaller companies with complex workflows might lean toward microservices.
📍 In deeper opinions:
Microservices will work best for large, complex applications where modularity, fault isolation, and scalability are crucial. Long-term investment and customization make a big splash. It’s commonly used by big companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Uber, which need to build flexible systems that can handle rapid growth and change.
Serverless is great for building lightweight, event-driven applications, more popular with chatbots, APIs, and real-time file processing. It’s all about simplicity and efficiency, making it a favorite choice for several startups and small teams.
For example, you’re running a photo app, and someone uploads a picture. A serverless function can automatically resize the image and save it to the cloud—without worries about server capacity or downtime.
💡Organizations that get it right enjoy up to a 40% reduction in development costs and deliver products 60% faster to market, gaining a critical edge in hyper-competitive landscape. On the flip side, the wrong choice can lead to costly technical debt and scalability headaches.
📌 Since we have 10 years experience in software development, we understand your struggles to pick between serverless vs. microservices for seamless deployment stage.
📌 Now, we can advise some Question tips to help you be “that 60%”:
#1 What type of application am I building?
Serverless: Ideal for event-driven or lightweight applications that can run in small, isolated functions (e.g., real-time notifications, simple APIs, or processing user uploads).
Microservices: Best suited for complex, large-scale applications that require multiple services to work together (e.g., e-commerce platforms, financial services, or enterprise applications)
#2 What are the operational risks associated with my infrastructure?
Serverless: Serverless reduces the burden on your team but introduces the risk of vendor lock-in. If the cloud provider’s service experiences downtime or changes, your business could be affected.
Microservices: Microservices offer greater control over your infrastructure, but they require more effort to ensure resilience. You must manage dependencies, monitor services, and plan for failure recovery.
#3 How will I manage data consistency and transactions across services?
Serverless: Managing data consistency in serverless can be tricky because functions are typically stateless, and distributed transactions can be challenging.
Microservices: Microservices provide more flexibility in how you handle this complexity, but it also requires careful planning and coordination.
#4 What is my long-term architectural vision?
Serverless: If you want to focus on building applications that are event-driven or require minimal infrastructure, serverless is a great fit. It allows you to innovate quickly, but it may not be suitable for more structured or complex applications.
Microservices: If your business aims to build a robust, scalable, and long-lasting architecture with multiple teams working on separate components, microservices offer a foundation that can evolve with your organization’s needs over time.
Can Serverless Be Added in Your Microservices Application?
Yes, again. In spite of big differences between serverless vs. microservices, serverless can definitely be integrated into your microservices application. In fact, it can complement microservices in various ways.
This approach is known as a hybrid architecture and it combines the flexibility of microservices with the scalability and cost-efficiency of serverless.
Here’s how you can integrate serverless into a microservices-based application:
1. Cloud Deployment
Adopting serverless means fully embracing the cloud, as serverless development relies on third-party cloud services. To integrate serverless into your microservices application, consider transitioning your application to a cloud-based infrastructure.
In a microservices architecture, you can use serverless for certain parts of your application that don’t require constant availability or need to scale independently. For example:
Event-driven services: You can leverage serverless to handle events like user sign-ups, sending notifications, or processing background tasks (e.g., image or file processing) where the functions are isolated and independent of other services.
API gateway: Serverless functions can handle APIs that are less complex and require less continuous resource allocation.
3. Microservices for Core Business Logic, Serverless for Supporting Tasks
Take an instance, your microservices could handle customer data, authentication, and payment processes, while serverless functions manage things like sending confirmation emails, generating reports, or integrating with third-party services.
4. Offloading Load with Serverless for Scaling
If you have a microservice that needs to process a sudden surge of data, you can offload some of that processing to serverless functions, which will automatically scale up and handle the increased load. Serverless can act as an “elastic” resource that kicks in during high-demand periods, reducing the risk of performance bottlenecks.
Bottom Line
Serverless offers unparalleled simplicity, cost-efficiency, and rapid scalability for event-driven, lightweight applications. Meanwhile, microservices provide the flexibility, and control needed for building complex, long-term systems.
Choosing between serverless vs. microservices is both a technical decision and a strategic one that directly impacts your business growth. The truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but we’re sure throughout this blog you got your right answer.
At Golden Owl, we’ve spent over a decade helping businesses like yours make these critical decisions and deliver scalable deployments. Whether you’re leaning towards serverless, microservices, or a combination of the two, our expert team is ready to help you design and build a solution that drives your business forward.
