Node JS vs Phoenix: What to learn in 2023
Node JS and Phoenix framework are popular technologies for building full-stack web applications. They are also popularly used for building backends for mobile, desktops, and other applications.
If you are already familiar with the Javascript programming language, you should learn Node JS over the Phoenix framework.
On the other hand, if you are already using Elixir, you should learn Phoenix over Node JS.
Node.js is a back-end JavaScript runtime environment that runs on the V8 JavaScript Engine. Node JS executes JavaScript code outside a web browser. It is designed to build scalable network applications.
Phoenix framework on the other hand is an Elixir-based web development framework that uses a server-side model–view–controller (MVC) pattern.
Phoenix was developed to provide highly performant and scalable web applications. It is a very good choice for rapid development and you will be able to do a lot with just a few lines of code.
Choosing which web framework to learn can be tricky, there are many factors to consider when learning a new technology or backend framework.
Popularity, opportunities, types of projects, salaries, resources, learning curve, etc. are some of the factors that many people consider when choosing to learn a new technology or a framework.
Here are some of the considerations you should make when choosing to learn a new backend framework.
POPULARITY AND OPPORTUNITIES
If you want to learn a technology or framework solely for its popularity among developers, you should learn Node JS.
Generally, Node JS is more popular than Phoenix. According to a Stack Overflow survey of 2022, Node Js is the most commonly used Web framework by both professionals and those learning to code. It is used by 47.12% of developers.
On the other hand, Phoenix is the 16th most commonly used web framework, it is used by 2.13% of developers according to the same survey.
It is also worth noting that Phoenix is growing in popularity. As of 2022, Phoenix was the most loved web framework.
Phoenix is loved by 83.51% of developers versus 16.49% of developers who dreaded it. On the other hand, Node JS is loved by 67.36% of developers versus 32.64% of developers who dreaded it.
Ultimately, if your choice of which web framework to learn depends on popularity, you should learn Node JS.
Plus, there are more opportunities for Node JS Developers than Phoenix developers because Node JS is used by many companies than Phoenix.
However, because Node JS is very popular and commonly used by many companies, there is going to be more competition for Node JS opportunities than for Phoenix opportunities.
In this regard, a Phoenix developer may get a job easily because of less competition.
SALARIES
Another popular criterion that many people use as an incentive to learn a new web framework 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 web framework, the more likely you are of getting a higher salary.
Generally, Phoenix developers get higher salaries than Node JS developers. A Stack Overflow survey reported that Phoenix is the highest-paid web development framework of 2022.
Phoenix developers get an average salary of $94,644 per year while Node JS developers get an average salary of $65,000 per year.
So, if the salary is your major incentive for learning a language or framework, you should learn Phoenix over Node JS, because you are more likely to get a higher salary as a Phoenix developer than as a Node JS developer.
BEGINNER FRIENDLINESS
Some web frameworks can be learned more easily than others. If you want a web framework that is beginner-friendly and very easy to work with, you should learn Phoenix.
Phoenix is easy to work, its syntax is easy to read and write. Phoenix comes with many features out of the box, which makes it very easy to develop your applications quickly.
If you are already familiar with Elixir, it makes your work even much easier.
Contrastingly, Node JS can be difficult to work with, especially for complete beginners. However, if you are already familiar with Javascript, you can easily pick up Node JS in no time.
The good news is that there are many helpful resources for both Phoenix and Node JS to help you learn the frameworks.
The Node JS (Javascript) and Phoenix (Elixir) communities are very active and helpful, in case you get stuck with something.
APPLICATIONS AND FEATURES
Phoenix comes with a lot of ready-to-use features out of the box. This means that you won’t have to spend as much time and effort setting up your development environment or installing additional libraries and dependencies.
Phoenix is used by many companies such as Veeps, Voice Layer, Fly.io, Bleacher, Heroic Labs, Inverse, Cargo Sense, Bright Cove, Podium, and many others.
Node JS is used to execute Javascript outside the Browser, it is a very popular choice for scalable network applications.
Node.js has an event-driven architecture capable of asynchronous I/O. This makes it a popular choice for real-time web applications.
Node JS is commonly used in the Javascript stack such as the MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node) and MEAN (MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node) Stack.
Nodejs is used by a lot of websites and mobile applications such as LinkedIn, PayPal, GoDaddy, Walmart, Rakuten, Mozilla, Uber, Microsoft, Netflix, SAP, Twitter, Groupon, Medium, IBM, eBay, Trello, Amazon Web Services, and many others.
CONCLUSION
Once you have evaluated all the factors, you can choose which web framework to learn depending on the factors that are on your side and what you want to build.
If you want a popular web framework that you can use for building real-time scalable network applications, you should learn Node JS over Phoenix.
If you want an easy to learn web framework that can potentially fetch you a higher salary and build real-time web applications, you should learn Phoenix over Node JS.
