Nim vs Golang | Popularity, Salary, Performance, Features, and Applications

Nim and Golang are modern, compiled system programming languages that are easy to work with than C or C++.

If you are interested in embedded, hard-realtime systems, web development, game development, developing Graphical User Interfaces, you should learn Nim over Go.

Nim is a statically typed compiled, high-level systems programming language. It combines successful concepts from mature languages like Python, Ada, and Modula.

On the other hand, if you are interested in building command line interfaces, cloud & network services, web applications, DevOps, and Site Reliability, you should learn Go over Nim.

Go is a statically typed, compiled programming language that makes it easy to build secure, scalable systems. It has built-in concurrency and a robust standard library.

Comparing programming languages and choosing which one to learn or use for your next project can be tricky.

There are many factors to consider in order to choose the right programming language for the job you want to do.

Popularity, opportunities, type of projects, salaries, resources, learning curve, etc. are some of the factors that many people consider when comparing programming languages and choosing which one to learn or use.

Here are some of the comparisons and considerations you should make:

NIM VS GO POPULARITY

Comparing the popularity of programming languages is not an easy task because each programming language is different.

Although the usage of many programming languages may intersect, different fields and projects may require the use of different programming languages.

Plus, other programming languages have been around for a longer time than others, giving them more time to be tried and tested, so, bear that in mind.

If you want to learn a programming language solely for its popularity among developers, you should learn Go over Nim.

Generally, Go is more popular than Nim. As of July 2023, the TIOBE INDEX ranks Go as the 13th most popular programming language while Nim does not appear in the top 50 popular programming languages.

According to a Stack Overflow survey of 2023, Go is the 13th most commonly used programming language, it is used by 13.24% of developers.

On the other hand, Nim is the 48th most commonly used programming language, it is used by 0.38% of developers according to the same survey.

Go is also admired by a lot of developers than Nim. As of 2023, Go is admired by 62.45% of developers while Nim is admired by 53.78% of developers.

Ultimately, if your choice of which programming language to learn depends on popularity, you should learn Golang over Nim.

NIM VS GO SALARY

Another popular criterion that many people use to compare programming languages and as an incentive to learn a new programming language is salary.

Salaries for developers differ from one company to the other and from one country to the other.

Experience is another factor that comes into play as far as salaries are concerned.

The more experience you have with a certain technology or programming language, the more likely you are of getting a higher salary.

Generally, Golang developers get higher salaries than Nim developers.

The 2023 Stack Overflow survey of top-paying programming languages revealed that Go developers get a median salary of $92,760 per year.

On the other hand, Nim developers get a median salary of $80,000 per year, about $12,700 less than Go developers.

Here are 10 Programming Languages that Pay more than $90,000

So, if the salary is your major incentive for learning a programming language, you should learn Go over Nim, because you are more likely to get a higher salary as a Go developer than as a Nim developer.

Can Go be used for Game Development? Find out

IS NIM EASIER THAN GO

Yes, Nim is generally easier than Go. Although both Nim and Go are easier languages to work with, Nim is relatively easier than Go. Nim has an English-like syntax that is similar to Python.

The Nim syntax is easily understood and results in code that can be modified very effectively. This makes it very easy to pick up Nim even for complete beginners.

However, Go is a more mature language with a larger community than Nim, so there are more resources available for learning Go.

The good news is that there are plenty of helpful resources for both Golang and Nim to help you learn the languages.

The Go and Nim communities are very active and helpful, in case you get stuck with something.

NIM VS GO PERFORMANCE

Go and Nim are both statically typed compiled languages that are designed for performance. Generally, Nim is faster than Go.

However, there are some key differences between the two languages that can affect their performance.

Nim has modern concepts like zero-overhead iterators and compile-time evaluation of user-defined functions which lead to extremely performant code.

Nim also offers multiple garbage collection strategies, including manual memory management, reference counting, and more advanced garbage collection techniques.

This flexibility allows you to choose the most suitable approach for your performance needs.

Nim provides a high level of control over memory management and allows you to work at a low level when needed.

This can be useful for tasks that require fine-tuning memory usage and performance, such as systems programming or building high-performance libraries.

Go is also a highly performant language. Go programs are compiled into native binaries bound to the operating system, this makes Go programs fast and efficient.

Go has built-in support for concurrency, which allows Go programs to run multiple tasks at the same time.

This can also help to improve the performance of Go programs by allowing them to take advantage of multiple cores.

NIM VS GO FEATURES AND APPLICATIONS

NIM

Nim was designed to be efficient, expressive, and elegant. It supports foreign function interface with languages like C, C++, Objective-C, and JavaScript.

It also supports compiling to those same languages as intermediate representations.

Nim generates native dependency-free executables, not dependent on a virtual machine, which are small and can be easily redistribution.

The Nim compiler and the generated executables support all major platforms like Windows, Linux, BSD, and macOS.

GO

Go has great unique features that make it suitable for building command line interfaces, cloud & network services, DevOps & Site Reliability, etc.

Go has features such as built-in concurrency, memory safety, garbage collection, structural typing, and a robust standard library that makes development quick and straightforward.

Go powers some of the complex applications made by companies like Twitter, Uber, Cloudflare, American Express, Capital One, PayPal, Meta, Wild Life, Allegro, Dropbox, Netflix, Trivago, Microsoft, Salesforce, Twitch, Stream, Google, Riot Games, Target, and many others.

SHOULD I LEARN NIM OR GO

Once you have compared the languages and evaluated all the factors, you can choose which programming language to learn or use depending on the factors that are on your side and what you want to build.

If you want an easy-to-use language for embedded, hard-realtime systems, web development, game development, developing Graphical User Interfaces, you should learn Nim over Go.

If you want a popular, high-paying language that you can use to build command line interfaces, cloud & network services, web applications, DevOps, Site Reliability, you should learn Go over Nim.

You may also be interested in: Should I learn Rust or C++