When your Node.js application hits performance bottlenecks or you need features beyond middleware chains, it’s time to explore Express.js alternatives. The JavaScript backend ecosystem has evolved dramatically since Express became the default server-side framework for Node developers.
Modern web frameworks now offer specialized tools for everything from real-time applications to microservices and RESTful APIs. Whether you need TypeScript support, better scalability, or improved developer experience, today’s server-side JavaScript landscape provides robust options beyond Express.
This guide examines high-performance alternatives like Fastify and NestJS alongside non-JavaScript contenders such as Phoenix (Elixir) and Actix-web (Rust). We’ll compare key features, performance benchmarks, and enterprise adoption patterns across frameworks.
By exploring these server-side rendering solutions, you’ll discover which backend JS framework best matches your project requirements—whether you’re building lightweight APIs or complex distributed systems requiring database integration and HTTP routing capabilities.
Express.js Alternatives for Modern Web Development
Gin (Go)
What Is Gin?
Gin is a high-performance HTTP web framework written in Go that delivers blazing-fast performance through its minimalist architecture. Unlike Express.js’s JavaScript foundation, Gin leverages Go’s compiled nature and concurrency model to handle thousands of requests with minimal overhead, making it ideal for microservices and high-traffic API development.
Key Features
- Built-in middleware system with better performance benchmarks than Express.js
- HTTP routing capabilities with intuitive API similar to Express but with stricter typing
- Zero allocation router that prevents garbage collection delays
- JSON validation built into the framework
- Error management with detailed logs
- Lightweight core focused on essential functionality
- Strong typing through Go’s static type system that catches errors at compile time
Pros Over Express.js
- Dramatically better performance and lower latency
- More predictable memory usage without JavaScript’s garbage collection issues
- Built-in concurrency through Go’s goroutines
- Compiles to a single binary for easier deployment
- Better scalability for high-traffic applications
- Type safety reduces runtime errors
Limitations
- Less extensive middleware ecosystem compared to Express.js
- Steeper learning curve for developers without Go experience
- Not as many integrations with frontend JavaScript libraries
- More verbose syntax for simple tasks
- Smaller community compared to Node.js frameworks
Who Uses It
Gin powers backend services at companies like Dropbox, which values its performance for API development. Uber uses Go-based frameworks including Gin for their microservices architecture. Many fintech companies choose Gin for real-time transaction processing where performance matters. Startups building scalable backends often select Gin to handle growth without expensive infrastructure.
NestJS (TypeScript)
What Is NestJS?
NestJS is an enterprise-grade, TypeScript-based Node.js framework that builds on Express.js to create a more structured architecture. While Express.js emphasizes simplicity and flexibility, NestJS enforces Angular-inspired patterns like dependency injection, decorators, and modules to support large-scale applications with maintainable codebases.
Key Features
- TypeScript support with advanced type checking and object-oriented features
- Decorator-based syntax for defining routes, middleware, and services
- Dependency injection system superior to Express.js’s middleware approach
- Modular architecture enforcing clean organization of server-side code
- Built-in support for GraphQL, WebSockets, and microservices
- Express.js compatibility that allows using Express middleware
- OpenAPI (Swagger) integration out of the box
- Comprehensive testing utilities for unit, integration, and e2e testing
Pros Over Express.js
- Stronger architectural patterns for enterprise development
- Better maintainability for large codebases
- Enhanced developer experience with TypeScript’s IDE support
- Built-in solutions for common backend tasks
- More structured approach to server-side rendering
- Better documentation quality and learning resources
- Enforces consistent coding practices across teams
Limitations
- Higher learning curve than Express.js
- More boilerplate code for simple applications
- Heavier memory footprint
- Slightly slower performance due to additional abstractions
- Opinionated approach that may feel restrictive to some developers
Who Uses It
NestJS has gained traction in enterprise environments with Adidas using it for their backend services. Roche Pharmaceuticals adopted NestJS for internal tools. Delivery Hero manages their food delivery backend with NestJS microservices. Many startup ecosystems gravitate toward NestJS when they outgrow basic Express.js applications and need more structure.
Phoenix (Elixir)
What Is Phoenix?
Phoenix is a server-side MVC web framework written in Elixir that excels at building high-concurrency, fault-tolerant applications. Unlike Express.js’s single-threaded event loop, Phoenix leverages the Erlang VM to handle millions of simultaneous connections, making it ideal for real-time applications, chat systems, and streaming services.
Key Features
- Live View technology for real-time updates without JavaScript
- Channel-based WebSockets with better abstractions than Express.js
- Built-in presence tracking for user online status
- Functional programming paradigm with immutable data structures
- Fault tolerance with “let it crash” supervision trees
- Hot code reloading without server restarts
- Built-in testing framework with browser integration
Pros Over Express.js
- Exceptional handling of concurrent connections
- Superior real-time capabilities out of the box
- Better fault tolerance for long-running applications
- More efficient use of multicore processors
- Lower latency for high-traffic applications
- Built-in distribution across multiple servers
- Better suited for applications requiring persistent connections
Limitations
- Functional paradigm can be challenging for Express.js developers
- Smaller ecosystem of libraries compared to Node.js
- Fewer developers familiar with Elixir
- Not as many hosting options readily available
- Less suitable for simple CRUD applications
Who Uses It
Discord handles millions of concurrent users with Phoenix’s real-time capabilities. Pinterest moved critical API endpoints to Phoenix for better performance. Bleacher Report uses Phoenix to handle traffic spikes during major sporting events. Financial Times employs Phoenix for parts of their digital platform. E-commerce sites with heavy traffic often choose Phoenix for checkout processes.
Actix-web (Rust)
What Is Actix-web?
Actix-web is a powerful, pragmatic Rust web framework focused on safety, speed, and security. Compared to Express.js, Actix-web delivers dramatically better performance through Rust’s zero-cost abstractions and memory safety guarantees, making it suitable for performance-critical applications where resource efficiency is paramount.
Key Features
- Asynchronous by design with better performance than Express.js
- Memory safety without garbage collection through Rust’s ownership system
- Actor system for highly concurrent request handling
- Type-safe routing with compile-time checking
- WebSocket support built into the framework
- Middleware system similar to Express but with stronger typing
- JSON extraction and validation through strong typing
- HTTP/2 support out of the box
Pros Over Express.js
- Dramatically faster execution speed
- Memory safety guarantees eliminate common vulnerabilities
- Better performance benchmarks for CPU-intensive operations
- Lower resource usage for the same workload
- More predictable latency without garbage collection pauses
- Powerful compiler catches errors before deployment
- Better security by default
Limitations
- Much steeper learning curve than Express.js
- Smaller web development community compared to Node.js
- More verbose code for simple operations
- Longer development time for basic applications
- Fewer libraries and integrations available
- Compile times can slow development cycles
Who Uses It
Discord rewrote performance-critical services in Rust with Actix-web. Cloudflare uses Rust frameworks like Actix-web for edge computing. Microsoft has been adopting Rust for security-critical services. Amazon Web Services incorporates Rust for performance-intensive components. High-frequency trading platforms choose Actix-web for its predictable performance.
Ktor (Kotlin)
What Is Ktor?
Ktor is a lightweight, asynchronous framework for creating server-side applications in Kotlin. Unlike Express.js’s callback-based approach, Ktor leverages Kotlin’s coroutines for elegant asynchronous programming, while providing access to the rich Java ecosystem and stronger typing than JavaScript offers.
Key Features
- Kotlin coroutines for more readable async code than Express.js callbacks
- Type-safe builders for defining routes and application structure
- Pluggable architecture with features that can be enabled as needed
- Multiplatform potential supporting JVM, JavaScript, and Native
- Content negotiation built into the framework
- WebSocket support with coroutine-based APIs
- Authentication frameworks providing more out-of-box security
Pros Over Express.js
- More concise and readable asynchronous code
- Stronger type system preventing common errors
- Better performance through JVM optimization
- Access to both Kotlin and Java libraries
- More consistent error handling
- Superior IDE support and tooling
- Better suited for enterprise environments
Limitations
- JVM startup time can be slower than Node.js
- Larger memory footprint for simple applications
- Less web-specific ecosystem than Express.js
- Fewer hosting options with Kotlin knowledge
- Learning curve for developers without JVM experience
Who Uses It
JetBrains (creators of Kotlin) uses Ktor for their web services. Google, which endorses Kotlin for Android, uses it for some backend services. Coursera has adopted Kotlin for server applications. Enterprise companies migrating from Java often choose Ktor for its modern features while maintaining Java compatibility. Startups with Android developers find the transition to backend development smoother with Ktor.
Ruby on Rails
What Is Ruby on Rails?
Ruby on Rails is a full-stack MVC framework that prioritizes convention over configuration and developer happiness. While Express.js requires manual setup of many components, Rails comes with an opinionated, integrated approach that includes everything needed for database-backed web applications, emphasizing rapid development over granular control.
Key Features
- “Convention over configuration” philosophy reducing decision fatigue
- Active Record ORM more integrated than Express.js database solutions
- Integrated testing framework encouraging test-driven development
- Asset pipeline handling JavaScript and CSS processing
- Action Cable for WebSocket communication
- Scaffolding tools generating boilerplate code automatically
- Strong community creating reusable “gems” (packages)
Pros Over Express.js
- Faster development speed for CRUD applications
- More consistent code organization across projects
- Better defaults for security best practices
- More comprehensive documentation
- Integrated database migrations and schema management
- Stronger conventions leading to more maintainable code
- Mature ecosystem with solutions for common problems
Limitations
- Slower performance than Express.js for many operations
- Less flexibility for non-conventional architectures
- Higher memory requirements
- Steeper learning curve for beginners
- Monolithic approach vs. Express.js’s minimalism
- Less suitable for microservices
Who Uses It
GitHub built their platform using Ruby on Rails. Airbnb’s original infrastructure was Rails-based. Shopify powers millions of e-commerce stores on Rails. Twitch uses Rails for many backend services. Content management systems, marketplaces, and social platforms often choose Rails for its rapid development capabilities and convention-based approach to complex web applications.
Play Framework (Scala)
What Is Play Framework?
Play Framework is a high-productivity, stateless, web-friendly architecture for building modern applications in Scala or Java. Compared to Express.js, Play offers stronger typing through Scala, better performance through JVM optimization, and a more integrated full-stack approach with built-in template engines and form handling.
Key Features
- Reactive core built on Akka providing better concurrency than Express.js
- Stateless architecture supporting horizontal scaling
- Strong type system catching errors at compile time
- Built-in template engine with type-safe views
- Hot code reloading during development
- Native JSON support with type-safe parsing
- Non-blocking I/O similar to Express but with stronger typing
- Functional programming features not available in JavaScript
Pros Over Express.js
- Superior handling of concurrent operations
- Type safety reducing production bugs
- Better performance for computation-heavy tasks
- More maintainable for large codebases
- Better suited for big data processing backends
- Stronger Actor model for distributed systems
- Access to Java and Scala ecosystems
Limitations
- Much steeper learning curve than Express.js
- Slower development for simple applications
- More complex setup and configuration
- Requires more server resources
- Less beginner-friendly documentation
- Smaller community than Node.js
Who Uses It
LinkedIn uses Play Framework for high-throughput services. The Guardian rebuilt their website using Play Framework. Zalando employs Play for e-commerce backends. Samsung SmartTV platforms utilize Play for server components. Data processing platforms and streaming services often select Play Framework when they need both performance and strong typing for complex domain models.
Vapor (Swift)
What Is Vapor?
Vapor is a server-side Swift framework that brings Apple’s programming language to web development with an Express-like API but Swift’s type safety. While Express.js offers JavaScript compatibility across the stack, Vapor appeals to iOS/macOS developers who want to use the same language for both client and server-side development.
Key Features
- Swift language with stronger typing than JavaScript
- Async/await pattern similar to modern JavaScript but with compiler guarantees
- Fluent ORM for database interactions
- Leaf templating engine for server-side rendering
- WebSocket support with Swift’s type safety
- JWT authentication built into the framework
- Command line tools for scaffolding and migrations
Pros Over Express.js
- Stronger type system preventing runtime errors
- Better performance in many benchmarks
- Familiar territory for iOS/macOS developers
- Memory safety without garbage collection
- More predictable resource usage
- Cleaner syntax for complex operations
- Native JSON handling
Limitations
- Primarily runs on macOS and Linux environments
- Smaller ecosystem than Express.js
- Fewer learning resources and community support
- Limited to Swift developers, which is a smaller pool
- Less mature web development tooling
- Fewer hosting options than Node.js
Who Uses It
IBM adopted Vapor for some of their cloud services. Nodes Agency builds client projects with Vapor. Server-side Swift, including Vapor, is used by companies wanting unified Swift codebases between iOS apps and their backends. Startups with strong iOS development teams often choose Vapor to leverage existing skills for API development.
FAQ on Express.js Alternatives
What are the fastest Node.js frameworks compared to Express.js?
Fastify and Polka consistently outperform Express.js in HTTP routing benchmarks. Fastify delivers up to 2-3x better performance through its optimized internal architecture and JSON schema validation. For raw speed in microservices, NestJS with Fastify transport instead of Express offers significant gains while maintaining structured TypeScript support.
How does TypeScript integration differ across server-side JavaScript frameworks?
NestJS provides first-class TypeScript support with decorators and dependency injection built-in. Koa.js offers decent TypeScript definitions but lacks Express.js’s middleware ecosystem. Fastify includes strong typing for routes and schemas. LoopBack excels with TypeScript for API development while Adonis.js provides a more Rails-like experience with full TypeScript support.
Which Express.js alternatives work best for real-time applications?
Socket.IO remains powerful but modern alternatives excel for real-time applications. Feathers.js provides real-time capabilities with minimal configuration. Meteor offers full-stack reactivity. Phoenix (Elixir) handles millions of simultaneous WebSocket connections through its Channels API. Deno frameworks with Oak support WebSocket protocols with TypeScript’s safety benefits.
Can I migrate gradually from Express.js to another framework?
Yes. Most lightweight JS frameworks allow incremental migration. NestJS can run alongside existing Express apps since it uses Express under the hood. Fastify offers an Express compatibility mode. Koa.js shares similar middleware concepts, enabling partial migration. For non-JavaScript frameworks, begin by moving specific services to Phoenix, Actix-web or other server frameworks while maintaining Express.js for legacy routes.
Which alternative has the best ecosystem for backend development?
NestJS currently offers the most comprehensive ecosystem for JavaScript backend solutions with built-in support for GraphQL, WebSockets, microservices, and database integration. Ruby on Rails remains unmatched for full-stack productivity. Spring Boot (Java) and Django (Python) provide mature ecosystems with enterprise adoption. Laravel (PHP) offers an extensive package ecosystem for web development stacks.
How do Express.js alternatives handle middleware?
Koa.js uses async middleware with cleaner error handling than Express. Fastify has a plugin system instead of middleware chains. NestJS wraps Express middleware but adds interceptors and guards. Hapi.js uses a different plugin architecture entirely. Non-JavaScript frameworks like Phoenix (Elixir) implement pipelines and plugs that serve similar functions with functional programming paradigms.
Which frameworks offer better security features than Express.js?
NestJS provides built-in security features through Guards and interceptors. Fastify’s schema validation prevents injection attacks. LoopBack offers robust access control systems. Outside the Node ecosystem, Phoenix Framework implements secure defaults, and Actix-web (Rust) leverages Rust’s memory safety guarantees to eliminate entire classes of vulnerabilities common in JavaScript.
Are there Express.js alternatives with better documentation?
Absolutely. NestJS offers enterprise-grade documentation superior to Express.js. Fastify maintains comprehensive, modern docs. Outside JavaScript, Phoenix (Elixir), Django (Python), and Laravel (PHP) set the gold standard for framework documentation quality. Ruby on Rails provides exceptional guides and API documentation that newer JavaScript frameworks aim to emulate.
Which Express.js alternatives work well for microservices?
Molecular provides lightweight microservice architecture for Node.js. NestJS includes built-in microservices support with multiple transport options. For high-performance requirements, Go’s Gin framework excels in microservice deployments. Rust’s Actix-web delivers superior performance benchmarks for resource-intensive microservices. Ktor (Kotlin) offers excellent coroutine-based microservice capabilities with JVM reliability.
Should I learn a non-JavaScript backend framework instead of Express alternatives?
It depends on your goals. Learning Go (Gin), Rust (Actix-web), or Elixir (Phoenix) provides valuable exposure to different programming paradigms and substantial performance gains. Python frameworks like FastAPI offer excellent developer experience. If you’re already comfortable with JavaScript, NestJS with TypeScript provides the best balance of familiar syntax with modern backend JS solutions.
Conclusion
Selecting from various Express.js alternatives requires understanding your project’s specific needs. The modern backend JS landscape offers solutions tailored to different requirements—from Koa’s lightweight approach to NestJS’s enterprise architecture.
When evaluating server frameworks for JS, consider:
- Performance needs: Frameworks like Fastify or non-JavaScript options like Actix-web deliver superior benchmarks
- Development speed: Adonis.js and Sails.js offer Rails-like productivity
- Scalability requirements: Moleculer and Midway excel for distributed systems
- Team expertise: Leveraging your developers’ existing language knowledge might outweigh performance gains
The server-side rendering options we’ve explored demonstrate the web application frameworks ecosystem has matured significantly. Whether you choose to stay within the Node ecosystem or explore Deno frameworks, each alternative presents distinct advantages for API development, asynchronous processing, and database integration.
Remember: the best framework isn’t necessarily the most popular—it’s the one that aligns with your architectural goals and team capabilities.
If you liked this article about Express alternatives, you should check out this article about Angular alternatives.
There are also similar articles discussing PHP alternatives, Ruby alternatives, Redux alternatives, and Spring alternatives.
And let’s not forget about articles on Flask alternatives, TypeScript alternatives, Laravel alternatives, and Python alternatives.
With over a decade in the tech field, Bogdan blends technical expertise with insights on business innovation in technology.
A regular contributor to TMS Outsource's blog, where you'll find sharp analyses on software development, tech business strategies, and global tech dynamics.
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