Nodejs vs Ruby on Rails | Popularity, Salary, Performance, Features, and Applications

Nodejs vs Ruby on Rails

Node JS and Ruby on Rails 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 Ruby on Rails.

On the other hand, if you are already using Ruby programming, you should learn Ruby on Rails 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.

Rube on Rails is a full-stack framework. It ships with all the tools needed to build amazing web applications on both the front and back end.

Ruby on Rails 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.

NODE JS VS RUBY ON RAILS POPULARITY

If you want to learn a technology or framework solely for its popularity among developers, you should learn Nodejs over Ruby on Rails.

Generally, Node JS is currently more popular than Ruby on Rail.

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, Ruby on Rails is the 8th most commonly used full-stack web framework, it is used by 6.37% of professional developers according to the same survey.

Nodejs is also loved by many developers than Ruby on Rails within their respective communities.

As of 2022, Node JS is loved by 67.36% of developers versus 32.64% of developers who dreaded it. On the hand, Rails is loved by 55.34% of developers vs 44.66% of developers who dreaded it.

Ultimately, if your choice of which web framework to learn depends on popularity, you should learn Node JS.

NODEJS VS RUBY ON RAILS SALARY

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, Ruby on Rails developers get higher salaries than Node JS developers.

A Stack Overflow survey of top-paying technologies reported that Ruby on Rails is the second highest-paying web development framework of 2022.

Ruby on Rails developers get an average salary of $90,000 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 Ruby on Rails over Node JS.

You are more likely to get a higher salary as a Ruby on Rails developer than as a Node JS developer.

Also read Can Nodejs be used for Mobile app development

NODE JS VS RUBY ON RAILS WHICH ONE IS EASY

Both Nodejs and Ruby on Rails are very easy to learn and work with. But Ruby on Rails can be considered to be more simpler because of its simple to write and read syntax.

Ruby on Rails is famous for its developer-friendly conventions, which prioritize simplicity and readability.

It offers a clear structure and a convention-over-configuration approach, reducing the need for extensive setup.

Rails’ focus on “convention” results in less time spent on configuration, allowing developers to concentrate on business logic.

If you are already familiar with Ruby programming or you are coming from a Python programming background, you will enjoy working with Ruby on Rails.

Node.js is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It leverages JavaScript, a widely adopted language, making it easier for frontend developers to transition to full-stack development.

Node.js has a vast ecosystem of modules and libraries, known as npm, enabling developers to quickly find and integrate third-party packages.

The good news is that there are many helpful resources for both Ruby on Rails and Node JS to help you learn the frameworks.

The Node JS (Javascript) and Ruby on Rails (Ruby) communities are very active and helpful, in case you get stuck with something.

NODEJS VS RAILS APPLICATIONS AND FEATURES

Node.js offers a wide range of features that enable developers to build scalable and efficient applications.

It provides event-driven programming, asynchronous I/O operations, and easy integration with various databases. This makes it a popular choice for real-time web applications.

The Node Package Manager (npm) boasts an extensive collection of modules, allowing developers to leverage existing solutions and accelerate development.

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.

Ruby on Rails emphasizes convention and offers numerous features out of the box. Some of these features include;

  • Rendering HTML templates,
  • updating databases,
  • sending and receiving emails,
  • maintaining live pages via WebSockets,
  • enqueuing jobs for asynchronous work,
  • storing uploads in the cloud,
  • providing solid security protections for common attacks.

Rails’ strong emphasis on conventions ensures consistency across projects and facilitates collaborative development.

Ruby on Rails is used by many companies such as Twitter, Shopify, Twitch, Coinbase, Github, Basecamp, Airbnb, Dribbble, Hulu, Kickstarter, Zendesk, Heroku, Bloomberg, Fiverr, SoundCloud, and many others.

RUBY ON RAILS VS NODE.JS PERFORMANCE

Generally, Nodejs provides better performance than Ruby on Rails.

Node.js is renowned for its excellent performance in handling concurrent connections and real-time applications.

It excels in scenarios that involve heavy input/output operations and scalability. By utilizing a non-blocking event loop, Node.js maximizes resource utilization and delivers impressive performance.

Ruby on Rails, while not as performant as Node.js in handling concurrent connections, offers robust performance for most web applications.

Rails prioritize developer productivity and convention over raw performance, making it suitable for rapid application development and prototyping.

SHOULD I LEARN RUBY ON RAILS OR NODEJS

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.

If you want a web framework that you can use to quickly build full-stack web applications and potentially fetch a higher salary, you should learn Ruby on Rails.