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Spring Framework VS Micronaut Framework

Compare Spring Framework VS Micronaut Framework and see what are their differences

Spring Framework logo Spring Framework

The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications - on any kind of deployment platform.

Micronaut Framework logo Micronaut Framework

Build modular easily testable microservice & serverless apps
  • Spring Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18
  • Micronaut Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-02-01

Spring Framework features and specs

  • Comprehensive Ecosystem
    Spring Framework provides a vast array of tools and modules which address various aspects of application development such as security, data access, and messaging. This helps in building robust enterprise applications.
  • Inversion of Control (IoC) Container
    Spring's IoC container promotes loose coupling by managing object lifecycles and dependencies, making the code more modular and testable.
  • Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP)
    Spring's AOP module allows for separating cross-cutting concerns like logging, transaction management, and security, making the code cleaner and more maintainable.
  • Spring Boot
    Spring Boot streamlines the setup and development of new Spring applications with built-in configurations and convention over configuration, reducing boilerplate code and speeding up development time.
  • Large Community and Support
    Spring has a large and active community, extensive documentation, and a wide selection of online resources which make it easier to find support and solutions to common problems.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Spring Framework offers seamless integration with various other technologies and frameworks, including Hibernate for ORM, Apache Kafka for messaging, and more.

Possible disadvantages of Spring Framework

  • Complexity
    Spring Framework can be complex and have a steep learning curve, especially for newcomers who are not familiar with its extensive set of features and configurations.
  • Configuration Overhead
    Although Spring Boot reduces the configuration burden, traditional Spring applications may still require extensive XML or annotation-based configurations, which can be cumbersome.
  • Performance Overhead
    The flexibility and the modular nature of Spring can introduce some performance overhead compared to more lightweight solutions, which could be a concern in highly performance-sensitive applications.
  • Version Incompatibility
    Upgrading between different versions of the Spring Framework and its associated projects can sometimes lead to compatibility issues and necessitate significant code changes.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies in a large Spring application can become complicated, particularly when dealing with multiple modules and third-party libraries, potentially leading to dependency conflicts.

Micronaut Framework features and specs

  • High Performance
    Micronaut is designed for low memory consumption and fast startup time, which makes it ideal for serverless and microservices architectures.
  • Compile-Time Dependency Injection
    Micronaut uses compile-time dependency injection, which eliminates reflection. This leads to faster execution, smaller binaries, and lower memory usage.
  • Kotlin Support
    Micronaut provides excellent support for Kotlin, taking advantage of Kotlin's features to make application development more concise and expressive.
  • Cloud Native
    Built with cloud-native applications in mind, Micronaut has integrations with cloud services and support for distributed configuration and service discovery.
  • Reactive Programming
    Micronaut supports reactive programming, making it easier to build scalable applications that can handle many concurrent users efficiently.
  • Easy Testing
    Micronaut provides extensive support for testing, including a built-in HTTP client that simplifies the testing of microservice interactions.

Possible disadvantages of Micronaut Framework

  • Learning Curve
    Developers familiar with traditional frameworks like Spring might experience a learning curve transitioning to Micronaut, particularly due to its annotation-driven programming model.
  • Ecosystem Maturity
    Compared to more established frameworks, Micronaut's ecosystem is still growing, which may result in fewer third-party integrations and community resources.
  • Newer Technology
    Being a relatively new framework, it might not have the depth of proven enterprise deployments that older, more established frameworks have.
  • Limited Use Cases
    While Micronaut excels in microservices and serverless environments, it may not be the best choice for applications that require traditional monolithic architectures.

Spring Framework videos

What is the Spring framework really all about?

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Spring Framework Tutorial | Full Course

Micronaut Framework videos

Micronaut Framework | Build Microservices with This JVM-Based Framework | Java Techie

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Spring Framework and Micronaut Framework)
Developer Tools
80 80%
20% 20
Web Frameworks
70 70%
30% 30
JavaScript Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Python Web Framework
64 64%
36% 36

User comments

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Reviews

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

Spring Framework Reviews

Top 9 best Frameworks for web development
Spring offers a wide range of frameworks, such as an MVC framework, a data access framework and a transaction management framework. With its focus on scalability and security, Spring is an excellent choice.
Source: www.kiwop.com
17 Popular Java Frameworks for 2023: Pros, cons, and more
Therefore, the configuration, setup, build, and deployment processes all require multiple steps you might not want to deal with, especially if you’re working on a smaller project. Spring Boot (a micro framework that runs on top of the Spring Framework) is a solution for this problem, as it allows you to set up your Spring application faster, with much less configuration.
Source: raygun.com
Top 10 Phoenix Framework Alternatives
Spring Framework is an open-source app framework and inversion of control container for the Java platform, providing the infrastructure required to develop Java and web apps on top of the Java EE platform.
10 Best Java Frameworks You Should Know
Spring Framework is one of the most extensively used, top-notch, lightweight software application frameworks built for software design, development, and deployment in Java.

Micronaut Framework Reviews

We have no reviews of Micronaut Framework yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Micronaut Framework should be more popular than Spring Framework. It has been mentiond 41 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.

Spring Framework mentions (13)

  • March 2025 Java Key Updates in Boot, Security, and More
    The release of Spring Framework 6.2.5 includes:. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Getting Started with Spring Boot 3 for .NET Developers
    Spring Framework 6: https://spring.io/projects/spring-framework. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Want to Get Better at Java? Go Old School.
    We had to write our own frameworks (uphill, both ways) but most current frameworks will have similar documentation pages as well. Both Apache and Spring are especially good at that. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Best Frameworks For Web Development
    Framework link: https://spring.io/projects/spring-framework Github Link: https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-framework. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • What to you do now?
    A common used Java framework is Spring framework (ie https://spring.io/projects/spring-framework and short tutorials at https://www.baeldung.com/spring-intro). Source: over 2 years ago
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Micronaut Framework mentions (41)

  • Top Backend Technologies for Scalable Web Development
    Micronaut for Microservices Micronaut is a modern Java framework built for microservices. It starts quickly, uses minimal memory, and is highly testable, making it perfect for cloud-native applications. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Year After Switching from Java to Go: Our Experiences
    But Javas has so many of these web frameworks?! * Spring (https://spring.io/) * Spring Boot (https://spring.io/projects/spring-boot) * Helidon (https://helidon.io/) * Micronaut (https://micronaut.io/) * Quarkus (https://quarkus.io/) * JHipster (https://www.jhipster.tech/) * Vaadin (https://vaadin.com/) That's just to mention the bigger ones, there's lots of mini frameworks like Javalin (https://javalin.io/) and... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • JPA entity relationship with Micronaut data JDBC
    Micronaut is a JVM-based framework for building lightweight, modular applications. Micronaut is the latest framework designed to make creating microservices quick and easy. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Choosing the Right Java Microservices Framework: Spring Boot, Quarkus, Micronaut, and Beyond
    Micronaut is designed for building modular microservices with a focus on reactive programming and low resource consumption. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • My Journey with AWS CDK and Java: What You Need to Know
    The CDK also seems to become more widely adopted in the Java community with more recent Java frameworks like Micronaut even having built-in support for AWS CDK in the framework. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Spring Framework and Micronaut Framework, you can also consider the following products

Grails - An Open Source, full stack, web application framework for the JVM

vert.x - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Django - The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines

helidon - Helidon Project, Java libraries crafted for Microservices

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

Javalin - Simple REST APIs for Java and Kotlin