REST Assured vs Karate for API testing in 2026?

REST Assured is the safer bet in a Java shop: mature, huge ecosystem, integrates cleanly with JUnit/TestNG, Allure, and CI. Karate is elegant for BAs and quick contract checks (its DSL is impressive) but you trade Java tooling and IDE support. If your team writes Java daily, stick with REST Assured; add Karate only where non-devs need to author tests.