NestJS vs Node.js

Overview

Node.js

Stacks200.4K

Followers164.5K

Votes8.5K

GitHub Stars114.1K

Forks33.7K

NestJS

Stacks2.7K

Followers3.0K

Votes326

GitHub Stars73.3K

Forks8.1K

NestJS vs Node.js: What are the differences?

NestJS and Node.js are JavaScript-based frameworks. Node.js is a runtime environment for building server-side applications, while NestJS is a framework built on top of Node.js that offers a structured and scalable approach. Here are the key differences between them:

Architecture: NestJS is a framework built on top of Node.js that follows the modular and scalable architectural pattern known as "Dependency Injection" and "Decorator" syntax. It encourages the use of TypeScript and provides a structured way to organize code using modules, controllers, and services. Node.js, on the other hand, is a runtime environment that executes JavaScript code on the server side.
Features and Abstractions: NestJS provides a rich set of features out of the box, such as built-in support for modules, middleware, dependency injection, and decorators. It also offers powerful features like automatic route generation, validation, and serialization. Node.js, being a runtime environment, provides low-level APIs for networking, file system access, and other system-level operations. It allows for more flexibility and control but requires manual implementation of higher-level abstractions.
Scalability and Performance: NestJS leverages the scalability and performance of Node.js by providing a modular architecture and built-in support for asynchronous programming using Promises and async/await. It allows for efficient handling of concurrent requests and can scale well for high traffic applications. Node.js, being a lightweight and non-blocking I/O runtime, is known for its high scalability and performance characteristics.
Ecosystem and Community: Node.js has a vast and mature ecosystem with a large community and a wide range of third-party libraries and frameworks available. It is widely adopted and has extensive support for various use cases and integrations. NestJS, being built on top of Node.js, benefits from this ecosystem and community support while providing additional abstractions and conventions specific to its framework.
Use Cases: NestJS is well-suited for building complex, scalable, and maintainable server-side applications, particularly in the realm of enterprise and large-scale projects. It combines the benefits of TypeScript, architectural patterns, and a robust framework to provide structure and productivity. Node.js, on the other hand, is a versatile runtime that can be used for a wide range of applications, including web servers, real-time applications, microservices, APIs, and command-line tools.

In summary, NestJS is a framework built on top of Node.js, providing a structured and opinionated approach to building server-side applications. It offers powerful features and abstractions, focusing on scalability, maintainability, and developer productivity. Node.js, as a runtime environment, provides the foundation for executing JavaScript on the server side, offering flexibility and performance.

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Advice on Node.js, NestJS

Shivam

AVP - Business at VAYUZ Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Mar 25, 2020

Needs adviceon

Node.js

Java

Rails

Hi Community! Trust everyone is keeping safe. I am exploring the idea of building a #Neobank (App) with end-to-end banking capabilities. In the process of exploring this space, I have come across multiple Apps (N26, Revolut, Monese, etc) and explored their stacks in detail. The confusion remains to be the Backend Tech to be used?

What would you go with considering all of the languages such as Node.js Java Rails Python are suggested by some person or the other. As a general trend, I have noticed the usage of Node with React on the front or Node with a combination of Kotlin and Swift. Please suggest what would be the right approach!

915k views915k

Comments

abderrahmane

Mar 12, 2020

Needs advice

I am a front-end guy and in the last month I've been trynig to be learn backend in python. I think python is a great language to but when i start to learn django I didn't like it because everythong is already done for you, you dont need to do much make it works and I like coding thing that take me time. I've been thinking about switching to another programing language or just learn Node js and stick with it. I need to know if django is that easy.

136k views136k

Comments

Mohammad

Oct 28, 2019

Needs adviceon

Node.js

Laravel

PHP

I want to create a video sharing service like Youtube, which users can use to upload and watch videos. I prefer to use Vue.js for front-end. What do you suggest for the back-end? @{Node.js}|tool:1011| or @{Laravel}|tool:992| ( @{PHP}|tool:991| ) I need a good performance with high speed, and the most important thing is the ability to handle user's requests if the site's traffic increases. I want to create an algorithm that users who watch others videos earn points (randomly but in clear context) If you have anything else to improve, please let me know. For eg: If you prefer React to Vue.js. Thanks in advance

309k views309k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Node.js	NestJS
Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.	Nest is a framework for building efficient, scalable Node.js server-side applications. It uses progressive JavaScript, is built with TypeScript (preserves compatibility with pure JavaScript) and combines elements of OOP (Object Oriented Programming), FP (Functional Programming), and FRP (Functional Reactive Programming). Under the hood, Nest makes use of Express, but also, provides compatibility with a wide range of other libraries, like e.g. Fastify, allowing for easy use of the myriad third-party plugins which are available.
-	Extensible - Gives you true flexibility by allowing use of any other libraries thanks to modular architecture.; Versatile - An adaptable ecosystem that is a fully-fledged backbone for all kinds of server-side applications.; Progressive - Takes advantage of latest JavaScript features, bringing design patterns and mature solutions to node.js world.
Statistics
GitHub Stars 114.1K	GitHub Stars 73.3K
GitHub Forks 33.7K	GitHub Forks 8.1K
Stacks 200.4K	Stacks 2.7K
Followers 164.5K	Followers 3.0K
Votes 8.5K	Votes 326
Pros & Cons
Pros 1439 Npm 1279 Javascript 1129 Great libraries 1012 High-performance 805 Open source Cons 46 Bound to a single CPU 45 New framework every day 40 Lots of terrible examples on the internet 33 Asynchronous programming is the worst 24 Callback	Pros 54 Powerful but super friendly to work with 42 Fast development 40 Easy to understand documentation 36 Angular style syntax for the backend 32 NodeJS ecosystem Cons 10 Difficult to debug 10 User base is small. Less help on Stackoverflow 5 Angular-like architecture 3 Updates with breaking changes 3 Javascript

What are some alternatives to Node.js, NestJS?

Rails

Rails is a web-application framework that includes everything needed to create database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern.

Django

Django is a high-level Python Web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design.

Laravel

It is a web application framework with expressive, elegant syntax. It attempts to take the pain out of development by easing common tasks used in the majority of web projects, such as authentication, routing, sessions, and caching.

.NET

.NET is a general purpose development platform. With .NET, you can use multiple languages, editors, and libraries to build native applications for web, mobile, desktop, gaming, and IoT for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and more.

ASP.NET Core

A free and open-source web framework, and higher performance than ASP.NET, developed by Microsoft and the community. It is a modular framework that runs on both the full .NET Framework, on Windows, and the cross-platform .NET Core.

Symfony

It is written with speed and flexibility in mind. It allows developers to build better and easy to maintain websites with PHP..

Spring

A key element of Spring is infrastructural support at the application level: Spring focuses on the "plumbing" of enterprise applications so that teams can focus on application-level business logic, without unnecessary ties to specific deployment environments.

Spring Boot

Spring Boot makes it easy to create stand-alone, production-grade Spring based Applications that you can "just run". We take an opinionated view of the Spring platform and third-party libraries so you can get started with minimum fuss. Most Spring Boot applications need very little Spring configuration.

Android SDK

Android provides a rich application framework that allows you to build innovative apps and games for mobile devices in a Java language environment.

Phoenix Framework

Phoenix is a framework for building HTML5 apps, API backends and distributed systems. Written in Elixir, you get beautiful syntax, productive tooling and a fast runtime.

Related Comparisons

Architecture: NestJS is a framework built on top of Node.js that follows the modular and scalable architectural pattern known as "Dependency Injection" and "Decorator" syntax. It encourages the use of TypeScript and provides a structured way to organize code using modules, controllers, and services. Node.js, on the other hand, is a runtime environment that executes JavaScript code on the server side.
Features and Abstractions: NestJS provides a rich set of features out of the box, such as built-in support for modules, middleware, dependency injection, and decorators. It also offers powerful features like automatic route generation, validation, and serialization. Node.js, being a runtime environment, provides low-level APIs for networking, file system access, and other system-level operations. It allows for more flexibility and control but requires manual implementation of higher-level abstractions.
Scalability and Performance: NestJS leverages the scalability and performance of Node.js by providing a modular architecture and built-in support for asynchronous programming using Promises and async/await. It allows for efficient handling of concurrent requests and can scale well for high traffic applications. Node.js, being a lightweight and non-blocking I/O runtime, is known for its high scalability and performance characteristics.
Ecosystem and Community: Node.js has a vast and mature ecosystem with a large community and a wide range of third-party libraries and frameworks available. It is widely adopted and has extensive support for various use cases and integrations. NestJS, being built on top of Node.js, benefits from this ecosystem and community support while providing additional abstractions and conventions specific to its framework.
Use Cases: NestJS is well-suited for building complex, scalable, and maintainable server-side applications, particularly in the realm of enterprise and large-scale projects. It combines the benefits of TypeScript, architectural patterns, and a robust framework to provide structure and productivity. Node.js, on the other hand, is a versatile runtime that can be used for a wide range of applications, including web servers, real-time applications, microservices, APIs, and command-line tools.

NestJS vs Node.js