Private and open-source alternatives to Express
15 Node.js frameworks rated against the same public privacy criteria as Express, with our picks first.
The alternatives
Koa Grade D Our pick
Minimal web framework for Node.js from the team behind Express, built around async middleware functions.
Why it is our pick: A small core built on async middleware, from the team behind Express. MIT licensed, with no telemetry.
Koa scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Fastify Grade A
Web framework for Node.js focused on low overhead, with a plugin system and JSON schema based validation and serialization.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Fastify scores 100 out of 100 (grade A) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 4 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and independent audit.
Elysia Grade B
TypeScript web framework designed for the Bun runtime, with end-to-end type safety and schema validation.
Elysia scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Hono Grade B
Small web framework built on Web Standards that runs on Node.js, Bun, Deno, Cloudflare Workers and other JavaScript runtimes.
Hono scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Nitro Grade B
Server toolkit for building web servers and APIs in JavaScript and TypeScript, built on h3 and deployable to many hosting platforms and runtimes.
Nitro scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Oak Grade B
Middleware framework for HTTP servers on Deno, Node.js, Bun and Cloudflare Workers, modeled on Koa, with a built-in router.
Oak scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Restify Grade B
Node.js web service framework for building REST APIs, with a focus on observability and correctness.
Restify scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
AdonisJS Grade D
TypeScript-first MVC web framework for Node.js that includes routing, an ORM, authentication and validation.
AdonisJS scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Encore.ts Grade D
TypeScript backend framework with a Rust-based runtime, where APIs and infrastructure such as databases, queues and cron jobs are declared in code.
Based in Sweden (Fourteen Eyes). Encore.ts scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Feathers Grade D
TypeScript and JavaScript framework for building real-time applications and REST APIs on Node.js.
Feathers scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
LoopBack Grade D
TypeScript framework for Node.js for building REST APIs and microservices, with OpenAPI support, dependency injection and database connectors.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). LoopBack scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Meteor Grade D
Full-stack JavaScript platform for building web and mobile applications with real-time data on Node.js.
Meteor scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Moleculer Grade D
Microservices framework for Node.js with service discovery, load balancing, fault tolerance and pluggable message transporters.
Moleculer scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
NestJS Grade D
TypeScript framework for building server-side Node.js applications, using modules, dependency injection and decorators on top of Express or Fastify.
NestJS scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.
Total.js Grade D
Node.js framework for building web applications, REST services and real-time apps, with no third-party dependencies in its core and built-in NoSQL storage.
Based in Slovakia. Total.js scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the Node.js frameworks criteria. It meets 2 of 4 criteria: open source and no ads or data sales.