Next.js vs Node.js: a founder’s guide to choosing the right tech stack for MVPs

When it comes to choosing the right tech stack for your MVP, take a closer look at the specific needs of your project, your development team's expertise, and the desired features and functionality of your application. 

Two popular options to consider are Node js vs Next js. Both are very useful and well-loved by developers, and each has its own advantages. Keep reading to discover an ultimate founder’s guide to choosing the right tech stack for MVPs, focusing on a comparison of Next.js vs. Node.js.

What is Next.js: an overview for founders

Next.js is generally recommended for quickly building MVPs:

Community opinion

Reddit

Would definitely recommend Next for your MVP. It is super fast to get something running and definitely has ability to scale if your project grows quickly.

Even if you have read our blogs before or know this due to work or your own research, the guide part of our article obliges us to briefly explain the tool. Node.js will meet the same faith. So, what is Next.js?

Next.js is a free, open-source framework built on React. It is primarily used for building server-side rendered (SSR) and statically generated (SSG) web applications. The tool offers a nice set of tools for creating high-performance, dynamic, and interactive web applications. 

It is also a nice tool to add to your web development tech stack as well if you want good SEO features - to learn more, check out our SEO Next.js piece.

Let’s now move to the core features of Next.js that will, in our opinion, be quite useful for MVP development.

Core features

First things first - the feature that Next.js is known for: server-side rendering. Next.js supports a web page's HTML being generated on the server and sent to the client. You get faster initial load times, improved accessibility, and enhanced SEO. 

Next.js also supports static site generation, which involves pre-generating web pages and serving them as static HTML files. This is good for improving security, reducing server load, and enhancing loading times.

Next.js can handle both frontend and backend:

Community opinion

Reddit

As far as an API goes, you can create a pretty full functioning API with either REST or GraphQL using Next's API routes.

The other benefits and features of Next.js you might want to know about:

• Automatic code splitting. Next.js implements automatic code splitting, resulting in smaller CSS and JavaScript files. This leads to improved page load times and a better user experience.
• Routing. Next.js offers a flexible routing approach leveraging the filesystem. It makes it easy to define and manage routes for various web apps, including dynamic routes for dynamic URLs.
• Built-in support for APIs. Next.js has built-in support for APIs, allowing developers to create serverless apps running on the client side. This is achieved through the use of Apollo Client and GraphOL, providing flexibility in querying and manipulating data.
• SEO and accessibility. Next.js improves web app SEO by making it easier for search engines to index content. SSR also increases web apps' accessibility, benefiting users with assistive technologies like screen readers.
• Component-based architecture and scalability. Next.js enables the creation and reuse of components across different apps and pages, which is a nice feature for the scalability and maintainability of code.

What is Node.js: an overview for founders

Alternatively, let’s briefly remember - what is Node.js?

Node.js is a runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code on the server side. It is commonly used for building backend services and APIs and is ideal for handling multiple connections and real-time applications.

Node.js is known for its ability to create high-performance and scalable web applications. Node.js also accelerates the time-to-market cycle with its lightweight nature and simple deployments. Startups can quickly iterate, test, and deploy their MVPs, receiving immediate feedback from users. 

Core features

Node.js utilizes a non-blocking, event-driven architecture. Traditional server-side languages usually rely on multi-threading. Node.js, however, uses a single-threaded event loop to manage requests more efficiently. This way, it can handle numerous simultaneous connections without overburdening the system or incurring excessive resource usage.

Other core features include the ability to:

• Use JavaScript on both the client and server sides, promoting code reuse and improving efficiency.
• Build applications quickly and efficiently due to a plug-and-play architecture.
• Reduce developmental costs through a robust package management framework with open-source alternatives.
• Use Google's V8 JavaScript engine for fast and efficient JavaScript execution. This engine supports large web apps and executes JavaScript code at high speeds, making Node.js advantageous for performance-critical applications.

Using Next.js for building an MVP

Next.js provides a fast development environment, making it ideal for quickly building and deploying MVPs. Its built-in features, such as routing and server-side rendering, save time and effort and allow your developers to focus on core functionalities. You should use Next.js in the following cases:

SEO optimization

If your MVP needs good SEO (e.g., content-heavy websites, blogs, landing pages), Next.js is great due to its SSR capabilities, which help search engines index your content better.

Pre-rendering pages

Next.js allows you to pre-render pages either statically or on each request. It is a good fit for a web application where some or all pages are generated during the build time or dynamically.

React integration

If you are building a front-end-heavy MVP and plan to use React for the UI, Next.js adds a lot of benefits with minimal setup, especially routing, which is built-in.

Hybrid pages

If your MVP needs a mix of static and dynamic content, Next.js lets you easily combine SSG and SSR. This is useful for performance optimization.

Full-stack

Next.js supports API routes, so for small MVPs, you can use it to build full-stack applications (front-end + some simple backend).

Using Node.js for building an MVP

Node.js is not a framework but a runtime for JS, and you should use it in these scenarios:

Back-end services

If your MVP is focused on back-end development, like building APIs, microservices, or a real-time app (such as chat applications or online games), Node.js is the right choice. It can handle high concurrency and is great for I/O-heavy operations.

Custom web server

When you need more flexibility over the web server or want to customize how requests are handled (e.g., proxying requests, load balancing), you should use Node.js with frameworks like Express or Koa.

Heavy API

If your MVP requires complex APIs (e.g., connecting to multiple external services, heavy data manipulation, or long-running processes), Node.js is excellent for handling asynchronous operations and non-blocking I/O.

Microservices

Node.js is often used to build microservices architectures, where individual services are decoupled and handle specific functionalities. If your MVP needs this kind of back-end flexibility, Node.js is a solid choice.

Real-time apps

If your MVP involves real-time data (such as WebSocket-based apps or any system requiring real-time notifications or updates), Node.js is highly effective for managing concurrent connections efficiently.

Node js vs Next js: which is better

Long story short, here are some no-nonsense advice on when to choose Next.js and when Node.js:

• For web apps that focus on user interface, performance, and SEO, go with Next.js. It handles both the front-end and some back-end functionalities (via API routes) and will make it easier to manage for smaller MVPs.
• For back-end APIs, services, or real-time applications - use Node.js. You can still pair it with a separate front-end framework or library, like React or Vue.js, for the user interface.
• In some cases, you might even use both - Next.js for the front end and a more complex Node.js back end for handling APIs or real-time features.

Ultimately, the right choice depends on your MVP's specific needs and the development expertise you have. And, remember, you can always come to us for that expertise.