NetSuite SuiteTalk REST vs SOAP vs RESTlets

Somebody, an account manager or a line in the release notes, has told you that SOAP is going away in NetSuite. Some of your integrations run on Celigo, some on old SOAP code that nobody owns, some on custom RESTlets. Celigo has just added SuiteTalk REST to its NetSuite connector. What has to change, by when, and in what order?

This article answers that with Oracle's own dates, each marked by how firm the source is, and then with a decision table and a migration checklist. Oracle and Celigo facts checked 15 Oct 2026. Both vendors change their plans, so the checklist ends with "re-check every release".

Short answer. Yes, plan the move. Oracle says SOAP web services will be removed with NetSuite 2028.2, when existing SOAP integrations stop working, and that from 2027.1 you cannot build new integrations on SOAP or on Token-Based Authentication (TBA). New integrations should use SuiteTalk REST with OAuth 2.0. Use SuiteQL, through REST, for queries, and RESTlets where REST does not cover the job. Saved Searches are not being removed.

• Must move: anything on SOAP web services (removal 2028.2) and anything on NLAuth (stops working in 2027.1).
• Should move: TBA integrations to OAuth 2.0 (end of support tentatively 2028.2).
• Can move when it pays: Saved Search exports, to SuiteTalk REST or SuiteQL.

The Oracle timeline, dated

NetSuite releases roll out account by account over several weeks, so this table gives release numbers and no calendar dates. Status means how firm Oracle's own pages are, checked on 15 October 2026.

Three details matter in practice. Existing integrations keep working, and existing integration records for SOAP and TBA integrations can still be edited until SOAP is fully removed. Existing TBA integrations work until TBA's final end of support. And the 2027.1 versus 2027.2 inconsistency is still on Oracle's pages today: plan for the earlier date, because it costs nothing and the later one is not guaranteed.

The four ways in, in plain language

SuiteTalk REST web services (records). Oracle's replacement for SOAP: JSON over HTTP, creating, reading, updating and deleting records, with OAuth 2.0 as the preferred authentication method. Watch out: it is not a one-to-one clone. Oracle's SOAP-to-REST upgrade guide lists operations with no direct equivalent, among them changeEmail, changePassword, getDataCenterUrls, getPostingTransactionSummary and the list operations such as updateInviteeStatusList, plus operations that need a different approach, such as SuiteQL for getDeleted.

SuiteQL, through the REST query service. SQL-like queries over NetSuite data, with paging. It is the usual replacement for SOAP searches and for exports that were built as Saved Searches. Celigo states that its REST option needs no additional SuiteAnalytics Connect licence; JDBC or ODBC access is a different channel, so check what your own account licenses.

RESTlets (SuiteScript). Your own endpoint, running SuiteScript inside NetSuite. Use one for custom logic, for several records in a single call, or for data and behaviour REST does not expose. Watch out: it is code you own and maintain, it runs under NetSuite's governance limits, and anything on NLAuth must change by 2027.1.

SOAP web services. The legacy channel. It works for existing integrations until 2028.2 and cannot be used for new builds from 2027.1.

A side note, because it causes confusion: a Saved Search is not an API. It is a query definition, run through SOAP or through a RESTlet (on Celigo, through Celigo's own RESTlet). Moving off SOAP does not mean dropping Saved Searches.

What Celigo's October 2026 release changes

Celigo published its October 2026 release highlights on 6 October 2026 and updated them on 7 October. What they say, attributed to Celigo and not measured by us:

• The NetSuite connector now supports SuiteTalk REST and custom RESTlets as "first-class options" for record-based exports, lookups and imports, without a separate HTTP connection.
• Celigo says "SuiteTalk REST is faster than Saved Search at scale" and "requires no additional SuiteAnalytics Connect license". These are vendor claims. We have no benchmark of our own, and speed depends on query design, record type and account limits.
• Celigo says "Existing integrations are unchanged."
• NetSuite JDBC is now a native source in Celigo's sync wizard, for joins across SuiteAnalytics tables "without the limitations of Saved Search". That is relevant to warehouse loads, and it sits on the SuiteAnalytics Connect side, so verify the licensing per account.
• Celigo also now hosts a standards-based SFTP server. It matters only if your "SOAP replacement" is really a file-exchange project.

Celigo's help center lists three API types for NetSuite exports. Celigo RESTlets connect through Celigo's own RESTlet. REST APIs is for record-based flows, with SuiteTalk as the default and Custom RESTlets as the alternative. SOAP Web Services suits large volumes, requires a SuiteCloud Plus licence, and is the only option when the integrator.io bundle cannot be installed in the account. Celigo suggests combining Celigo RESTlet and REST API exports to export more data per licence.

For you that means a path off SOAP-type flows inside the tool you already run, and an alternative to Saved Search exports. What the release does not tell us is how Celigo's own NetSuite connections will authenticate when TBA reaches end of support. Ask Celigo; we do not speculate. For the wider choice of platform, see iPaaS, point-to-point and middleware and Heroku Connect vs Celigo vs MuleSoft.

Decision table: which API for which job

Not sure which of your integrations are on SOAP or TBA? We will inventory them with you in 30 minutes.

How to migrate from SOAP to SuiteTalk REST: 13 steps

1. Inventory. List every integration that touches NetSuite, from the Manage Integrations page and the login audit trail, and tag each with its API type (SOAP, REST, RESTlet, Celigo RESTlet), its authentication (NLAuth, TBA, OAuth 2.0) and an owner.
2. Find the SOAP endpoints. Note the WSDL version each integration uses. Anything older than 2025.2 is already past its best-before date.
3. Remove NLAuth first. It is the 2027.1 hard stop.
4. Check Celigo, flow by flow. Read the API type on each export and import, list the flows on SOAP Web Services, and list the heavy Saved Search exports with their runtimes and errors.
5. Ask your partner-app vendors. Email each SuiteApp or connector vendor for its REST and OAuth 2.0 plan, with a date.
6. Map the operations. Use Oracle's SOAP-to-REST upgrade guide to map each SOAP operation, and flag the gaps that need a RESTlet.
7. Re-express the searches. Rewrite SOAP search and Saved Search logic as SuiteQL, and reconcile row counts and totals against the old output before switching.
8. Set up authentication. Create OAuth 2.0 integration records, with client credentials for server-to-server and authorization code with PKCE where users authorise. Rotate secrets and use least-privilege roles.
9. Check concurrency and governance. Look at your account's concurrency limits and schedule heavy loads accordingly.
10. Test in the sandbox. Run old and new side by side, compare outputs, and use the release-preview windows.
11. Cut over flow by flow. Keep a rollback, and update monitoring and alerts.
12. Decommission. Disable the old integration records and tokens, and document the new API type and its owner.
13. Re-check every release. Oracle may adjust dates; read the release notes at every .1 and .2.

Common traps

• REST is not a SOAP clone. List and batch behaviour differs, some operations are missing, and error formats are different.
• Totals do not always match. A SuiteQL result can differ from the Saved Search it replaces. Reconcile before cutover, especially for multi-currency data; our piece on one chart of accounts across subsidiaries shows where such differences hide.
• Test with the integration's role, not Administrator. An integration that works for an administrator can fail under its real role.
• Leaving it to 2028. Release-preview and sandbox refresh cycles shorten the real window. Our note on why NetSuite implementations slip applies to migrations too.
• Building a RESTlet by reflex. Custom code is yours to maintain; standard versus customised is the test to apply.

Where Atypical Tech fits

We are NetSuite integration engineers based in Spain, and a Celigo implementation partner and a Stacksync partner. We build custom APIs and RESTlets where REST is not enough, and we migrate Celigo or custom SOAP flows to SuiteTalk REST and SuiteQL. We are not an Oracle NetSuite partner and we do not present ourselves as one. If the end goal is a two-way sync rather than a rewrite, Stacksync is one option; for warehouse sync, see managed CDC versus self-hosted Debezium.

FAQ

Is NetSuite SOAP being deprecated?

Yes. As of 15 Oct 2026, Oracle says SOAP web services will be removed with NetSuite 2028.2, when existing SOAP integrations stop working. 2025.2 is the last planned SOAP endpoint, and from 2027.1 you cannot build new SOAP integrations.

When do NetSuite SOAP integrations stop working?

With the 2028.2 release, according to Oracle. Before then the oldest unsupported endpoint is disabled with every release, so integrations on old WSDL versions can break earlier. Move to SuiteTalk REST well before 2028.2.

Does NetSuite require OAuth 2.0?

For new integrations, from 2027.1: Oracle says new integrations cannot use TBA, and new authorization-code integrations need PKCE. Existing TBA integrations keep working until TBA's final end of support, tentatively 2028.2. Oracle says to switch away from NLAuth, which stops working in 2027.1.

What is the difference between SuiteTalk REST and a RESTlet?

SuiteTalk REST is Oracle's standard API for records and SuiteQL queries. A RESTlet is your own SuiteScript endpoint inside NetSuite. Use REST by default and a RESTlet for custom logic or for what REST does not cover.

What is SuiteQL?

A SQL-like query language for NetSuite data. Through SuiteTalk REST it lets an integration run paged queries with joins and filters. It is the usual replacement for SOAP searches and for Saved Search exports.

Do I need SuiteAnalytics Connect for SuiteQL?

Celigo says its SuiteTalk REST option requires no additional SuiteAnalytics Connect licence. JDBC and ODBC access, including Celigo's JDBC sync source, sits on the SuiteAnalytics Connect side. Check your own licence with NetSuite.

Do my Celigo NetSuite integrations need to change?

Not immediately: Celigo says existing integrations are unchanged by its October 2026 release. Flows on the SOAP Web Services API type must move before 2028.2. Flows on Celigo RESTlets or Saved Search can move to SuiteTalk REST when speed or access justifies it.

Is SuiteTalk REST faster than Saved Search?

Celigo says so "at scale" in its October 2026 release highlights. We have not measured it. Speed depends on query design, record type and account limits, so test your heaviest exports side by side before switching.

Can I keep using Saved Searches?

Yes. Saved Searches are not being removed; SOAP web services are. Run them through a RESTlet, as Celigo's own RESTlet does, rather than through SOAP, or rewrite the heavy ones as SuiteQL.

Who can migrate NetSuite SOAP integrations in Europe?

Atypical Tech: Spain-based integration engineers and a Celigo and Stacksync implementation partner, building SuiteTalk REST, SuiteQL and RESTlet integrations for mid-market companies.

Sources

All checked on 15 October 2026.

• Oracle NetSuite Help Center, SOAP Removal Plans FAQ.
• Oracle NetSuite Help Center, SuiteTalk SOAP Web Services Platform Overview.
• Oracle NetSuite Help Center, Support for Existing WSDL Versions.
• Oracle NetSuite Help Center, SOAP Web Services to REST Web Services Upgrade Guide.
• Oracle NetSuite Help Center, authentication notices: TBA, PKCE and NLAuth in 2027.1.
• Celigo, October 2026 Release Highlights (6 October 2026, updated 7 October 2026).
• Celigo Help Center, Export data from NetSuite.

Get the NetSuite integration review

Thirty minutes is usually enough to map what has to move before 2027.1 and 2028.2, and what can stay. Book a call or see our integrations; if you run Celigo, start from our Celigo page.