compare
Express vs Fastify
The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.
| Fact | Express | Fastify |
|---|---|---|
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Stars | 70k | 37k |
| Latest | v5.2.1 | v5.12.5 |
| Last push | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-06 |
| Release cadence | about 63 days between releases | about 6 days between releases |
| Active contributors | 9 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days | 34 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days |
| Flags | none | none |
How they relate
Fastify replaces Express. Alternatives to Express →
Full replacementSchema-based validation and serialisation, and a plugin system.
Published benchmarks, each linked to its source. The numbers depend on the hardware and the workload they were measured on.
Hello-world HTTP throughput with autocannon
Node v24, 4 vCPUs, 100 connections: Fastify 5.12.5 50372.8 req/s, Express 5.2.1 27474.4 req/s.
Express
Fastify
- v6.0.0-alpha.42026-09-17Fix forpre-release
- v5.12.52026-09-16Fix for
- v5.12.42026-09-11Fixed the fastify.js version mismatch.
- v6.0.0-alpha.32026-09-04Fix forpre-release
- v5.12.22026-09-04Fix for
Express
unsigned The latest release, v5.2.1, carries no signature GitHub could verify.
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Fastify
✓ signed The latest release, v5.12.5, carries a signature GitHub verified.
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