Koa vs Fastify

Express's minimalist cousin meets node. Here's our take.

Koa

Nice Pick

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

Fastify

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

The Verdict

Use Koa if: You want async/await support eliminates callback hell and can live with no built-in middleware (you have to install everything).

Use Fastify if: You prioritize blazing fast performance with low overhead over what Koa offers.

The Bottom Line

Koa wins

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