The Contenders

Before we jump into the nitty-gritty, let’s meet our challengers:

• Node.js: The veteran JavaScript runtime that brought async to the server-side party.

• Deno: The new kid on the block, aiming to right the wrongs of Node.js with security and modern features.

• Bun: The speedster looking to leave others in the dust with its lightning-fast performance.

• Go: The statically typed powerhouse known for its concurrency and efficiency.

• Fastify: A fast and low-overhead web framework for Node.js.

• Express.js: The tried-and-true minimalist web framework for Node.js.

The Showdown

Round 1: Raw Performance

In a benchmark conducted by a brave soul on Reddit, a simple POST /benchmark endpoint was tested across various platforms.

The results?

Let’s just say it’s like watching a race between a cheetah and a tortoise.

• Node.js with Fastify (Clustered): Handled a whopping number of requests per second, but Go still edged out with a 1.2x lead.

However, Go was guzzling almost twice the CPU to maintain that lead.

Talk about a high-maintenance contender!

• Bun: Almost 3x faster than plain Node.js on a single core.

Someone’s been eating their Wheaties!

• Deno: Clocked in at 1.5x faster than Node.js on a single core.

Not too shabby for the newcomer.

• Express.js: Bless its heart, but it’s lagging behind the pack, using more CPU and memory while delivering fewer requests per second.

Time for a tune-up, perhaps?

Source: Reddit Benchmark

Round 2: Latency and Throughput

In another corner of the internet, a detailed analysis pitted Node.js, Bun, and Deno against each other using autocannon.

The findings were as follows:

• Node.js: Managed an average of 106,182 requests per second with an average latency of 0.1 ms.

Not too shabby, old friend.

• Bun: Upped the ante with 132,417 requests per second and an impressive 0.02 ms average latency.

Someone’s been hitting the gym!

• Deno: Took the crown with 148,309 requests per second and a 0.04 ms average latency.

All hail the new king in town!

Source: Trevor Lasn’s Blog

Pros and Cons

Let’s break it down:

Node.js

Pros:

• Mature ecosystem with a plethora of libraries and frameworks.

• Strong community support.

• Asynchronous, non-blocking I/O model.

Cons:

• Single-threaded by default; requires clustering for multi-core utilization.

• Performance can lag behind newer runtimes like Deno and Bun.

Deno

Pros:

• Secure by default with explicit permissions.

• Modern features and a fresh take on server-side JavaScript.

• Superior performance in benchmarks.

Cons:

• Younger ecosystem; not as many libraries available.

• Learning curve for those accustomed to Node.js.

Bun

Pros:

• Blazing fast performance.

• Built-in bundler, transpiler, and more.

Cons:

• Still in its early stages; expect some rough edges.

• Limited ecosystem compared to Node.js.

Go

Pros:

• Excellent concurrency support.

• Statically typed with a focus on simplicity and efficiency.

• Strong performance, especially under load.

Cons:

• Not JavaScript; requires learning a new language.

• Less flexibility in certain scenarios compared to dynamic languages.

Fastify

Pros:

• High performance with low overhead.

• Schema-based validation and serialization.

Cons:

• Slightly steeper learning curve than Express.js.

• Smaller community, but growing.

Express.js

Pros:

• Simple and minimalistic.

• Huge community and a vast number of middleware options.

Cons:

• Performance lags behind newer frameworks like Fastify.

• Can become unorganized in larger applications without proper structure.