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ExpressJS VS Rowy

Compare ExpressJS VS Rowy 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

Rowy logo Rowy

Rowy is an open-source low-code platform to build your product, from MVP to scale. Manage your database in a spreadsheet-like UI, write Cloud Functions effortlessly in the browser, build automation with ready-made extensions to your favorite tools.
  • ExpressJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-14
  • Rowy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-09

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.

Rowy features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Rowy offers a spreadsheet-like interface that is intuitive and easy to use, making it accessible for both technical and non-technical users.
  • Real-Time Collaboration
    Supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same data set concurrently, enhancing team productivity.
  • Integrations
    Provides built-in integrations with popular services and platforms like Firebase, enabling easy data import and export and smooth workflow integration.
  • Custom Functionality
    Users can write custom code or formulas to implement specific logic or transformations on the data, providing flexibility in how data is handled.
  • Scalability
    Designed to handle large datasets, making it suitable for both small projects and larger enterprise-level applications.

Possible disadvantages of Rowy

  • Limited Offline Access
    Primarily a cloud-based solution, meaning there is limited functionality or accessibility when offline, which might be a drawback for some users.
  • Potential Learning Curve
    Despite its intuitive design, users who are not familiar with spreadsheet-based applications might face a learning curve initially.
  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    As a cloud-based tool, consistent and reliable internet access is required, which may not be feasible in all working environments.
  • Subscription Costs
    While Rowy may offer a free tier, advanced features and capabilities are likely locked behind subscription plans, which could be a consideration for small businesses or individual users.
  • Data Privacy Concerns
    As with any cloud-based service, there might be concerns regarding data privacy and security, especially when dealing with sensitive or proprietary information.

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.

ExpressJS videos

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Rowy videos

Introducing Rowy - Airtable-like experience for Firestore with GCP's scalability

More videos:

  • Review - Show & Tell: Rowy
  • Review - This FREE Tool Will FOREVER Change Your NoCode/FlutterFlow Development! (Rowy Review)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ExpressJS and Rowy)
JavaScript Framework
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
95 95%
5% 5
No Code
0 0%
100% 100

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 Rowy

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 — or Express for the cool cats — is Node.js’s minimalist wingman. It’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

Rowy Reviews

  1. So many ideas made possible

    Streamlining the setup process by eliminating the need to configure Firebase and cloud functions in the Google console makes Rowy a must try service. This saves invaluable time, allowing you to focus exclusively on BUILDING. You literally have a beautiful and intuitive spreadsheet like UI to manage and build your backend on top of.

  2. Bobby
    · No Code Developer ·
    Not only visualises Firestore data as spreadsheet, but also comes with a lot of features

    Rowy's spreadsheet UI turns my Firestore table data into a spreadsheet view where I can manage data, it's super cool! I can even invite my team members and have granular access management! I'm sooooo excited.

    The out of box features are also very handy, I can create a derivative from my existing data, and even have an action column to define actions to perform with JavaScript when I click on it! The extension/webhooks are also so cool, I built a Discord message bot and a ton of automations in no time!!!

  3. Extremely easy and intuitive to use

    The ability to interact with your database via a spreadsheet-like UI makes this one of the most intuitive back-end tools out there, and the various automations offered add to the experience and make it incredibly user-friendly.

    👍 Pros:    Easy to use|User-friendly

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ExpressJS seems to be a lot more popular than Rowy. While we know about 470 links to ExpressJS, we've tracked only 5 mentions of Rowy. 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 (470)

  • 🔥 Why Everyone Is Talking About HTMX: The Game-Changer for Web Development
    🌍 Who Should Use HTMX? ✅ Django / Flask / Rails developers ✅ Express / Node.js backend lovers ✅ Fullstack devs who want LESS frontend headache ✅ Teams jo SSR + SEO ko priority dete hain. - Source: dev.to / 18 days ago
  • Not a Middy Fan
    Express.js was created around the time callbacks were _the_ architecture in Node.js. The world, including UI, quickly found callbacks do not compose well, and void return values are hard to test because of side-effects. Promises were created so you could compose functions, but still have control where your side-effects go. This negates the need for middlewares / callbacks. - Source: dev.to / 28 days ago
  • Experimental Devvit Web Views
    The Devvit team just announced a new experimental way to build WebView based apps for Reddit. Previously only static HTML/JS/CSS could be used. With this new version, it is possible to run server-side code through Node including spinning up an Express server. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • How to Handle File Uploads with Node.js and Express - Multer Edition
    Basic knowledge of JavaScript and Express. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Reusable API proxy in just a few lines of JavaScript
    The basis of my small API proxy is the NPM package http-proxy-middleware from Steven Chim, which I utilized to build a system that can be used via configuration for various endpoints and that runs on a server under the Node.js framework Express. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
View more

Rowy mentions (5)

  • Introducing BuildShip
    We are the team behind Rowy.io and today we are super excited to launch BuildShip. BuildShip was created with all the feedback we got from the amazing community of no-code/low-code builders using Rowy and months of hard work by the team. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Guide to building an application the quickest?
    I want to build an application as soon as possible, I don't care to be employed by a company or be a "complete" software engineer. I have a service which provides the bank-end (rowy.io) but need help building the app/front-end. Are there any recommendations or tutorials out there for learning enough to build an app/learning which questions to ask open.ai in order to help? I just want to build out my idea as soon... Source: about 2 years ago
  • how do you move to second page in firestone?
    Just thought will put it out here as it seems like a pain point we also faced when trying to use Firestore console UI...trying to manage the data/find it etc was a pain :( So we built an open-source spreadsheet-like UI to manage your Firestore data as easily. Hope you find it useful :) Website: https://rowy.io/ Github: https://github.com/rowyio/rowy. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Opinions on Retool for an admin panel?
    Hi 👋 cofounder of http://rowy.io - lowcode cms platform purpose built for Firebase - manage Firestore, build any cloud functions, upload files directly to Firebase storage - with real-time updates. Source: over 2 years ago
  • I made an Open-source FireStore UI tool to make development with Firestore less painful!
    Also from the same makers, there is rowy.io however that is completely different beast in its own :). Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ExpressJS and Rowy, 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

Airtable - Airtable works like a spreadsheet but gives you the power of a database to organize anything. Sign up for free.

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

NocoDB - The Open Source Airtable alternative

Django - The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines

Grist - Grist makes it easy to transform spreadsheets into a custom database where data is truly actionable.