--- title: Express.js is “Slow” and “Outdated” — So Why is Everyone... description: Express.js remains widely used despite being criticized as slow and outdated compared to modern alternatives like Fastify, NestJS, and Hono. The post explores... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/express-js-is-slow-and-outdated-so-why-is-everyone-still-using-it--pokcwdiow twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Express.js is “Slow” and “Outdated” — So Why is Everyone Still Using It? | daily.dev og:description: Express.js remains widely used despite being criticized as slow and outdated compared to modern alternatives like Fastify, NestJS, and Hono. The post explores... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/express-js-is-slow-and-outdated-so-why-is-everyone-still-using-it--pokcwdiow og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/PoKcwDIow.png og:image:alt: Express.js is “Slow” and “Outdated” — So Why is Everyone Still Using It? og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Express.js is “Slow” and “Outdated” — So Why is Everyone Still Using It? **[Medium](https://daily.dev/sources/medium_js)** · 4 min read · 1 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Express.js remains widely used despite being criticized as slow and outdated compared to modern alternatives like Fastify, NestJS, and Hono. The post explores why developers and teams keep choosing Express, covering its legacy callback-era design, lack of opinionated architecture, and glacially slow evolution. It frames the paradox of a decade-old framework still dominating backend JavaScript development, setting up a follow-up piece with the actual answer. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@pdfopsdev** · 0 upvotes > tbh the biggest reason express sticks around isn't inertia, it's that req/res are just plain objects. every middleware from 2013 still works today, try that with fastify's schema-first stuff after a major version bump. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Why Do We Need Nest.js When Node.js Already Exists?](https://daily.dev/posts/why-do-we-need-nest-js-when-node-js-already-exists--xoezfuya1) · Medium · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [JS-heavy approaches are not compatible with long-term performance goals](https://daily.dev/posts/js-heavy-approaches-are-not-compatible-with-long-term-performance-goals-g7unzk9jj) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Hono.js vs Express 2026: Is the Switch Worth It?](https://daily.dev/posts/hono-js-vs-express-2026-is-the-switch-worth-it--prstjpi0l) · Alex CloudStar · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [The complete guide to Node.js frameworks](https://daily.dev/posts/the-complete-guide-to-node-js-frameworks-xirh8dajh) · InfoWorld · 26 upvotes · 1 comments --- Tags: [#nodejs](https://daily.dev/tags/nodejs), [#backend](https://daily.dev/tags/backend), [#fastify](https://daily.dev/tags/fastify) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/express-js-is-slow-and-outdated-so-why-is-everyone-still-using-it--pokcwdiow) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Express.js is “Slow” and “Outdated” — So Why is Everyone Still Using It?","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/express-js-is-slow-and-outdated-so-why-is-everyone-still-using-it--pokcwdiow","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/express-js-is-slow-and-outdated-so-why-is-everyone-still-using-it--pokcwdiow"},"datePublished":"2026-07-25T16:26:37.438Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T07:14:20.599Z","description":"Express.js remains widely used despite being criticized as slow and outdated compared to modern alternatives like Fastify, NestJS, and Hono. 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