Fastify vs Koa

Node meets express's minimalist cousin. Here's our take.

Fastify

Nice Pick

Node.js on steroids. All the speed, none of the bloat—unless you count the plugin addiction.

Pros

• Blazing fast performance with low overhead
• Built-in validation and serialization out of the box
• Plugin architecture that actually scales without spaghetti code

Cons

• Smaller ecosystem compared to Express, so you might end up writing more custom plugins
• Steeper learning curve for those used to more verbose frameworks

Koa

Express's minimalist cousin. All the async/await, none of the callback baggage.

Pros

• Async/await support eliminates callback hell
• Lightweight and modular middleware system
• Cleaner error handling with try/catch
• Built by the creators of Express

Cons

• No built-in middleware (you have to install everything)
• Smaller ecosystem compared to Express

The Verdict

Use Fastify if: You want blazing fast performance with low overhead and can live with smaller ecosystem compared to express, so you might end up writing more custom plugins.

Use Koa if: You prioritize async/await support eliminates callback hell over what Fastify offers.

The Bottom Line

Fastify wins

Node.js on steroids. All the speed, none of the bloat—unless you count the plugin addiction.