Web API Authentication Basic vs Bearer

Basic authentication transmits credentials as user ID/password pairs, encoded using base64. The client sends HTTP requests with the Authorization header that contains the word Basic word followed by a space and a base64-encoded string username:password.

Authorization: Basic ZGVtbzpwQDU1dzByZA==

Note: For basic authentication, as the user ID and password are passed over the network as clear text (it is base64 encoded, but base64 is a reversible encoding), the basic authentication scheme is not secure. HTTPS / TLS should be used in conjunction with basic authentication.

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Bearer authentication (also called token authentication) has security tokens called bearer tokens. The name “Bearer authentication” can be understood as “give access to the bearer of this token.” The bearer token is a cryptic string, usually generated by the server in response to a login request. The client must send this token in the Authorization header when making requests to protected resources:

Authorization: Bearer < token >

Note: Similarly to Basic authentication, Bearer authentication should only be used over HTTPS (SSL).

For more information link1, link2

The Basic and Digest authentication schemes are dedicated to the authentication using a username and a secret (see RFC7616 and RFC7617).

The Bearer authentication scheme is dedicated to the authentication using a token and is described by the RFC6750. Even if this scheme comes from an OAuth2 specification, you can still use it in any other context where tokens are exchange between a client and a server.

Concerning the JWT authentication and as it is a token, the best choice is the Bearer authentication scheme. Nevertheless, nothing prevent you from using a custom scheme that could fit on your requirements.