JSON vs YAML: which format should you use and when?

JSON and YAML are both used to represent structured data. Both are human-readable. Both are widely supported across languages and tools. So when should you use each?

The answer depends on your use case — and understanding the differences will save you a lot of confusion.

JSON: the safe default

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) was designed to be simple, unambiguous, and easy to parse. It has become the default data interchange format for APIs, configuration, and data storage across almost every language.

When JSON wins:

• API responses and requests — JSON is the native format of the web
• Data interchange between systems — strict syntax means fewer parser edge cases
• Programmatic generation — easy to serialise from any language
• When you need strict schema validation (JSON Schema)

{
  "name": "EazyStudio",
  "version": 1.2,
  "features": ["audio", "image", "pdf"],
  "private": true
}

YAML: the config favourite

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) prioritises human readability. It uses indentation instead of braces, supports comments, and is much less noisy for config files.

When YAML wins:

• Configuration files — CI pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab), Kubernetes, Docker Compose
• Files humans edit frequently — comments and less punctuation make it easier
• Multi-line strings — YAML handles these naturally, JSON requires escape sequences
• When readability matters more than strict parsing

# This is a comment — not possible in JSON
name: EazyStudio
version: 1.2
features:
  - audio
  - image
  - pdf
private: true

Side-by-side comparison

Convert between them instantly

Need to switch formats? EazyStudio's JSON Viewer lets you paste JSON and export as YAML (and vice versa) in one click — no sign up, no upload, runs in your browser.