# Polling vs. Webhooks: How Does Your Automation Know When to Run?

You submit a form and expect an automatic email. Sometimes it arrives within seconds. Other times, you wait a few minutes.

Why the difference?

One possible reason is **how the automation finds out that you submitted the form**.

In the previous blog, we covered triggers and actions. A trigger is the event that starts an automation, and an action is what the automation does next.

Now let's look at two common ways an automation detects that event: **polling** and **webhooks**.

## 1\. Polling: “Has anything happened yet?”

Imagine you are waiting for a parcel that will be left outside your front door.

You open the door and check. Nothing there.

A few minutes later, you check again. Still nothing.

The next time you check, the parcel is there!

You discovered the delivery because you kept looking for it. That is the idea behind polling.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/uploads/covers/6aae254b972739e74429fd87/f359a29d-1e8d-4267-95e8-e0705613aabb.png align="center")

*Polling: checking again and again to find out whether something new has happened.*

With a polling trigger, your automation tool checks an app at regular intervals for new information. If it finds a new item that matches your trigger, it runs the next steps. Otherwise, it waits and checks again.

### An automation example

Suppose you offer a free guide on your website. Visitors fill in a form, and your automation emails them the guide.

Imagine the connection checks for new submissions every **10 minutes**:

| Time | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| 10:00 AM | The automation checks. No new submissions. |
| 10:03 AM | Priya submits the form to request your guide. |
| 10:10 AM | The next check finds Priya's submission and starts the email step. |

Priya's submission waits about seven minutes to be detected.

If she had submitted at 10:09 AM, the wait would have been about one minute. **Polling does not mean every submission waits the full interval. It waits until the next check.**

The actual interval depends on the automation platform, integration, and sometimes your plan.

### What polling intervals are available in Pabbly Connect?

Pabbly Connect documents the following polling intervals, ranging from **10 minutes to 24 hours**:

| Interval group | Documented options |
| --- | --- |
| Minutes | Every 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, or 90 minutes |
| Hours | Every 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours |

The available choices and default interval can depend on the trigger application. Check your particular workflow rather than assuming every trigger starts at 10 minutes.

To change it, open the trigger step's **three-dot menu → Set Trigger Time**, select an available interval, and save. If the shorter interval you need is missing, contact Pabbly support.

For example, choosing **20 minutes** means Pabbly checks for new information roughly three times an hour. It does not mean every new submission waits exactly 20 minutes.

## 2\. Webhooks: “Something just happened!”

Now imagine the delivery person rings your doorbell when they arrive.

You can read a book or enjoy your tea. When the bell rings, you know there is someone at the door.

You don't have to keep checking.

That is the idea behind a webhook.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/uploads/covers/6aae254b972739e74429fd87/90864730-2b67-49da-97ec-6416ffdda2b6.png align="center")

*Webhook: getting a notification when something happens.*

A webhook is an automatic message sent from one app to another when a specific event happens. That message can also carry useful information about the event.

### The same automation example

Let's return to Priya requesting your free guide. This time, imagine the form tool supports webhooks and you have connected it to your automation.

1.  Priya submits the form.
    
2.  The form tool sends her submission details to the automation tool.
    
3.  The automation uses her email address and requested guide to run the email step.
    

There is no need to wait for the next scheduled check.

Webhook triggers are often called **instant triggers**. Think of this as “not waiting for a polling interval.” Sending, receiving, and processing the information can still take time.

## Why can webhooks save server resources?

Webhooks are a well-established way to let apps communicate when something happens. Their advantage is that apps can avoid repeatedly checking for updates.

With polling, both apps have work to do even when nothing has changed:

*   **The automation app**, such as Pabbly Connect, sends a check and processes the response.
    
*   **The trigger app**, such as your form builder, receives that check, looks for new information, and sends an answer.
    

Checking every 10 minutes means **144 checks a day**, even on a day with no new submissions.

With webhooks, the form app sends a notification when a submission happens. If there are five submissions, that could mean about five event notifications instead of 144 routine checks, excluding retries or extra requests for details.

Avoiding those repeated checks can reduce processing work and network traffic for **both apps**, particularly when new events are infrequent. Webhooks still use resources to send and process notifications, but they can avoid many “nothing new” conversations.

## What is a webhook URL?

It is the address where the app sends its notification and information.

Think of it as the address of the right house. The form tool needs to know where to deliver Priya's submission.

For a manual webhook connection in Pabbly Connect, the basic setup is:

1.  Create a workflow and choose a webhook trigger.
    
2.  Copy the webhook URL provided by Pabbly Connect.
    
3.  Paste it into the webhook settings of a form tool that supports this feature.
    
4.  Submit a test form and check that Pabbly Connect receives the details.
    
5.  Add and test the action that sends the guide by email.
    

The exact settings vary by app. Some ready-made integrations handle the webhook connection for you.

## Polling vs. webhooks at a glance

| Question | Polling trigger | Webhook trigger |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How does it find out? | The automation checks the app. | The app sends a notification. |
| Everyday example | Checking the doorstep repeatedly. | Hearing the doorbell ring. |
| When can the automation start? | After a check detects the new item. | After the notification arrives. |
| Does it check when nothing happens? | Yes, at the set interval. | It does not need repeated checks for that event. |

## Which one should you use?

Start with what your app and its integration support. You may have one option or both; you cannot assume every polling trigger can be switched to a webhook.

If both are available, think about how quickly the next step needs to happen.

For a free guide someone is waiting to receive, a webhook is a useful choice. The same applies when you want your sales team to hear about a new inquiry quickly.

For copying new records into a spreadsheet that you only review later, a few minutes of polling delay may be perfectly acceptable.

The next time you test a workflow and nothing happens immediately, check its trigger type. **It might simply be waiting for its next poll.**