Network Requests in Android with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose: A Guide to Retrofit, Volley, and OkHttp

The article compares three popular HTTP clients, Retrofit, Volley, and OkHttp for making network requests in Android apps developed with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose. It highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each client, providing guidance on selecting the best option based on project needs, and emphasizes the importance of asynchronous request handling and error management for a robust application.

Alexander S. Ricciardi

March 9, 2025

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Developing an Android app frequently involves implementing some data fetching functionality and sending data to servers within the application (Coditive, 2024). This often means making network requests asynchronously and handling network errors. When using a combination of Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, several popular HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) clients can be used to perform network requests. This post explores three of the most commonly used clients: Retrofit, Volley, and OkHttp, and their strengths and weaknesses, and discusses when to use each one.

Clients for Network Requests

The most popular HTTP clients for making network requests while using Kotlin and Jetpack Compose are Retrofit, Volley, and OkHttp. HTTP client is a software that allows applications to communicate with web servers and APIs over the internet. It handles network requests, responses, and connections within the HTTP protocol system, including managing headers, methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).

Retrofit

Retrofit was developed by Square, and it is a type-safe HTTP client (Kostadinov, 2024). It is an abstraction that allows making API calls through declarative interfaces and handles parsing JSON into Java/Kotlin objects using libraries like Gson or Moshi. The table below lists and describes different aspects and features of Retrofit.

Table 1

Retrofit Aspect and Features

Note: The table lists various aspects and features of the Retrofit HTTP client for Kotlin and Java. Data from several sources (Square, n.d.a; GeeksForGeeks, 2025; Kramer, 2024; Kostadinov, 2024; Anna, 2024)

Volley

Volley is another HTTP client developed by Google, it was designed in 2013 to make networking easier and faster in Android apps (Vartika02, 2025). It is well-suited for applications making frequent, small network requests. The table below lists and describes different aspects and features of Volley.

Table 2

Volley Aspect and Features

Note: The table lists various aspects and features of the Retrofit HTTP client for Kotlin and Java. Data from several sources (Google, n.d.; Vartika02, 2025; AbhiAndroid, n.d.)

OkHttp

OkHttp was developed by Square, it is a powerful and efficient HTTP client for Kotlin and Java, it was used as the foundation for both Retrofit and Volley (Gouda, 2024). It can also be used directly, providing more control on network requests than Retrofit and Volley. The table below lists and describes different aspects and features of OkHttp.

Table 3

OkHttp Aspect and Features

Note: The table lists various aspects and features of the OkHttp HTTP client for Kotlin and Java. Data from several sources (Square, n.d.b; Gouda, 2024; Baeldung, n.d.)

Each client has its pros and its cons. When choosing the best client for the application developers need to consider factors such as the complexity of the project, the frequency of the requests, the size of the requests, and control vs. convenience to select the client that fits best with those needs. The table below compares the clients by key features and characteristics.

Table 4

HTTP Client Comparison

Note: The table below compares the clients by key features and characteristics.

No matter what client is implemented within an application, network requests should never be executed on the main threads. Doing so can result in the app freezing and poor user experience. Best practices dictate the use of asynchronous mechanisms such as Kotlin Coroutines to avoid blocking the app's main thread. Kotlin Coroutine is a concurrency design pattern that simplifies code executing asynchronously (Android Developers, n.d.). The design provides several advantages including its lightweight nature, built-in cancellation support, and improved memory management.

In addition to implementing asynchronous mechanisms for executing network requests, it is essential to handle network errors properly to create an overall robust application and a good user experience. Strategies such as robust network exception handling, thorough testing, retry mechanisms, and user feedback should be implemented and designed when integrating network request mechanisms within the application.

To summarize, when developing an Android app with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, common HTTP clients for integrating network requests are Retrofit, Volley, and OkHttp. Choosing the right HTTP client depends on the specific needs of the project. Regardless of the chosen library (client), developers need to implement asynchronous execution for network requests by using designs such as Kotlin Coroutines. This is essential for not freezing the app during network calls and for a good user experience. Additionally, implementing network error handling is also essential for building a robust application that can use network request mechanisms effectively. Therefore, understanding how to integrate HTTP clients with asynchronous programming and error handling is crucial for designing a successful Android development that incorporates network requests.

-Alex

References:

AbhiAndroid (n.d.). Volley tutorial with example in Android Studio. AbhiAndroid. https://abhiandroid.com/programming/volley#gsc.tab=0

Android Developers (n.d.). Kotlin coroutines on Android. Android. https://developer.android.com/kotlin/coroutines

Anna. (2024, November 16). Retrofit in Android. Medium. https://medium.com/@anna972606/retrofit-in-android-15fa724a8fa6

Baeldung (n.d.). A guide to OkHttp. Baeldung. https://www.baeldung.com/guide-to-okhttp

Coditive. (2024, November 24). Understanding retrofit: Simplifying Android networking. Medium. https://medium.com/@coditive/understanding-retrofit-simplifying-android-networking-ef37f72f9cb8

Kramer, N. (2024, May 14). Retrofit tutorial for Android beginners. Daily.dev. https://daily.dev/blog/retrofit-tutorial-for-android-beginners

Kostadinov, D. (2024, December 11). When to use Retrofit and when to use KTOR: a guide for Android developers. Medium. https://proandroiddev.com/when-to-use-retrofit-and-when-to-use-ktor-a-guide-for-android-developers-918491dcf69a

GeeksForGeeks (2025, February 18). Introduction to Retrofit in Android. GeeksForGeeks. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-retofit-2-android-set-1/

Google (n.d.). Volley. GitHub. https://google.github.io/volley/

Gouda, M. (3034, December 5). Comprehensive guide to OkHttp for Java and Kotlin. ScrpFly. https://scrapfly.io/blog/guide-to-okhttp-java-kotlin/

Square (n.d.a). Retrofit. GitHub. https://square.github.io/retrofit/.

Square (n.d.b). OkHttp. GitHub. https://square.github.io/okhttp/

Vartika02 (2025, January 6). Volley library in Android. GeeksForGeeks. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/volley-library-in-android/