A few years ago, choosing an ID format was easy. Most of us generated a UUID, stored it in the database, and moved on. Today things are different. Modern applications care about: Database performance URL friendliness Sortability Distributed systems Storage efficiency That's why developers are increasingly looking at alternatives like ULID and NanoID. If you're building APIs, SaaS products, mobile apps, event-driven systems, or microservices, understanding the differences can save you from painfu