Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups
Register | Login

Laravel Lumen VS Nest.js

Compare Laravel Lumen VS Nest.js and see what are their differences

Flagsmith
Flagsmith lets you manage feature flags and remote config across web, mobile and server side applications. Deliver true Continuous Integration. Get builds out faster. Control who has access to new features. We're Open Source. featured
Contents:
  1. » Base Details
  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
  4. » Alternatives

Laravel Lumen logo Laravel Lumen

Contribute to laravel/lumen development by creating an account on GitHub.

Nest.js logo Nest.js

A progressive Node.js framework for building efficient, reliable and scalable server-side applications.
  • Laravel Lumen Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-11
  • Nest.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-26

Laravel Lumen features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Nest.js features and specs

  • Modular Architecture
    Nest.js uses a modular architecture which is highly organized and maintainable. This allows for better separation of concerns and makes it easier to manage large-scale applications by dividing them into smaller, reusable modules.
  • TypeScript Support
    Nest.js is built with TypeScript, providing strong typing and compile-time checks. This leads to fewer runtime errors and improved code readability and maintainability.
  • Dependency Injection
    The framework includes a powerful dependency injection system, which enables better testability and easier management of application components.
  • Built-in Middleware
    Nest.js supports middleware out of the box, allowing developers to easily add additional request-processing logic at different points in the request lifecycle.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Nest.js offers comprehensive and detailed documentation, which helps developers quickly get up to speed and resolve issues more efficiently.
  • Scalability
    The framework is designed to be scalable, making it suitable for projects of varying sizes—from small applications to large enterprise-level systems.
  • Integration with Modern Libraries
    Nest.js seamlessly integrates with modern libraries and frameworks such as GraphQL, WebSockets, and TypeORM, extending its capabilities and allowing for versatile development options.
  • Active Community
    An active and growing community around Nest.js means there are plenty of resources, tutorials, and third-party tools available to assist with development.

Possible disadvantages of Nest.js

  • Learning Curve
    Due to its rich feature set and use of TypeScript, Nest.js can have a steep learning curve for developers who are not familiar with these technologies.
  • Overhead
    The reliance on the decorators and classes can introduce additional overhead, potentially making simple projects more complex than necessary.
  • Limited Flexibility
    Nest.js follows an opinionated architecture pattern, which can be restrictive for developers who prefer a more flexible or unstructured approach.
  • Performance
    While Nest.js is generally performant, the abstraction layers and TypeScript compile steps can introduce slight performance overhead compared to more lightweight alternatives.
  • Dependency on TypeScript
    The heavy reliance on TypeScript can be a drawback for developers who prefer to use plain JavaScript, or who are not familiar with TypeScript.
  • Community Compared to Mainstream Frameworks
    Although the Nest.js community is active and growing, it is still smaller compared to more established frameworks like Express.js or Koa, potentially limiting the amount of shared knowledge and third-party packages available.

Analysis of Nest.js

Overall verdict

  • Nest.js is an excellent choice for building scalable and maintainable server-side applications, especially if you prefer a structured and opinionated framework.

Why this product is good

  • Nest.js is built on top of Express.js, which is a well-established framework in the Node.js ecosystem, providing robust features and flexibility.
  • It follows the modular architecture inspired by Angular, making it a great choice for developers familiar with Angular's dependency injection and design patterns.
  • Nest.js supports TypeScript out of the box, which enhances code quality and maintainability through static typing.
  • The framework is highly extensible and allows easy integration with various libraries and tools.
  • Nest.js provides extensive documentation and an active community, which facilitates problem-solving and learning.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking for a TypeScript-first backend framework.
  • Teams that value modularity and clear project organization in their web applications.
  • Projects that require rapid development with modern JavaScript features and strong community support.
  • Backend systems that need to be scalable and performant using Node.js.

Laravel Lumen videos

No Laravel Lumen videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Nest.js videos

+ Add

Why I chose Nest.js over Express.js in 2020

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Laravel Lumen and Nest.js)

Laravel Lumen

Nest.js

Web Frameworks
4 4%
Web Frameworks
96% 96
Developer Tools
5 5%
Developer Tools
95% 95
JavaScript Framework
4 4%
JavaScript Framework
96% 96
PHP Framework
100 100%
PHP Framework
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Laravel Lumen and Nest.js. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Laravel Lumen and Nest.js

Laravel Lumen Reviews

We have no reviews of Laravel Lumen yet.
Be the first one to post

Nest.js Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
Nest (NestJS) is a framework for building efficient and scalable server-side backend applications using Node.Js. Internally, it actually makes use of JavaScript Back-end frameworks like Express (which is the default, and optionally Fastify can be configured to use as well!
Source: solguruz.com
10 Best Next.js Alternatives to Consider Today
For TypeScript aficionados seeking a framework with a modular, scalable architecture, NestJS stands out. Built on top of Node.js, NestJS offers a powerful set of abstractions for building server-side applications. Its modular structure facilitates the creation of scalable and maintainable codebases, making it a preferred choice for enterprise-level applications where a...
Source: www.saffrontech.net
The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
NestJS is a Node.js framework that’s inspired by Angular, and guess what? It’s written in TypeScript. Building with Typescript is like you’re navigating with the stars. It’s all about sturdy architecture, a server-side framework that enjoys the scripting superness while piling on extra sturdiness.
Source: tms-outsource.com
Top 10 Best Node. Js Frameworks to Improve Web Development
It is a structure, which is used for making expert, versatile Node.js applications on the server-side. It employs powerful JavaScript plus designed with TypeScript. Working with TypeScript indicates Nest brings uninterrupted writing and incorporates elements like the following
Source: www.mxicoders.com
Top 14 Node.JS Frameworks: Which Will Rule in 2020?
Nest utilizes Express.JS and provides an unusual app architecture that allows for the easy development of easily maintainable, loosely paired and highly scalable and testable apps. Developers can use Nest CLI for developing NestJS apps with different features.
Source: www.mindinventory.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Nest.js seems to be a lot more popular than Laravel Lumen. While we know about 218 links to Nest.js, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Laravel Lumen. 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.

Laravel Lumen mentions (2)

  • 2025 Best PHP Micro Frameworks: Slim, Flight, Fat-Free, Lumen, and More!
    Popularity: Lumen’s got 7.6k GitHub stars and a decent following, but its 2024 buzz was quieter than Flight’s meteoric rise. It leans hard on Laravel’s ecosystem, which is great if you’re already in that world, less so if you want something standalone. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Top 12 PHP Frameworks For Web Development in 2024
    Lumen is also a micro-framework used for developing PHP-powered web applications with 7.6k stars and 1k forks on GitHub. It is based on the Laravel framework and is specifically designed to build microservices and smaller, lightweight applications. The same team behind Laravel creates it and also shares some of its components. But, It is different from Laravel because it doesn’t offer compatibility with any... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago

Nest.js mentions (218)

  • Scalable REST API Architecture with NestJS, Prisma, Swagger, & Docker: How To.
    NestJS is a progressive Node.js framework inspired by Angular's architecture. It uses TypeScript and follows object-oriented programming principles, making it ideal for building scalable server-side applications. Its modular structure encourages the separation of concerns, leading to more maintainable code. (Check out Nest). - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Next.js vs Nest.js: Understanding the Difference
    Read more about Next.js here and Nest.js here. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Secure Your REST API Using Keycloak Role-Based Access Control
    In this article, we will walk through a step-by-step process to secure a Nest.js RESTful API using Keycloak. This includes setting up an application client and configuring authentication and RBAC for your API endpoints. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Next.js vs Nest.js: What to Choose in 2025?
    The rapid evolution of web development in 2025 makes it imperative to choose a framework that truly fits your project. Whether this involves a dynamic web application, scalable API, or high-performance SaaS product, the decision to select Next.js or Nest.js becomes all the more key. While both do their thing really well, in this sense, they don't do the same thing. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Why Ruby on Rails still matters
    Ok, you're right. I was referring to the usual ones (Next, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Remix, etc). Joytick looks cool. Besides this there's also NestJS https://nestjs.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Laravel Lumen and Nest.js, you can also consider the following products

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

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

Atlas Toolkit - The Atlas toolkit is for writing graphical user interfaces for web applications.

Adonis JS - AdonisJs is a Node.js web framework with breath of fresh air and drizzle of elegant syntax on top of it

Next.js - A small framework for server-rendered universal JavaScript apps

ember.js - A JavaScript framework for creating ambitious web apps

Loading...