Why nodejs engineers prefer express over nestjs? although nestjs forces good practice and proper architecture and it seems to be a right choice for complex and enterprise applications like asp.net and Spring. What are the limitations of nestjs compared to express? 
reddit.com › r › node › comments › 13rnd1l › why_nodejs_engineers_prefer_express_over_nestjs
Nest is a kitchen-sink type framework. It has a lot of tools that you don't always need and a lot of opinions about how things should be done. If your project requirements deviate at all from what is documented in basic use cases you can actually be worse off then using a lightweight framework like express and bringing in the pieces you need. Answer from WarInternal on reddit.com
Reddit
reddit.com › r/node › why nodejs engineers prefer express over nestjs? although nestjs forces good practice and proper architecture and it seems to be a right choice for complex and enterprise applications like asp.net and spring. what are the limitations of nestjs compared to express?
r/node on Reddit: Why nodejs engineers prefer express over nestjs? although nestjs forces good practice and proper architecture and it seems to be a right choice for complex and enterprise applications like asp.net and Spring. What are the limitations of nestjs compared to express?
May 25, 2023 - A JavaScript expert will take express because they can do it well, quickly, and maintain it just fine. Someone working for an enterprise with a large team of developers of all skill levels will go with NestJS because it offers a good pattern, linting, typescript, unit testing, etc that keeps a framework maintainable by a large team and upgrade able over time.
Medium
medium.com › @sphinxshivraj › nestjs-vs-express-the-ultimate-comparison-of-node-frameworks-948b9cc9d3a1
NestJS vs. Express: The Ultimate Comparison of Node Frameworks | by sphinx | Medium
November 29, 2023 - NestJS consists of a Dependency Injection container that keeps your code organized, clean, and ready to use. You can integrate with multiple technologies like TypeORM, Mongoose, and GraphQL & concepts like Validation, Logging, Caching, Web Sockets, ...
typescript - Is NestJs a right choice for a node.js beginner or should I do something with Express first? - Stack Overflow
You can't achieve these things ... like Express + (something else) ... It's hard to understand why there is a contoller file, service file, and why there are multiple module files with forRoot and forRootAsync connections to DBs and so on. In time, it will be difficult to write/build projects w/o Nestjs because it's ... More on stackoverflow.com
Why isn't Nest.Js as popular as Express?
Express is older Express is more simple More node apps need a routing library than need a full, opinionated framework Basically every node dev knows express (or can in a day or two); the hiring pool for Nest is much smaller etc More on reddit.com
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September 14, 2022Why nodejs engineers prefer express over nestjs? although nestjs forces good practice and proper architecture and it seems to be a right choice for complex and enterprise applications like asp.net and Spring. What are the limitations of nestjs compared to express? : node
The node community on Reddit. Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. More on old.reddit.com
Node Express / NestJS running on AWS Lambda - Are we doing it right?
I’m not sure about optimizations Amazon does for lambda functions. It might spawn them and kill them whenever. So persisting and speed is a thing if you want to host a whole server in a function. There is an extra app from aws to host node. I guess there is a reason to use that instead
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July 25, 2020Videos
06:14
Is NestJS killing ExpressJS? - YouTube
00:59
NestJS vs Express in 60 Seconds #shorts - YouTube
09:03
nestjs & expressjs side by side #nodejs - YouTube
00:59
nestjs vs express || should we compare Both #nestjs #shorts - YouTube
NestJS vs NodeJS with Express | When to Use What?
LogRocket
blog.logrocket.com › home › nestjs vs. express.js
NestJS vs. Express.js - LogRocket Blog
June 4, 2024 - This framework is inspired by Angular, ... can be easily learned by Angular developers for any type of project. Nest uses the Express HTTP framework by default....
Quora
quora.com › Should-I-learn-Express-JS-before-Nest-JS
Should I learn Express JS before Nest JS? - Quora
Answer (1 of 3): I'd recommend NOT learning either. I'm going to make some assumptions first off. If you're new to software development, STAY AWAY FROM JAVASCRIPT. You need to learn programming first and JavaScript is ill suited for a beginner. It's asynchronous and single threaded. This leads t...
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › gblog › expressjs-vs-nestjs-5-differences-that-you-should-know
ExpressJS vs NestJS - 7 Differences That You Should Know - GeeksforGeeks
ExpressJS: ExpressJS is unopinionated, providing developers with the freedom to implement code according to their specific needs. It lacks a set of pre-defined rules, allowing for multiple possibilities in coding approaches.
Published July 23, 2025
Lumigo
lumigo.io › home › comparing nestjs and expressjs
Comparing NestJS and ExpressJS - Lumigo
June 25, 2024 - The catch block captures the error and throws a new error, which, depending on the global error handling setup in NestJS, will be sent back to the client as an error response. This simulates and provides a context for handling asynchronous errors and exceptions in a real-world application. Before we proceed, ensure that the ExpressJS application is set to run on port 3001 and the NestJS application on port 3000.
Top answer 1 of 4
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Nest.js & Typescript is a framework for enterprise-level applications which provides a clear structure and guidelines of how things should be.
So for the beginner pros are:
- OOP (SOLID) in TS/JS
- Introducing the latest LTS features of TS, like decorators, dependency injections, and so on.
- In build ESLint, prettier, and monorepo mod which can be activated via Nest CLI.
- Easy deployment via docker-compose for microservice architecture.
You can't achieve these things via such old frameworks like Express + (something else)
As for the cons:
It's hard to understand why there is a
contollerfile,servicefile, and why there are multiplemodulefiles withforRootandforRootAsyncconnections to DBs and so on.In time, it will be difficult to write/build projects w/o Nestjs because it's very good, but has a bit different pattern of programming.
@Afaq mentioned that TS is the future (and Nestjs as well), but it's a bit wrong. JS as a native language always inherits the best available options from TS, as it did with CoffeeScript and so on. So one day in the future, you could wake up and look at your TS codebase as a legacy without appropriate support, while native technology goes forward.
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Contrary to popular opinion, I'll suggest to get to know express a bit, make a plain simple server with JS and express (no fancy framweorks), convert it to TS. Get to know express library and how it works. NestJS abstracts a lot of the express'y' stuff. Its always good to know how it works under the hood.
I came from plain old JS + express to NestJS, and it feels good to know how it works under the hood.
It need not be a big app, just create a TODO with Auth,Validation and DB.
There is nothing wrong starting with NestJS though.
Swovo
swovo.com › blog › nestjs-vs-express
NestJS vs. Express.js: Choosing the Best Node Framework for 2026
Nestjs is designed to provide a structured and modular approach, making it easier to build and maintain large-scale applications, whereas Expressjs offers more flexibility but may require additional setup for scalability.
Radixweb
radixweb.com › blog › nestjs-vs-expressjs
NestJS vs ExpressJS: Which Framework is Best?
August 26, 2024 - Compare NestJS and ExpressJS to discover which Node.js framework offers the best features and benefits for building efficient and scalable web applications.
Rookout
rookout.com › blog › express-vs-nest-backend-frameworks-comparison
NestJS vs. ExpressJS: Which Framework To Choose
June 19, 2023 - Last year’s State of JS survey considered programmers’ favorite frameworks and JS tools, including frameworks according to usage, satisfaction, and even awareness. Express sees much wider use (81%) versus Nest (45%) – after all, Nest is newer.
Jelvix
jelvix.com › home › blog
Comparing NestJS & Express.js: Which Framework is the Best
October 31, 2024 - For instance, the NestJS framework provides features that promote loose coupling, dependency injection, and better code maintainability. This framework has a developed ecosystem, including extensive documentation and active community support, fostering productive software development. Express.js is a well-known lightweight JavaScript-based Node.js framework extensively used for building mobile and web applications.
DEV Community
dev.to › lovestaco › nodejs-vs-nestjs-a-tale-of-two-frameworks-lp2
Express.js vs Nest.js - DEV Community
September 28, 2025 - It’s built on Node.js and Express but comes with a glow-up.
DEV Community
dev.to › bilelsalemdev › nestjs-vs-expressjs-when-to-use-each-2l73
NestJS vs Express.js: When To Use Each - DEV Community
May 30, 2025 - Final Recommendation: Use Express for microservices and serverless, NestJS for monoliths and enterprise apps.
BairesDev
bairesdev.com › home › blog › software development
NestJS vs. Express.js: What’s the Best Framework for Server-Side Application Development?
Light frameworks like Express.js ... equally capable, and as for scalability, while NestJS is a bit easier to scale, Express can offer the same if not more with a bit of work....
Forest Admin
forestadmin.com › blog › nestjs-vs-expressjs-which-is-better-for-your-project
NestJS vs ExpressJS: Which is better for your project - Forest Admin
July 7, 2022 - The biggest difference between these frameworks is that NestJS is opinionated, and ExpressJS is not. It means Express gives developers the freedom to make multiple possibilities and implement code as per the need, as it doesn’t have a set of pre-defined rules to follow.
NestJS
nestjs.com
NestJS - A progressive Node.js framework
NestJS is a framework for building efficient, scalable Node.js web applications. It uses modern JavaScript, is built with TypeScript and combines elements of OOP (Object Oriented Programming), FP (Functional Programming), and FRP (Functional Reactive Programming).
Medium
bhargavacharyb.medium.com › unlocking-web-development-potential-choosing-between-nestjs-and-express-js-250180d2abfa
Unlocking Web Development Potential: Choosing Between NestJS and Express.js | by Bhargava Chary | Medium
October 20, 2024 - NestJS: Follows modular architecture where functionality is divided into controllers, services, and modules. This makes it easier to organize large applications and promotes maintainability.
Scalable Backend
blog.scalablebackend.com › performance-testing-express-fastify-and-nestjs-with-expressfastify
Performance Testing Express, Fastify, and NestJS (With Express/Fastify)
July 6, 2024 - For Express, it starts to fail around 2 minutes, which corresponds to 5 virtual users on our configuration. For Fastify, it starts to fail 1 minute later, when we have 6 virtual users. Interestingly enough, the results are exactly the same for NestJS with Express and NestJS with Fastify.
NestJS
docs.nestjs.com › first-steps
Documentation | NestJS - A progressive Node.js framework
Nest is a framework for building efficient, scalable Node.js server-side applications. It uses progressive JavaScript, is built with TypeScript and combines elements of OOP (Object Oriented Programming), FP (Functional Programming), and FRP (Functional Reactive Programming).
Reddit
reddit.com › r/node › why isn't nest.js as popular as express?
r/node on Reddit: Why isn't Nest.Js as popular as Express?
September 14, 2022 - After I started using nestJS, which ... (or Fastify, depending on your preferences) underneath. Unlike "pure" Express, it's opinionated and inspired by Angular....