Describe the difference between a cookie, sessionStorage and localStorage in browsers

All of the following are mechanisms of storing data on the client, the user's browser in this case. localStorage and sessionStorage both implement the Web Storage API interface.

• Cookies: Suitable for server-client communication, small storage capacity, can be persistent or session-based, domain-specific. Sent to the server on every request.
• localStorage: Suitable for long-term storage, data persists even after the browser is closed, accessible across all tabs and windows of the same origin, highest storage capacity among the three.
• sessionStorage: Suitable for temporary data within a single page session, data is cleared when the tab or window is closed, has a higher storage capacity compared to cookies.

Here's a table summarizing the 3 client storage mechanisms.