REST basically is a style of web architecture that governs the behavior of clients and servers. While API is a more general set of protocols and is deployed over the software to help it interact with some other software. REST is only geared towards web applications. And mostly deals with HTTP requests and responses.
Read moreWhat is REST API why we use it?
One of the key advantages of REST APIs is that they provide a great deal of flexibility . Data is not tied to resources or methods, so REST can handle multiple types of calls, return different data formats and even change structurally with the correct implementation of hypermedia.
Read more