The 5 Most Popular Node.js Web Frameworks in 2025

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Since 2009, Node.js has been a topic of discussion, and most backend developers tend to use Node.js. Its popularity has increased over the past few years. It is considered the most popular web development tool in the United States, with clients including Netflix and PayPal.

The reason for the increased popularity is the reduction in loading time and the improvement in performance. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze the top 5 Node.js backend frameworks in 2025. This article will introduce the top 5 Node.js backend frameworks in 2025, their features, and common use cases.

Comparison

Feature \ Framework	Express.js 😎	Nest.js 🛠️	Koa.js 🪶	Hapi.js 🔧	Adonis.js 🚀
Type of Framework	Open - source web app, minimal	Server - side, scalable & efficient	Small, expressive web	Scalable web app	Full - featured MVC for Node.js
Key Programming Language	JavaScript (Node.js)	Prog. JS, TypeScript	JavaScript (Node.js)	JavaScript (Node.js)	JavaScript (Node.js)
Routing	✨ Clean & simple HTTP req. management	🔄 Managed in modular apps	🔀 Similar to Express.js in req. handling	⚙️ Config - driven route setup	🗺️ Part of MVC architecture
Middleware Support	🛠️ Allows middleware for HTTP req.	🧩 Can use in modular context	🔗 Supports middleware composition	🔌 Plugins act as middleware	🛡️ For auth. & other MVC aspects
Database Integration	🗄️ Database - agnostic, easy via npm	🤝 Can integrate due to modularity	🤔 Similar to Express.js focus	🛠️ Can integrate as a web app framework	📊 Own ORM (Lucid) for various DBs
Modularity	🔍 Some modularity with middleware	🧱 Well - structured module breakdown	🌬️ No specific modularity focus	⚙️ Config & plugins for modularity	🏗️ MVC for code organization
Scalability	📈 Can build scalable apps	🚀 Seamless scalability with modules	🐆 Lightweight for scalability	🌐 Designed for scalable apps	🏗️ MVC for scalable app building
Dependency Injection	❌ Not a key feature	✅ Supported for class dependencies	❌ Not mentioned	❌ Not mentioned	❌ Not a key feature
Type Safety	❌ No type safety	✅ With TypeScript	❌ No type safety	❌ Not mentioned	❌ Not a key feature
Use Cases	🌐 Web apps & RESTful APIs, for all	🏭 Scalable server - side apps	🌟 Small, expressive web apps	🌐 Scalable web apps, REST APIs	🏗️ Scalable & maintainable apps
Ease of Learning	📚 Easy for JS & Node.js devs	📖 Steeper curve for newbies	📖 Easy for async JS devs	📘 Learning curve for config & plugins	📘 Learning curve for MVC & features

Details

Express.js: The Proven Champion

Express.js is one of the most famous backend frameworks for Node.js. It is an open-source web application framework that is free to use and built on the Node.js platform. Since it is a minimal framework, both novice and experienced web developers tend to use Express.js. It is mainly used for creating web applications and RESTful APIs.

1. Efficient Routing: Express.js provides a clean and simple way to manage various HTTP requests and assign them to specific tasks. Here is a simple example:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const port = 3000;

// Handle GET requests
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello, World!');
});

app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

1. Middleware Support: Express.js allows middleware support for handling HTTP requests. Here is a simple example of creating a middleware for logging HTTP request details:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();

// Middleware
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  console.log(`Request Method: ${req.method}, Request URL: ${req.url}`);
  next();
});

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello, World!');
});

const port = 3000;
app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

1. Easy Database Integration: Express.js is database-agnostic. It does not enforce a specific database choice. Developers can choose their preferred database. Integrating a database with Express.js is easy due to its modular and flexible nature, as well as the rich ecosystem of npm packages that provide database connections.
2. Simple to Learn: Express.js is known for its simplicity and minimalist design, which makes it easy for developers to learn, especially if they are already familiar with JavaScript and Node.js. In addition, you can easily get started with Express.js using tools like Bit. If you haven't used Bit before, it is the next-generation build system for composable software. Express.js itself is composable in nature, and you can plug and play components anywhere in your application.

Nest.js: A Modern and Structured Approach

Nest.js is a framework known for building scalable and efficient Node.js server-side applications. It uses progressive JavaScript and has the ability to write code in TypeScript. Although it fully supports TypeScript, it can also write code in plain JavaScript, including object-oriented programming, functional programming, and functional reactive programming.

1. Modularity: Nest.js allows code to be broken down into separate manageable modules, making it easier to maintain. Here is a simple example of a module:

import { Module } from '@nestjs/common';
import { CacheModule } from './cache.module';

@Module({
  imports: [CacheModule],
  exports: [CacheModule],
})
export class PaymentModule {}

1. Scalability: Nest.js enables seamless scalability by breaking down the application into manageable modules, supporting flexible component replacement, and accommodating high traffic through microservices and asynchronous operations. It ensures the effective handling of increased workload while maintaining reliability.
2. Dependency Injection: Dependency injection is simply a way to add external dependencies to a class instead of creating them within the class itself. Here is an example:

import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';

@Injectable()
export class PaymentService {
  constructor() {}
  processPayment() {
    return 'Payment processed successfully';
  }
}

import { Controller, Get } from '@nestjs/common';
import { PaymentService } from './payment.service';

@Controller('payments')
export class PaymentController {
  constructor(private paymentService: PaymentService) {}

  @Get()
  getPayment() {
    return this.paymentService.processPayment();
  }
}

1. Type Safety: Nest.js uses TypeScript to provide type safety, which can be used to catch potential errors during the development process and improve the maintainability of the code.

Koa.js: Elegant and Lightweight

Koa.js is a smaller and more expressive web framework, also designed by the Express.js team. It allows you to abandon callbacks and handle errors by leveraging asynchronous functions.

1. Context Object (ctx): Koa.js includes a feature called ctx to capture request and response details. This context is passed to each middleware. Here is an example:

const Koa = require('koa');
const app = new Koa();

app.use(async (ctx) => {
  console.log(`Request Method: ${ctx.method}, Request URL: ${ctx.url}`);
  ctx.body = 'Hello, World!';
});

const port = 3000;
app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

1. Middleware Composition: Similar to Express.js, Koa supports the middleware feature for handling HTTP requests and responses. Here is an example of creating a simple middleware:

const Koa = require('koa');
const app = new Koa();

// Middleware
const logger = async (ctx, next) => {
  console.log('Before middleware');
  await next();
  console.log('After middleware');
};

app.use(logger);

app.use(async (ctx) => {
  ctx.body = 'Hello, World!';
});

const port = 3000;
app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

1. async/await Support: Koa uses the async/await syntax to write asynchronous code in a more synchronous way. Here is an example using the async/await keyword:

const Koa = require('koa');
const app = new Koa();

app.use(async (ctx) => {
  const data = await new Promise((resolve) => {
    setTimeout(() => {
      resolve('Hello from async operation');
    }, 1000);
  });
  ctx.body = data;
});

const port = 3000;
app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${port}`);
});

Hapi.js

Hapi.js is an abbreviation for Http-API and is an open-source framework for developing scalable web applications. One of the most basic use cases of Hapi.js is to build REST APIs. Walmart Labs created hapi js to handle the traffic during events like Black Friday, which is one of the busiest online shopping days on the US calendar.

1. Configuration-Driven Design: Using a configuration object, we can configure routes, settings, and plugins in Hapi.js. Here is a simple example:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: 'localhost',
  });

  server.route({
    method: 'GET',
    path: '/',
    handler: (request, h) => {
      return 'Hello, World!';
    },
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log(`Server running on ${server.info.uri}`);
};

init();

1. Powerful Plugin System: Hapi.js allows for easy integration of plugins. Here is an example:

const Hapi = require('@hapi/hapi');

const init = async () => {
  const server = Hapi.server({
    port: 3000,
    host: 'localhost',
  });

  const plugin1 = {
    name: 'plugin1',
    version: '1.0.0',
    register: (server, options) => {
      console.log('Plugin 1 registered');
    },
  };

  const plugin2 = {
    name: 'plugin2',
    version: '1.0.0',
    register: (server, options) => {
      console.log('Plugin 2 registered');
    },
  };

  await server.register([
    { plugin: plugin1, options: { key: 'value1' } },
    { plugin: plugin2, options: { key: 'value2' } },
  ]);

  server.route({
    method: 'GET',
    path: '/',
    handler: (request, h) => {
      return 'Hello, World!';
    },
  });

  await server.start();
  console.log(`Server running on ${server.info.uri}`);
};

init();

1. Authentication and Authorization: Hapi.js provides built-in support for various authentication strategies and allows developers to easily define access control policies.
2. Input Validation: Input validation is another important aspect of Hapi.js. In the options object of a route, we can define which inputs need to be validated. The default validate object consists of the following values.

Adonis.js

Adonis.js is a full-featured MVC framework for Node.js. It has the ability to build scalable and maintainable applications. Adonis.js follows a structure similar to Laravel and includes features such as ORM, authentication, and routing out of the box.

1. Full-Stack MVC Framework: Adonis.js follows the MVC architecture pattern. Having an MVC framework helps to organize the code and makes it easier to maintain and scale.
2. Database Integration ORM: Adonis.js has its own ORM called Lucid. Lucid provides an expressive query builder and supports various database systems. In Lucid, we can create models to read from and write to the database. Here is a simple example:

const Database = use('Database');
const User = use('App/Models/User');

class UserController {
  async index() {
    const users = await User.all();
    return users;
  }

  async store({ request }) {
    const data = request.only(['name', 'email']);
    const user = await User.create(data);
    return user;
  }
}

1. Authentication System: Adonis.js has built-in support for user authentication and authorization. It provides a set of methods and middleware for handling user sessions, password hashing, and access control.

Conclusion

In 2025, the above backend frameworks have stood firm in the market. Whether you choose Express.js for its simplicity, Nest.js for its structure, Adonis.js for its productivity, or Koa.js for its elegance, choosing the right framework is crucial. It always depends on your requirements.
It is essential to understand your project requirements and, based on that, select the appropriate framework. Additionally, keeping an eye on the latest trends, new features of existing frameworks, and new frameworks is crucial for the success of your backend development journey in 2025.

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