Best JavaScript Runtimes (2025)
Ranked picks for javascript runtimes. No "it depends."
🧊Nice Pick
Node.js
The JavaScript Swiss Army knife that made server-side coding cool, but good luck debugging async spaghetti.
Full Rankings
#1
Details →Node.js
Nice PickThe JavaScript Swiss Army knife that made server-side coding cool, but good luck debugging async spaghetti.
Pros
- +Massive ecosystem with npm for easy package management
- +Non-blocking I/O enables high concurrency and scalability
- +Single language (JavaScript) for full-stack development
- +Fast execution with the V8 engine
Cons
- -Callback hell and async complexity can lead to unreadable code
- -Single-threaded nature limits CPU-intensive tasks
The new runtime that makes Node look slow. Fast until you need that one npm package it does not support.
Pros
Cons
Compare:vs Node.js
Node.js if Ryan Dahl could do it over. TypeScript-first, secure by default, still fighting for adoption.
Pros
Cons
Head-to-head comparisons
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