Top 15 Nodejs Libraries to Choose in 2023

Summary

What is the most popular tech stack used to build a web app? 

What?! Javascript.

We have all been using JS frameworks to develop the best web applications globally. The modern web app is the gift JS gives to the world of tech brains. 

Mobile and web apps are now equally responsible for a business’s overnight success. JS indeed plays a pivotal role. The success of Angular.js, jQuery, Next.js, Nodejs, etc., have made things different for the web world.

Today, in this blog, we will talk about Nodejs. How has Nodejs been an integral part of the JS’s success? Why is it popular to create an app with Nodejs? Which Node js libraries should you opt for? Our experts have noted a list of the best Node js libraries to integrate and succeed online.

Introduction

The experts have estimated the online web apps world to reach $167 billion in 2023. It marks a revenue growth of 7.04% from 2023-2028. Thus, the future awaits a whooping hike of $234.70bn by 2028.

With the trend to shop online with eCommerce, web apps have seen massive growth. Technology has played a grave role in the success stories of many online ventures in the current times.

But, one name that has gained the limelight in the recent five-year span is Nodejs, the JS framework. You name it, and the tech stack behind the famous name is Node.

The list of Netflix, Walmart, eBay, Twitter, and Yahoo is endless. The Node power runs all these brands.

As per the reports of W3Tech, Node.js fuels 2% of the overall web apps in the world. Thus, the signal is loud and clear; companies choose Node as their priority for tech stack.

Why Popular Online Apps Choose Nodejs as Their Core Tech Stack?

Node.js is flawless with production challenges. It makes full use of integrated resources. Netflix and PayPal, both the platforms, also agreed that it helps to save a lot of loading time. 

In other benefits, too, it does help developers increase their productivity, lower the SDLC cost, and give a high app performance.

Fact: Nodejs is the most used web framework worldwide. It has surpassed Reactjs in popularity. Node holds 42.7% of the developer’s share, while React is 40.58%.

Current Node Trends: Tech Stack 

Every year, as per the tradition of Node, it does bring new to evolute the world of apps. If we talk about the recent time, Node 19 did get a rise of meta frameworks and SSR benefits. And now, the latest version of Nodejs 20 brought advances in APIs. The tech stack has become convenient to work with for the experts. It has been flexible with external APIs and GraphQL to scale up the SDLC built.

For 2023, the Node js libraries is all set to let the developers focus on GraphQL, serverless architecture, IoT apps, real-time apps, microservices, etc. As there is an onset of the new era of AI models, opportunities to work with APIs will increase. Thus, one has to use Node to get along with the trend via other API integrations.

Now, let’s learn more about the Node framework. Let’s dive into the list of Node js libraries and their benefits. All these NPM libraries help a web app development reach its maximum capacity.

15 Best Node js Libraries to Choose in 2023

#1 Express.js

Express is an open-source and free framework under the MIT license. As per reports, there are over 97k websites that function with the use of Expressjs. 

The tech is to create web apps and APIs for a user-centric online venture. It also has many other features like:-

• It provides robust and flexible features to create a web app in no time.
• Express lets you integrate with any instant API. 
• It also helps to build a server-side tool
• One can make great SDLC with it.

Use: One can use it to integrate ready APIs and create apps faster. It helps make the best enterprise-grade solution with an intuitive template and robust routing security to handle errors quickly. 

Express is not a suitable option for beginners. It has complex programming, which needs a higher skillset. So, one needs the expertise to create apps with such npm libraries.

#2 Meteor

It is a Javascript-oriented framework. It uses only one language and is a flexible open-source database. The Node js libraries allow for quick and automated changes. One can easily make changes without developers. As of now, there are over 77k websites that use Meteor. Besides, several variants of the device operating system come with Android. In other features, it includes the following:-

• It is a cross-platform framework that helps rapidly build prototypes with CLI. 
• It allows us to obtain quick interactions. And is easy to connect with other frameworks. The solution is more accessible to a beginner.  
• Meteor has strong community support.

Use: It provides the same code for mobile apps and web apps. It allows live updates without hampering the UI experience of the users. The Meteor framework is easy to learn and is very fun for programming. 

The Nodejs framework takes a few seconds to render the first page. It takes time as the transport template, CSS, and JS code makes the process slow. Meteor is more apt to create web apps than websites.

#3 Koa.js

The Express team came up with a new web framework, Koa. It is one of the best node modules as it is more compact, immersive, and reliable web apps and APIs. The Nodejs tech facilitates async functions that eliminate callbacks and handle errors easily. Also, the ES6 generator helps very few follow-ups with asynchronous code. Besides, the code is much simpler, cleaner, and easy to understand. In other features, Koa contains:-

• It is built with ES6 guidelines and thus is simple to create despite new classes and modules.
• Koa is much lighter in weight than Nodejs. 
• The synchronous program is simple, as Koa has good control over downstream and upstream flow.
• Standard response and request objects are easily combined with the use of context, which is the primary benefit of Koa.

Use: Koa handles errors well in advance and helps do away with callbacks with asynchronous functions. It does not use any middleware and has many more tactics that expedite and enhance the server-built process. 

It can create sensible apps with expert brains for a good project. But it is still on a growing stage with an active community. It is a less friendly option for beginners and, therefore, less liked. Koa is the best to create HTTP services and related online apps. Koa is all about JS ES6 syntax, so if you are good at it, then vouch for it. It is the best to create a contemporary web. It does not use an earlier version of JS.

#4 Sails.js

Sails is an MVC framework of Nodejs. It is a backend tech that is inspired by Ruby on Rails. The popular Node framework can build REST APIs in real-time or single-page apps. It does use code generators for minimal code writeup. It is a feasible option for common elements that are to be scaffolded. For HTTP requests, Sails.js mainly uses Express, and in other features, it consists of the following:-

• Relational object mapping gives all the data to Sail’s users. 
• It does allow high capacity for code generation.
• With ORM/ODM, Sail.js is database independent.
• It also has Websocket support.
• It creates RESTful APIs in a very short time.

Use: The beginner experts can save time as they have to write less code. Thus, one can get a profound SDLC in no time. It is efficiently linked to Socket.io, a Javascript library. So, experts can easily add real-time and event-based features in the app, like live chat. 

Expert advice: You need to hire an expert Nodejs developer to make you choose the right option. Nodejs has many more npm libraries to look for, so you will need an expert’s insight to vouch for the best one.   

#5 Nest.js

Nest.js has an architecture-first approach. Frontend tech stacks like React, Angular, etc., usually do this approach. To overcome the struggle of Nodejs with architecture, the Nest was invented. 

What does Nodejs consist of? It is built on the controller, provider, and modules. Modules allow to resolution of a complex app hierarchy. Each component can be placed in a separate module. With this, one can easily configure its controllers, dependencies, and providers. Let’s have a look at some of its features:-

• It creates clean, readable, and standard JS code to run on any browser or host that supports JS.
• Nest has a great CLI to improve productivity.
• The modules help integrate with concepts like TypeORM, Mongoose, GraphQL, etc.
• It has a DI container that makes apps modular and valuable.

Use: The main aim of Nest is to give your app the best structure. It is done via a modular design that makes it simple to divide your code into smaller parts.

Nest.js is highly configurable and expandable, which helps provide and integrate with other plugins easily.

The tech is a great stack for a fast app built with a simple structure. One will also avail active support from experts online, as many of them follow Nest. Thus, nobody gets stuck easily with the tech stack.

#6 Hapi.js

If you want to create REST API, desktop app, or proxy servers, then Hapi is the best solution. It also easily eliminates middleware for a seamless build-up. Now, what is so unique about Hapi? It provides tokens that are the only means of payment inside the ecosystem. Let’s have a look at some of its features:-

• It has many built-in extensions.
• The plugins make the task easy and simple.
• Cycle models that come with it are of great help.
• Quick bug fixes.
• It is very good with MySQL, MongoDB, and other databases.

Use: Hapi is good for real-time robust social media apps. It is used to build proxies and API services.

If you want to build an app quickly, this advance is not for you. It can have code readability issues. So, it is widely rejected by developers across the globe. 

#7 tRPC

Typescript Remote Procedure Call directly applies to the Typescript endpoints. The client-side parameters are also taken care of by trpc. This Nodejs package is good for the ones who want to write everything in Typescript. The simple goal behind its invention was to define and use RPC APIs. Thus, it focuses on developer productivity and ease of use. Let’s have a look at its other features:-

• It provides fully type-safe APIs.
• Maintain type safe between frontend and backend without writing extra code.
• It does build strong APIs without code generation or schemas.
• trpc has a growing and active community of developers

Use: If you want a strong type for your APIs, go for trpc, as these Node js libraries provide RPC APIs with Typescript.

Again, it is still new and growing. Thus, it might need to work with all frameworks and libraries.

#8 Remix

Remix is one of the finest npm libraries. It is based on a compiler, a server-side HTTP handler, a server framework, and a browser framework. Making a server-rendered app is easy as it is built on the Web Fetch API. The advances is a UI-focused library. Each route module takes up the responsibility of view and controller. Let’s have a look at some of the features:-

• Routes can handle an entire URL or just a part of the URL to build complex apps.
• It does provide client-side APIs to create UX without any change in HTML and browsers.
•  It helps make simple and robust web apps that are fast, easy to access, and maintain. 

Use: The server and browser runtime leverages distributed systems and native browser features. It can run anywhere because of the Web Fetch API.

Remix is not used for the ones who want to create a portfolio or a static site; then it is not for you as the Node js libraries require its server and static, which makes it an expensive Node js Libraries module.

#9 Strapi

A developer is empowered with a flexible CMS and great APIs. It does provide a great user-friendly platform for building API-driven sites, mobile apps, and other projects. It is one of the top npm packages with a pre-built backend to manage content and data. There are other features like:-

• One can quickly set up RESTful API for any front-end tech.
• It is highly customized to tailor-make the app.
• It has a built-in administration panel.

Use: To create a content app with little time to create and maintain a difficult backend. It is simple to use, flexible and may assist you to launch your app swiftly.

It is not easy to migrate APIs and has limited access to Typescript. Strapi takes a lot of time to get a perfect match then the other Nodejs advances.

Being a renowned Nodejs service provider across the globe to many clientele, we will not recommend you opt for Strapi. In this modern web world, there are many more good options than this to move ahead in the online space.

#10 Svelte Kit

To create web apps rapidly, Svelte Kit is highly used. It is built on a JS framework and helps to have a fast and efficient web app with modern tech stacks. 

The Nodejs advances, thus helps to streamline the web app SDLC. It reduces boilerplate code and provides a set of common features out of the box. Svelte Kit also has other features like:-

• Server-side render, client-side routing, and code split help to create the best SDLC.
• It supports multiple output formats. HTML, static site, single-page app, and more to handle many use cases.
• The library also has a powerful data fetch API to maintain and render the database on the client side.

Use: It is the best library to build a modern, edgy, and fast web app. The advances have all the tools apt to make a great package.

Svelte has a relatively smaller ecosystem and a fairly new library. It might not end up compatible with other tech stacks and frameworks.

#11 Directus

It is a great amalgamation of REST+ GraphQL API. An expert can create custom content management solutions and APIs.  Directus divides a site or app content management and delivery layers. It enables to create a unique front end with any backend or database system. Data entry, editing, and versioning are easily done by its UI. Let’s have a look at some other features:-

• It is built on a modular architecture. Directus has a great set of built-in features. 
• It is very easy to integrate with Node js Libraries, modules and frameworks.
• It has a great documentation and content solution.

Use: It manages content along with data entries effectively. With all the great tools, Directus helps to put out the best app.

#12 Redwood

It is built on full-stack, serverless JAMstack apps with React & GraphQL. Redwood also has other CLI boilerplate codes and a router to handle URLs and requests. The advances also allow to store and retrieve of data from a database. Let’s have a look at some other features:-

• With CLI, it creates new components, pages, and services.
• It promotes clean architecture and separates concerns.
• A testing framework aids to create tests for apps.
• A plugin system with add-on packages.

Use: It is a great choice for those who want to build modern web apps. Redwood has great features to create quick and efficient apps.

Redwood is a great alternative to replace tools of the Jamstack community. It does have a lot of potential to create a modern app with good learning.

#13 Nuxt

Nuxt.js is built for SSR Vuejs apps. It does provide a set of conventions and tools for great web apps. The advances have minimal setup and configure multiple tasks automatically. There are some other features too.

• It is the ability of Nuxt to generate static sites that are easily hosted on a server or a CDN. 
• The sites are faster to load and require fewer server resources than dynamic sites.
• It supports middleware and is SEO-friendly.

Use: It creates a performant web app that can run great with JS. It thus has great tools to build the best solution.

On top of VUE. js, the robust framework NUXT gives great benefits. It has server-side render, static sites, organized routing, and module support. Nuxt has many errors like complexity, restrictive flexibility, and larger bundle size.

#14 Fastify

Hapi and Express inspire Fastify. It is a lightweight and performant framework for web apps, APIs, and microservices. The Nodejs framework has a lot of speed. As compared to other advances, it accepts requests faster than Koa, Express, Restify, and Hapi. Some of the key features of Fastify are as follows:-

• It is a lightweight and performant tech that provides APIs with high traffic volume.
• It has a powerful plugin system with add-on features.
• Middleware support of the tech allows quick response. 

Use: Fastify is the apt choice for experts; it gives speed, efficacy, and scalability. It needs a flexible and adaptable framework to create server-side JS apps.

Our dedicated team of developers, do rely on these most popular npm packages. For several reasons in a project, all these libraries do have their own specific apps to perform. Thus, to ensure a great deployment, you need to have efficient brains at work.

Being in the business for over 12+ years, we give the best-in-class Nodejs service and ready-to-deploy solution. One of the best examples of Nodejs tech is our loan management app. It has all the intricate features of a loan adapter and a manager.

#15 Keystone

Keystone has a simple way to build a backend for web apps. One can create it without the use of boilerplate code or bootstrap. It has an intuitive CLI with a flexible edit environment to fit all the project needs. The backend is suitable for all sizes of native and online apps. It is managed solely from the front end or linked with Keystone’s user-friendly and customized CMS. Some key features of the Nodejs library:-

• It contains GraphQL, automated CRUD, database migration, and more.
• It is used for many projects like websites, apps, and eCommerce solutions.
• Keystone has a programmable backend on all sizes of web and native apps.
• It has a customized CMS.

Use: It is mainly used for CMS and web app frameworks. Creating clean and precise sites and apps with a great auto Admin UI is easy.

Conclusion

Node has a great and simple way for an efficient SDLC. You can examine every possibility with the tech stacks. There are over 80+ libraries with Node, which makes it a huge app creator. Every Nodejs library has great features, plugins, and compatibility with other resources. One must have the right eye for integrating the stack into the project.

We hope you have gained more knowledge by now and can select a Node.js framework that is best for your project. Invade the online world with great minds & an evolving idea!

FAQs

What are Nodejs frameworks?

These frameworks support Nodejs at its core. Today, many experts use JS to build a good frontend & backend app. It thus offers features and capabilities that can provide additional support. The JS code can run outside a web browser thanks to the open-source, cross-platform JS runtime environment.

Which Nodejs framework is the best?

Expressjs is still the best Node framework. It is the perfect option just to get started with Node.js Services. It is simple, with great documents and large community support. Express.js has an easy learning curve for beginners.

Why is Node so popular?

Nodejs has many great features like ease of use, robust community support, and compatibility with other techs. So, these traits are looked upon by the experts in a tech stack. 

What is the status of Nodejs in 2023?

Nodejs has 42.65% of responses from the global experts. It ranks higher than React, jQuery, and Express.