Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ExpressJS VS Requestly

Compare ExpressJS VS Requestly and see what are their differences

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ExpressJS logo ExpressJS

Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple

Requestly logo Requestly

A Powerfulย API Mockingย andย Testingย Tool
  • ExpressJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-14
  • Requestly Requestly
    Requestly //
    2025-02-12
  • Requestly Rest Client
    Rest Client //
    2025-02-12
  • Requestly HTTP Interceptor
    HTTP Interceptor //
    2025-02-12
  • Requestly API Mocking
    API Mocking //
    2025-02-12
  • Requestly Requestly
    Requestly //
    2025-02-12

Requestly is a modern and powerful companion for API Development and Testing. It is an open-source tool purpose-built to speed up and simplify API development workflow for developers and QAs. It is a combination of API Client and HTTP Interceptor that helps create and share API Contracts, testing APIs, and easily mock and integrate them into web and mobile apps.

ExpressJS

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
United States

Requestly

$ Details
freemium
Platforms
Google Chrome Firefox Edge Safari Brave Opera Vivaldi Android Windows Linux Mac OSX MacOS
Release Date
2021 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Sachin Jain, Sagar Soni, Sahil Gupta
Employees
20 - 49

ExpressJS features and specs

  • Fast Setup
    ExpressJS provides a minimal and flexible framework that allows rapid setup and development of web and mobile applications.
  • Middleware Support
    ExpressJS has a robust middleware system, allowing developers to add reusable functions to the request-handling pipeline.
  • Extensibility
    ExpressJS is highly extensible through third-party libraries and built-in functionality, catering to the needs of various applications.
  • Performance
    Due to its minimalist core, ExpressJS provides efficient performance and is capable of handling a high number of requests per second.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    A large and active community provides extensive documentation, support, and a wide array of open-source packages to extend functionality.
  • Flexibility
    Compared to full-stack frameworks, ExpressJS gives developers the freedom to structure their applications as they see fit.
  • Compatibility
    ExpressJS works seamlessly with various template engines, databases, and other frameworks, making it versatile for different project requirements.

Possible disadvantages of ExpressJS

  • Minimalist Core
    The minimalist nature of ExpressJS may require additional time and effort to integrate required plugins and libraries for specific features.
  • Learning Curve
    While ExpressJS is straightforward, mastering the middleware pattern and effective usage can have a learning curve for new developers.
  • Callback Hell
    Developers can encounter 'callback hell' due to nested callback functions, though this can be mitigated using Promises and async/await in modern JavaScript.
  • Lack of Convention
    Unlike opinionated frameworks, ExpressJS lacks conventions, which can lead to inconsistent code structure and maintenance challenges across different projects.
  • Security
    ExpressJS does not have built-in security features and relies on third-party solutions, requiring developers to be vigilant about applying best security practices.
  • Scalability
    While ExpressJS can handle high traffic, building and maintaining a highly scalable application might require significant additional effort, particularly in terms of codebase organization and resource management.

Requestly features and specs

  • Redirect URL
  • Block Network Requests
  • Modify Request & Response Header
  • Modify Response
  • Supercharge Selenium
  • Session Replay
  • Modify Query Params
  • Team Workspace
  • API Client
  • API Mocks
  • GraphQL Support
  • Zero Setup
  • Auto Capture Sessions
  • Network Logs
  • Console Logs

Analysis of ExpressJS

Overall verdict

  • ExpressJS is a highly recommended option for building web applications with Node.js. Its simplicity, extensive middleware options, and strong community support make it a solid choice for both beginners and experienced developers. However, it might not be the best fit for highly complex applications that require more opinionated frameworks with more built-in features.

Why this product is good

  • ExpressJS is a minimalist and flexible web application framework for Node.js. It provides a robust set of features for building web and mobile applications, making it a popular choice among developers.
  • It offers a thin layer of fundamental web application features, without obscuring Node.js features that developers use regularly.
  • ExpressJS has a large ecosystem of middleware to handle various tasks such as security, session management, and file uploads, which simplifies the development process.
  • It's known for its fast learning curve, which makes it particularly advantageous for developers who are new to backend web development but familiar with JavaScript.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking for a lightweight and flexible web framework for Node.js.
  • Projects where quick setup and ease of development are priorities.
  • Applications that require a custom architecture and a high degree of flexibility.
  • Teams who prefer to build their technology stack from the ground up and have control over the specific components used.

Analysis of Requestly

Overall verdict

  • Requestly is generally regarded as a good tool due to its comprehensive functionalities and ease of use. Its ability to seamlessly manage network requests makes it suitable for both beginners and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • Requestly is widely considered a valuable tool because it offers robust and flexible features for intercepting and modifying network requests. Developers and QA testers appreciate it for its ability to simulate and debug API calls efficiently. It is particularly useful for testing changes without altering the codebase and for working with web applications in development and production environments.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking to debug and test API endpoints.
  • Quality Assurance (QA) teams that require reliable testing tools for web applications.
  • Technical professionals who manage network traffic and need to modify or redirect requests effortlessly.
  • Anyone involved in web development who needs to simulate network conditions or test application behavior under different scenarios.

ExpressJS videos

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Add video

Requestly videos

Get Started with Requestly

More videos:

  • Demo - Session Replays by Requestly
  • Tutorial - Modify API Response using Requestly Chrome Extension
  • Tutorial - How to load local JS file in production sites for faster debugging (Map Local Tool)
  • Tutorial - Report Quality Bugs with Video, Network logs, Console logs & Environment details

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ExpressJS and Requestly)
JavaScript Framework
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
83 83%
17% 17
Testing
0 0%
100% 100
Web Frameworks
100 100%
0% 0

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing ExpressJS and Requestly.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

Requestly's answer:

  • Verizon
  • AT&T
  • Adobe
  • Salesforce
  • Telegraph
  • Intuit
  • Verizon

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Requestly's answer:

Front-end developers, QAs, PMs, Digital Marketers

What makes your product unique?

Requestly's answer:

Requestly is an open-source API development and testing tool that combines the capabilities of an API Client and HTTP Interceptor, making it a better alternative to Postman + Charles Proxy. It simplifies API mocking, request modification, and debugging with an intuitive no-code interface, enabling developers and QAs to test APIs efficiently.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare ExpressJS and Requestly

ExpressJS Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
Express.JS is used to create Restful APIs, which is useful for accepting requests from the front end and sending the appropriate response. Express.JS supports Node.js, which is one of the best reasons developers choose to use it. Moreover, debugging becomes faster and helps in finding errors in less time.
Source: solguruz.com
The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
Express.js โ€” or Express for the cool cats โ€” is Node.jsโ€™s minimalist wingman. Itโ€™s the train tracks for your web app, setting the path, defining the stops, but letting you drive the engine.
Top 9 best Frameworks for web development
The best frameworks for web development include React, Angular, Vue.js, Django, Spring, Laravel, Ruby on Rails, Flask and Express.js. Each of these frameworks has its own advantages and distinctive features, so it is important to choose the framework that best suits the needs of your project.
Source: www.kiwop.com
9 Best JavaScript Frameworks to Use in 2023
Additionally, Express.js v4 now comes with built-in middleware for handling AJAX requests from the client side, making it even easier to get started without having to worry about 3rd party libraries. Express.js is a great tool for quickly building out web applications and APIs in Node.js.
Source: ninetailed.io
JavaScript: What Are The Most Used Frameworks For This Language?
Express.JS is a popular open-source web application framework for Node.JS, which is a server-side JavaScript runtime environment. Express.JS provides a simple, flexible and scalable way to build web applications and APIs using Node.JS. It is known for its minimalist and unimposing approach, which means it provides a basic set of features and tools but allows developers to...
Source: www.bocasay.com

Requestly Reviews

Comparing Charles Proxy, Fiddler, Wireshark, and Requestly
On the pricing front, Requestly strikes a balance between affordability and functionality. It is an open-source tool, offering freemium to individual developers and affordable pricing plans for team collaboration. We have also clearly differentiated how Requestly differs from Wireshark and other web debugging tools like Proxyman, Modheader, and HTTP ToolKit separately.
Source: dev.to

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ExpressJS seems to be a lot more popular than Requestly. While we know about 493 links to ExpressJS, we've tracked only 35 mentions of Requestly. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

ExpressJS mentions (493)

  • Building LoreKeeper: An Immersive 3D Library to Bridge EPUBs and AI
    Backend: Node.js & Express for file handling and metadata extraction. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • How to Write Authorization Middleware for Express.js Applications
    Casbin provides an external policy engine if your permission model grows complex enough that a centralized JS function becomes hard to maintain. Open Policy Agent serves the same purpose for multi-service architectures. Node.js and Express.js documentation cover the middleware pattern in detail. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • GraphQL vs REST: 18 Claims Fact-Checked with Primary Sources (2026)
    Many REST frameworks also ship with limited security controls enabled by default. Express.js , a minimal web framework, does not include rate limiting or input validation out of the box and relies on middleware for these concerns. Django REST Framework includes throttling features, but they are not enabled by default. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • 5 Architecture Patterns Every Web Application Developer Should Understand
    Nearly every server-side web framework uses some version of MVC. Django calls it MTV (Model-Template-View), Rails follows classic MVC, and Express.js gives you the building blocks to implement your own version. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Adding Authentication and Remote Support to a Local MCP Server
    For this guide, you will use the authentication proxy approach with Express. This gives you full control over authentication logic and RBAC. It also integrates well with the Descope MCP Express SDK, which is designed to allow you to easily add MCP specification-compliant authorization to your MCP server. The authentication proxy sits between clients and the MCP server, and validates every request before forwarding... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

Requestly mentions (35)

  • Why You Need a Local-First API Client (With Hands-On Example)
    If you want to try a local-first workflow, you can start using Requestly here: https://requestly.com. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • How to use Cursor to Generate API Testcases in Requestly
    Thatโ€™s where automation changes the game. By pairing Cursor, an AI-powered coding assistant, with Requestly's local-first API testing and mocking platform, you can offload the grunt work of writing tests to AI while keeping execution secure and reproducible on your own system. In this article, weโ€™ll walk through how to set up Cursor with Requestly, generate test cases automatically, and run them end-to-end so that... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • These 20 Awesome API Clients Will Change How You Work with APIs
    Requestly is a versatile browser extension and web client used to intercept, mock, and debug APIs in real-timeโ€”perfect for frontend developers. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Best Tools for GraphQL Development in 2025
    Requestly is a powerful tool for modifying GraphQL responses, intercepting requests, and debugging API interactions. It allows developers to tweak request bodies, capture GraphQL traffic, and share sessions for easier debugging and collaboration. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • How Not to Use AI in Software Development
    Learn more at https://requestly.com/. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ExpressJS and Requestly, you can also consider the following products

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development

Ruby on Rails - Ruby on Rails is an open source full-stack web application framework for the Ruby programming...

Proxyman.io - Proxyman is a high-performance macOS app, which enables developers to view HTTP/HTTPS requests from apps and domains.

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

Hoppscotch - Open source API development ecosystem