When would you use cursor pagination instead of offset pagination in an API backed by a database?

Offset vs cursor pagination for API data access

Explains offset versus cursor pagination with practical .NET data-access examples and production trade-offs.

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Offset pagination uses page number or skip/take, such as page=10&pageSize=50. Cursor pagination uses a marker from the last item, such as a created date plus ID, to fetch the next page. Offset is simple and easy for clients. Cursor pagination is usually better for large or frequently changing datasets.

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Explain offset versus cursor pagination with practical .NET data-access examples and production trade-offs. It matters in real backend work because query shape, indexes, transactions, locking, and data volume can turn harmless-looking code into a production bottleneck. The practical angle is offset versus cursor pagination, EF Core/SQL behavior, API boundaries, production risks, and practical debugging or design judgment, tied to a concrete production decision.
Offset pagination uses page number or skip/take, such as page=10&pageSize=50. Cursor pagination uses a marker from the last item, such as a created date plus ID, to fetch the next page. Offset is simple and easy for clients. Cursor pagination is usually better for large or frequently changing datasets.
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Skip(100000).Take(50) can become expensive because the database still has to walk past many rows. Cursor pagination can use an indexed ordering like and fetch rows after the last seen cursor. The trade-off is that cursor pagination is harder for clients and works best with stable sort orders. Offset is fine for small admin lists; cursor is better for feeds and large tables.

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Treating offset versus cursor pagination as a syntax detail instead of a production behavior.
Not checking generated SQL, query plans, or actual data volume.
Testing only with tiny local data and assuming production will behave the same.
Fixing symptoms with caching, timeouts, or retries before understanding the data-access cause.

When would you use cursor pagination instead of offset pagination in an API backed by a database?

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