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Node.js VS Prettier

Compare Node.js VS Prettier and see what are their differences

Node.js logo Node.js

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

Prettier logo Prettier

An opinionated code formatter
  • Node.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • Prettier Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-27

Node.js features and specs

  • Asynchronous and Event-Driven
    Node.js uses an asynchronous, non-blocking, and event-driven I/O model, making it efficient and scalable for handling multiple simultaneous connections.
  • JavaScript Everywhere
    Developers can use JavaScript for both client-side and server-side programming, providing a unified language environment and better synergy between front-end and back-end development.
  • Large Community and NPM
    Node.js has a vibrant community and a rich ecosystem with the Node Package Manager (NPM), which offers thousands of open-source libraries and tools that can be integrated easily into projects.
  • High Performance
    Built on the V8 JavaScript engine from Google, Node.js translates JavaScript directly into native machine code, which increases performance and speed.
  • Scalability
    Designed with microservices and scalability in mind, Node.js enables easy horizontal scaling across multiple servers.
  • JSON Support
    Node.js seamlessly handles JSON, which is a common format for API responses, making it an excellent choice for building RESTful APIs and data-intensive real-time applications.

Possible disadvantages of Node.js

  • Callback Hell
    The reliance on callbacks to manage asynchronous operations can lead to deeply nested and difficult-to-read code, commonly referred to as 'Callback Hell'.
  • Not Suitable for CPU-Intensive Tasks
    Node.js is optimized for I/O operations and can become inefficient for CPU-intensive tasks, slowing down overall performance due to its single-threaded event loop.
  • Immaturity of Tools
    Compared to more established technologies, some Node.js libraries and tools still lack maturity and comprehensive documentation, which can be challenging for developers.
  • Callback and Promise Overheads
    Managing asynchronous operations using callbacks or promises can lead to additional complexity and overhead, impacting maintainability and performance if not handled correctly.
  • Fragmented Ecosystem
    The fast-paced evolution of Node.js and its ecosystem can lead to fragmentation, with numerous versions and libraries that may not always be compatible with each other.
  • Security Issues
    The extensive use of third-party libraries via NPM can introduce security vulnerabilities if not properly managed and updated, making applications more susceptible to attacks.

Prettier features and specs

  • Consistency
    Ensures a uniform code style across different files and projects, reducing code review conflicts and making it easier for team members to work on the same codebase.
  • Time-saving
    Automates code formatting, which saves developers time that they would otherwise spend on manually formatting code.
  • Integrations
    Works well with various code editors, IDEs, and continuous integration tools, making it easy to integrate into existing workflows.
  • Language Support
    Supports a wide range of programming languages and file types beyond JavaScript, including TypeScript, CSS, HTML, Markdown, JSON, and more.
  • Community and Documentation
    Backed by a strong community and comprehensive documentation that provide quick solutions and guide you through setup and customization.

Possible disadvantages of Prettier

  • Lack of Customization
    Prettier enforces a specific set of rules and offers limited customization options compared to other linters or formatters, which may not satisfy all coding style preferences.
  • Learning Curve
    New users may face a learning curve when configuring and integrating Prettier into their existing workflow, especially if they are not familiar with code formatters.
  • Performance Overhead
    Running Prettier on large projects can introduce performance overhead, particularly during automated tasks like pre-commit hooks or continuous integration processes.
  • Conflict with Existing Tools
    May conflict with other code linters and formatters, requiring additional configuration to ensure compatibility and avoid duplicated efforts.

Node.js videos

What is Node.js? | Mosh

More videos:

  • Review - What is Node.js Exactly? - a beginners introduction to Nodejs
  • Review - Learn node.js in 2020 - A review of best node.js courses

Prettier videos

Code Formatting with Prettier in Visual Studio Code

More videos:

  • Review - ESLint + Prettier + VS Code — The Perfect Setup
  • Review - Miranda Lambert -- Only Prettier [REVIEW/RATING]

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Node.js and Prettier)
Developer Tools
75 75%
25% 25
Code Coverage
0 0%
100% 100
Runtime
100 100%
0% 0
Code Analysis
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 Node.js and Prettier

Node.js Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
JavaScript is widely used for back-end or server-side development because it makes a call to the remote server when a web page loads on the browser. When a browser loads a web page, it makes a call to a remote server. Further, the code parses the page’s URL to understand users’ requirements before retrieving and transforming the required data to serve back to the browser....
Source: solguruz.com
9 Best JavaScript Frameworks to Use in 2023
Node.js applications are written in JavaScript and run on the Node.js runtime, which allows them to be executed on any platform that supports Node.js. Node.js applications are typically event-driven and single-threaded, making them efficient and scalable. Additionally, the Node Package Manager (NPM) provides a way to install and manage dependencies for Node.js projects...
Source: ninetailed.io
20 Best JavaScript Frameworks For 2023
TJ Holowaychuk built Express in 2010 before being acquired by IBM (StrongLoop) in 2015. Node.js Foundation currently maintains it. The key reason Express is one of the best JavaScript frameworks is its rapid server-side coding. Complex tasks that would take hours to code using pure Node.js can be resolved in a few minutes, thanks to Express. On top of that, Express offers a...
FOSS | Top 15 Web Servers 2021
Node.js is a cross-platform server-side JavaScript environment built for developing and running network applications such as web servers. Node.js is licensed under a variety of licenses. As of March 2021, around 1.2% of applications were running on Node.js. Among the top companies and applications utilizing this modern web server are GoDaddy, Microsoft, General Electric,...
Source: www.zentao.pm
10 Best Tools to Develop Cross-Platform Desktop Apps 
Electron.js is compatible with a variety of frameworks, libraries, access to hardware-level APIs and chromium engine, and Node.js support. Electron Fiddle feature is great for experimentation as it allows developers to play around with concepts and templates. Simplification is at the center of Electron because developers don’t have to spend unnecessary time on the packaging,...

Prettier Reviews

We have no reviews of Prettier yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Node.js should be more popular than Prettier. It has been mentiond 896 times since March 2021. 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.

Node.js mentions (896)

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Prettier mentions (287)

  • 🚀 Biome Has Entered the Chat: A New Tool to Replace ESLint and Prettier
    If you’ve ever set up a JavaScript or TypeScript project, chances are you've spent way too much time configuring ESLint, Prettier, and their dozens of plugins. We’ve all been there — fiddling with .eslintrc, fighting with formatting conflicts, and installing what feels like half the npm registry just to get decent code quality tooling. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Mastering JavaScript Syntax with the Help of AI
    Use tools like Prettier to reformat code when things get messy. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Matanuska ADR 017 - Vitest, Vite, Grabthar, Oh My!
    Unfortunately, this did mean that configuration began to sprawl. At this point, I had configurations not just for Vite (shared with Vitest) and tsc, but also for Prettier, ESLint and even ShellCheck. Many of these files had shared settings that needed to match each other. This was somewhat manageable, until Vite was also in the mix. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • How to Set Up ESLint, Prettier, and Husky in Next.js ?
    2. Prettier Website : https://prettier.io/ Prettier is the opinionated code formatter that automatically formats your code to make it consistent and readable.it supports so many languages. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Format Your Code Using Prettier Like a Pro
    Prettier can be configured and run in multiple ways. In this example, I’ll demonstrate how to set up Prettier with a Git hook for automation in VS Code. For more examples and configurations, visit Prettier’s documentation. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Node.js and Prettier, you can also consider the following products

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

ESLint - The fully pluggable JavaScript code quality tool

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Tailwind CSS - A utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom user interfaces.

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

SonarQube - SonarQube, a core component of the Sonar solution, is an open source, self-managed tool that systematically helps developers and organizations deliver Clean Code.