A monolith is a single, big application where all features and logic live together as one unit. A microservices system splits those features into many small, separate services that work together.

How it works

In a monolith, everything - login, payment, database handling, etc.. - is built and deployed as one piece. If you change one part, you often redeploy the whole thing. In a microservices setup, each service does one job and runs independently. They talk to each other through APIs. You can update one without touching the others.

Analogy

A monolith is like a big factory building where all workers and machines are inside one huge room. If something breaks, the whole factory might stop. Microservices are like many small workshops, each doing one part of the job. If one workshop needs repairs, the others can keep working.