API Latency

API latency is the time elapsed between sending a request and receiving the first byte of the response. It is measured in milliseconds and is a critical performance metric for applications where user experience depends on fast data retrieval.

Latency is affected by physical distance between client and server, complexity of database queries, network congestion, and processing time. CDNs, edge deployments, and caching are common strategies for reducing latency.

For real-time applications like property search interfaces or live price comparison tools, high latency degrades user experience. When selecting an API, look for documented response time benchmarks and test latency from the regions where your users are located.