Top Node.js Frameworks for Web Development

The world of app development has evolved significantly in the last few years. With advancements in technology, the availability of experts, and tools in the market, we have seen a complete revolution in app development.

One such revolutionary step has been the adoption of NodeJS frameworks for app development.

Node.js offers a variety of app development tools, pre-written code, and libraries, helping backend developers to be more flexible with their approach.

However, if you plan to use Node.js as your runtime environment, you must choose a direct framework for the app development process.

And that is where the confusion comes into the picture.

Several frameworks support Node.js. If you are planning to start a project but do not know which Node.js framework to use, then this post is definitely for you!

In this one, let’s take a look at the 10 best Node.js frameworks that you can choose from and what they have to offer.

But before jumping to the list, let us take a closer look at Node.js and figure out whether it is a framework or not.

What is Node.js? An Overview

Node.js is an open-source runtime environment based on JavaScript. Node.js allows developers to execute JavaScript code on the server side.

Node.js is open-sourced, meaning it is free for everyone to use. In addition to this, it is used for cross-platform development thanks to several hybrid app development frameworks that are compatible with NodeJS.

Talking about compatibility, Node.js is compatible with Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, and more. Developers find it quite accessible and comfortable to work with, as it uses JavaScript.

Apart from JavaScript, it is also compatible with Typescript, C, C++, and Coffeescript.

Now that you are aware of Node.js and what it is, you might have gained clarity on one of your confusions regarding whether Node.js is a framework or not.

Moving on, in the next section, let us try and resolve another confusion that you may have, i.e, which Node.js framework is suitable for your project.

Check out this list of the top 10 Node.js frameworks that will narrow the decision down for you!

10 Best NodeJS Frameworks You Can Choose From

The definition of the best Node.js framework can vary according to the preferences of the developer. This is why one can never choose any one Node.js framework as the ultimate option.

However, to narrow down your choices, we have listed the best Node.js frameworks that you can choose from.

Check out the list below –

1) Express.js

Express.js is an open-source Node.js module. TJ Hollowaychuk is the original creator of the platform, who released it more than a decade ago on the 22nd of May, 2010.

It comes with a remarkable feature that allows NodeJS developers to create robust single or multi-page apps. It is also one of the best backend frameworks for web app development.

While ExpressJS itself is one of the minimal frameworks, its capabilities are scalable through plugins. Moreover, ExpressJS TypeScript compatibility makes it stand out from the rest.

Today, it is used by more than 1,733 companies around the world. This includes companies like Fox Sports, PayPal, Uber, IBM, Twitter, Stack, Accenture, and so on.

Plus, it has 18 million downloads per week as well as a presence in 20k stacks.

Features

• High-speed server-side development.
• Robust Performance
• Tools for Express.js are readily available
• Allows HTML pages to be dynamically rendered
• Allows middleware to set up for HTTP request and response.
• High test coverage
• It has effective routing.
• Allows content negotiation

2) Next.js

Next.js is going to be the next best NodeJS framework that 2025 will offer.

Based on Node, it is open-sourced. Plus, the main quality of this minimal framework is that it is based on server-rendered React applications. It is used for creating static, fast, and user-friendly websites.

Moreover, this framework builds NodeJS websites that are SEO Friendly. React-based web app capabilities also make server-side rendering and static page generation possible.

Apart from this, the development experience is leveraged with features ranging from smart bundling, TypeScript support, to server rendering, configuration-less, etc.

Moreover, it is one of the best technologies for SaaS Development.

Being one of the most popular and best NodeJS frameworks, it has 1.8 million downloads, covers over 2.7k stacks, and is used by over 800 companies.

Features

• Innovative page-based routing API.
• Hybrid Page Development
• Automatic code splitting.
• Image optimization.
• CSS and SaaS support.
• Fully extendable
• Detailed documentation
• Fast development
• Client-side routing with prefetching

3) Koa

Koa is used by more than 90 companies. Plus, it’s present in over 400 stacks with 1 million downloads per week.

One thing that separates it from NodeJS Express Framework is the fact that it provides a stronger foundation for API and Web apps while being smaller than its sister platform.

In addition to this, it offers a range of tools and methodologies that add interoperability, robustness, and ease of coding middleware.

Features

• No middleware.
• Small Footprint
• Contemporary Framework
• Bug Handling
• Fast Development

4) Nest.js

Presence in 1000+ stacks, over 800k downloads per week, and used by 200 companies, Nest.JS is one of a kind NodeJS backend framework.

It is used for server-side app developments that are scalable and efficient. It is licensed under MIT as an open-source project.

Thus, an official nest core team provides official assistance through the helpline.

Being a progressive framework, it is well-known throughout the development community. In addition to being typescript-ready, it also uses Modern JS.

Plus, it comes with Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), Functional Programming (FP), & Functional Reactive Programming (FRP) to deliver next-level scalability.

Therefore, it delivers apps that are scalable, easy to maintain, effective, and perform well in the market. It is compatible with Fastify.js, which makes it a go-to choice for Node.js development services.

Features

• Solves architectural problems
• Easy to learn and use
• TypeScript is ready
• Compatible with Test Driven Development & unit-testing, easy
• Integration made easy
• Code reusability

5) Hapi.js

Hapi.js can help you create solutions that are fast, scalable, and capture. That is the reason why it has more than 400K downloads per week and is used by over 76 companies.

Created by Walmart’s mobile app development team to handle high traffic on Black Friday, it is now being used to develop e-commerce platforms that get high traffic.

Moreover, it comes with features that aren’t seen in any other framework. It takes security to another level, and it is very simple to use. All in all, it is one of the most popular Node.js frameworks on the list.

Features

• High-level Security
• Rich ecosystem
• High-end Quality
• Straightforward User Experience Implementation.
• Easy to learn interface
• Predictability
• Extensibility and customization.

6) Fastify.js

Fastify.js has 300K weekly downloads and 21.7K stars on GitHub, and is still open-source.

It is used by some of the best companies across the world. This includes names like Skeelo, Saturn, 2hire, and Commons. host, and so on.

Fastify, just like Hapi & Express, is fast, provides a great user experience, has a remarkable plugin architecture, high speed, and minimum overhead.

In fact, this framework serves up to 30 thousand requests per second. It isn’t called the fastest for nothing. This is one of the reasons to hire web developers who are well-versed with Fastify.js.

With that out of the way, let’s look at some of the top features of the platform.

Features

• Limitless performance
• Highly Extensible
• Developer-first framework
• Comes with the best logger
• TypeScript ready
• Fastest framework

7) Meteor.js

Launched back in 2012, Meteor is one of the most commonly used NodeJS frameworks.

For those who want to use only JavaScript as a programming language, this framework is perfect. And what makes it even better is its features and capacities.

In addition to being open source, it is isomorphic and comes with automatic data change capacity.

It is also highly compatible with desktop apps, iOS, and Android app development. And all of this using one language.

If you are looking into NodeJS development and want to choose one of the best Node frameworks, you should definitely consider this one.

Features

• Isomorphic framework
• Use modern JS
• Cross-platform framework
• CLI rapid prototyping
• Extensive community support
• Full-stack framework
• Superfast interactions – fast results
• Compatible with integration

8) Loopback.js

Loopback is highly used to build REST APIs with minimal coding. This easy-to-use CLI is open source and allows you to build models that are highly dependent on your schema.

When you define a model. Loopback.js can automatically come up with a REST API. It also offers flexible tools for connecting to data sources, allowing you to automatically generate the necessary endpoints.

It is well-suited for developing microservices and various enterprise applications.

Features:

• Adheres to MVC Architecture
• Built-in Authentication Measures
• Auto API Generation
• Multiple relational database compatibility
• Optional Safety
• Fast development & low maintenance cost

9) Feather.js:

Features JS is very popular for back-end development. It is known for its flexibility with React and NodeJS, along with other databases. In its true form, it’s a Node microservices framework.

It comes with real-time functionality that goes with modern web and mobile apps. Moreover, it removes the need for complex RESTful Node.js APIs with its straightforward decoding.

All in all, it makes everything much easier for web developers, including implementing, connecting, and communicating.

Features:

• Its lightweight framework
• It allows the reuse of services
• CLI
• Automated RESTful APIs
• Default plugins for authentication and authorization

10) Adonis.js:

Adonis.js is considered a full-stack framework inspired by Laravel. It offers a set of features that are required by every developer.

These features include a solid testing environment, authentication, and ORM.

Angular is a TypeScript-first framework that is more popular with web applications. It can be used to build a full-fledged application along with a JSON API Server.

What makes Adonis.js stand out from the bunch is that it is the only one that ships with first-party packages, which saves a lot of time that you might spend looking for npm packages and assembling them to get the job done.

Some further features of Adonis.js include –

Features:

• Configuration management.
• Sorted folder structure.
• Type-safe variables.
• Event emitter.
• Controllers and Routing.
• File uploads.

Other than these 10, there are several other Node.js frameworks that you might come across. However, if you are looking for the best one, then choosing from them is the best you can do.

Also, if you are planning to choose a framework, we highly recommend that you discuss your idea with a development team of professionals who can break down your requirements and suggest the right path.

Conclusion

Node.js is one of the top development technologies of our time. Used throughout the development community, it has been the basis for the development of many frameworks.

However, there are only a few that deserve the title of best NodeJS framework.

In this blog, we discussed some of the best NodeJS Frameworks that 2025 has to offer.

Now, if you are someone who wants to develop their own NodeJS solution or want to learn more about the same, it is highly recommended that you consult a Node.js development company.

FAQs

Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma, CTO, Nimble AppGenie, is a tech enthusiast with more than a decade of experience in delivering high-value solutions that allow a brand to penetrate the market easily. With a strong hold on mobile app development, he is actively working to help businesses identify the potential of digital transformation by sharing insightful statistics, guides & blogs.