Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Play Framework VS BuiltWith

Compare Play Framework VS BuiltWith and see what are their differences

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Play Framework logo Play Framework

An open source web framework which follows the model-view-controller architecture. It is light-weight, web-friendly, and stateless. It provides minimal overhead for highly-scalable applications.

BuiltWith logo BuiltWith

Find out the technology behind websites
  • Play Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-23
  • BuiltWith Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-16

Play Framework features and specs

  • Scalability
    The Play Framework is built with scalability in mind, making it easier to develop applications that can handle a large number of simultaneous users and requests.
  • Reactive Programming
    Play is based on a reactive programming model, which allows it to handle asynchronous tasks efficiently. This results in better performance and resource utilization.
  • Hot Reloading
    Play supports hot reloading, enabling developers to see changes in real-time without needing to restart the server. This feature boosts productivity by speeding up the development cycle.
  • Java and Scala Support
    The framework supports both Java and Scala, accommodating a wide range of developers and allowing teams to choose their preferred language.
  • Built-in Testing
    Play has built-in support for writing unit and functional tests, offering a comprehensive test framework to ensure code quality and reliability.
  • RESTful by Default
    Play makes it straightforward to build RESTful web services, simplifying the construction of APIs and ensuring that they adhere to REST principles.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The Play Framework boasts extensive and detailed documentation, making it easier for developers to get started and find solutions to common problems.

Possible disadvantages of Play Framework

  • Steep Learning Curve
    New developers might find Playโ€™s reactive model and functional programming concepts challenging, especially if they are primarily experienced with traditional web frameworks.
  • Memory Usage
    Play applications can be memory-intensive, which might lead to higher hosting costs compared to lighter frameworks, especially for smaller applications.
  • Complex Configuration
    Setting up and configuring a Play application can be complex and time-consuming, particularly for beginners or small teams without extensive experience.
  • Limited Community Support
    Although Play has a dedicated user base, its community is smaller compared to more popular web frameworks like Spring or Django, potentially making it difficult to find solutions and community-driven resources.
  • Verbose Code
    Play applications may require a significant amount of boilerplate code, particularly when integrating with other services or libraries, leading to potentially verbose and less maintainable codebases.

BuiltWith features and specs

  • Comprehensive Technology Profiling
    BuiltWith provides detailed information about the technologies that websites are using, including analytics tools, content management systems, e-commerce platforms, and more. This can be incredibly useful for market research and competitive analysis.
  • Market Reports
    The platform offers in-depth market reports that can help businesses understand technology trends across different industries. This data can be crucial for strategic planning and technology adoption decisions.
  • Lead Generation
    BuiltWith can be used to generate leads by identifying websites that use specific technologies. This helps sales teams target potential clients who are already using a competitor's tool or a complementary technology.
  • Customizable Alerts
    Users can set up alerts to get notified whenever a website starts or stops using specific technologies. This feature helps businesses stay updated with market shifts and competitor movements in real-time.
  • Ease of Use
    The interface is relatively user-friendly, making it easy for users to search for websites and technologies without requiring any advanced technical skills.

Possible disadvantages of BuiltWith

  • Pricing
    BuiltWith can be quite expensive, particularly for small businesses and startups. The high cost may make it inaccessible for companies with limited budgets.
  • Data Accuracy
    While generally reliable, the data provided by BuiltWith may not always be 100% accurate or up-to-date. This can sometimes lead to incorrect assumptions or decisions based on outdated information.
  • Limited Free Features
    The free version of BuiltWith offers limited features and capabilities, which may not be sufficient for in-depth research or analysis. Users often need to upgrade to a premium plan to access the full range of functionalities.
  • Complex Data
    The detailed data and extensive lists of technologies can sometimes be overwhelming to sift through without specialized knowledge or a clear strategy, making it less useful for casual users.
  • Dependency on External Data
    BuiltWith relies on external data sources, which means that any limitations or issues with these sources can affect the quality and comprehensiveness of the information provided.

Analysis of Play Framework

Overall verdict

  • Play Framework is an excellent choice for developers looking to build scalable and modern web applications. Its asynchronous model and support for reactive programming make it suitable for high-performance applications. However, the learning curve can be steep for developers not familiar with Scala or functional programming concepts.

Why this product is good

  • Ecosystem
    Play Framework has a strong integration with Akka and other Scala-based tools, making it a great choice for applications that can leverage the broader Scala ecosystem.
  • Scalability
    Play Framework is designed to be highly scalable and can handle numerous requests. It's a reactive web framework that uses an asynchronous, non-blocking model which benefits performance, especially for high-traffic applications.
  • Modernwebfeatures
    Play supports a wide range of modern web development features, including RESTful architectures, WebSockets, and JSON handling out of the box.
  • Developerproductivity
    The framework integrates easily with popular build tools like SBT and Maven and supports hot code reloading, which can substantially speed up development cycles.

Recommended for

  • Scala developers
  • Projects requiring high concurrency
  • Applications that need to handle real-time data streaming
  • Developers looking for a full-stack framework with strong integration with the JVM ecosystem

Analysis of BuiltWith

Overall verdict

  • Yes, BuiltWith is considered a good resource for analyzing the technology behind websites due to its comprehensive data and ease of use. It is widely used by professionals to gain a competitive edge and to streamline technology-related decisions.

Why this product is good

  • BuiltWith is a valuable tool for web developers, marketers, and businesses as it provides insights into the technology stack of any website. It helps in understanding market trends, gaining competitive intelligence, and making informed decisions for technology adoption.

Recommended for

  • Web developers looking to understand how different sites are built and which technologies are used.
  • Digital marketers aiming to gather competitive insights and trend analysis.
  • Businesses wanting to assess potential technology partners and competitors.
  • Investors conducting due diligence on companies by understanding their technological dependencies.

Play Framework videos

The Play Framework at LinkedIn: Productivity and Performance at Scale

BuiltWith videos

How to Find Competitors Customers | BuiltWith Review | Kas Andz

More videos:

  • Review - Google Page Speed Tool, Comic-Con Website Review, and BuiltWith Anniversary by Matt@mywebbro.com

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Play Framework and BuiltWith)
Web Frameworks
100 100%
0% 0
Market Research
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Sales Automation
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Play Framework and BuiltWith. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Play Framework and BuiltWith

Play Framework Reviews

The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
Play Framework brings Scala and Java into harmony, offering a backstage pass to simplistic, asynchronous web development. No song and dance, just straightforward high-octane performance.
17 Popular Java Frameworks for 2023: Pros, cons, and more
The Play Framework makes it possible to build lightweight and web-friendly Java and Scala applications for desktop and mobile. Play is a hugely popular framework, used by brands such as LinkedIn, Samsung, Walmart, The Guardian, Verizon, and many others.
Source: raygun.com
10 Best Java Frameworks You Should Know
Play is written using Scala Programming Language. It offers web and mobile application development. It follows MVC architecture. Play is compiled to Java-Bytecode, and this makes Play one of the most powerful frameworks.

BuiltWith Reviews

  1. Eleanor Bennett
    ยท Digital Marketing Specialist at Logit.io ยท
    Great for finding potential contacts

    A great tool to help you discover the technology being used by a variety of websites. I was impressed that upon signing up that I had full access to a free list of leads.


15 Best BuiltWith Alternatives 2022
Sometimes, BuiltWith may not fit your specific business needs. If so, weโ€™ve compiled our list of best BuiltWith alternatives you may want to consider for your profiling.
8 Best SimilarWeb Alternatives (2019 UPDATE): Add These to Your Digital Tool Kit
BuiltWith is a truly comprehensive tool that will mine a ton of information from anyoneโ€™s site and serve it to you in a manner you will be able to crunch and use it. You might take your time since it is a lot of information to inform your decisions, which is a good thing.
Best Similarweb Alternatives in 2019 to Spy on your Competitors
See business insights of your own business as well as get to know what keywords your competitors are using. Analyze your rivalsโ€™ budget and strategies. The top-notch companies tied with BuiltWith are Google, Adobe, Facebook, Amazon,eBay, and Paypal.
Source: affnext.com
The Best Email Marketing, Sales Prospecting, and Email Automation Software
Builtwith is a tool that helps in identifying sites that use specific web technologies. It identifies the technology spend, gathers the location information and vertical, among other option to create lead lists that are solid for websites by taking into account the internet footprint and technology usage.
73 Best SEO tools 2021 โ€“ The Most Epic List You Shouldnโ€™t Miss
BuiltWith offers a database of 7,000+ web technologies and more than 250 million websites to build lists for lead generation.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, BuiltWith seems to be a lot more popular than Play Framework. While we know about 162 links to BuiltWith, we've tracked only 1 mention of Play Framework. 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.

Play Framework mentions (1)

  • Examples of CompletableFuture-based APIs / state of async in Java?
    I can see the Play framework really leans into async, and only tolerates blocking controllers. What else is out there? Source: almost 3 years ago

BuiltWith mentions (162)

  • What Qualities Does It Take to Be the Best Software Developer
    Evan You, creator of Vue.js, is a prime example. Vivek Nair, Co-Founder of BotGauge, notes that You โ€œcreated something that addresses real developer needs with clean logic and thoughtful design.โ€ Vue.js powers over 1.5 million websites in 2025, a testament to its scalability and developer trust, as reported by BuiltWith. Youโ€™s ability to build a framework independently, without corporate backing, underscores his... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Web apps built with Ruby on Rails
    There exist websites like https://builtwith.com so answer to your question is yes. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Tech Stack Behind the Claude App?
    BuiltWith says the web client is NextJS which is interesting as ChatGPT made a big switch away to Remix IIRC. https://builtwith.com/?https%3a%2f%2fclaude.ai%2fnew. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Disney's Robots Use Rockets to Stick the Landing
    Also, wow that is an obsene amount of libraries they use: https://builtwith.com/?https%3a%2f%2fspectrum.ieee.org%2fdisney-robot-2668135204. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • What website frameworks are used to build these websites?
    I would say run both sites through https://builtwith.com/ to get what all they used in the building process. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Play Framework and BuiltWith, you can also consider the following products

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

Wappalyzer - Wappalyzer is a technology profilers and leads data provider. Create lists of websites and contacts that use certain technologies.

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

WhatRuns - Extension that helps you identify technologies used on any website at the click of a button.

Django - The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines

Elucify - A completely free software tool that uses crowdsourced data to find business email addresses