Add Express: the most popular Node.js web framework (~69k ⭐)

[BennyFranciscus]

Express.js

The OG. The framework that put Node.js web development on the map. ~69k stars, millions of weekly downloads, and still the most widely used backend framework in the JS ecosystem.

Setup

• Express 5.x (latest stable) with Node.js 22
• Cluster mode — one worker per CPU core
• better-sqlite3 for /db (mmap, read-only)
• HTTP/2 on port 8443 (native http2 module)
• Pre-computed gzip for /compression

Why this matters

HttpArena already has bare node, fastify, ultimate-express, hono, and bun — but not vanilla Express. That's wild. This is the comparison everyone wants:

• Express vs Fastify — the classic Node.js framework showdown
• Express vs ultimate-express — how does the original compare to its high-perf reimplementation?
• Express vs bare node — how much overhead does the middleware layer actually add?

Express isn't going to win any speed records, and that's fine — it's the baseline that every Node.js developer measures against. You can't have a complete JS benchmark suite without it.

cc @wesleytodd @blakeembrey @dougwilson — thought it'd be cool to see how Express stacks up in HttpArena!

[MDA2AV]

/benchmark

[github-actions]

🚀 Benchmark run triggered for express (all profiles). Results will be posted here when done.

[github-actions]

Benchmark Results

Framework: express | Profile: all profiles

express / baseline / 512c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 360231 req/s (CPU: 10966.4%, Mem: 10.8GiB) ===

express / baseline / 4096c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 351654 req/s (CPU: 10885.6%, Mem: 11.4GiB) ===

express / baseline / 16384c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 325634 req/s (CPU: 9960.0%, Mem: 12.2GiB) ===

express / pipelined / 512c (p=16, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 435299 req/s (CPU: 10899.0%, Mem: 11.9GiB) ===

express / pipelined / 4096c (p=16, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 435344 req/s (CPU: 11021.2%, Mem: 12.5GiB) ===

express / pipelined / 16384c (p=16, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 419778 req/s (CPU: 10041.9%, Mem: 12.7GiB) ===

express / limited-conn / 512c (p=1, r=10, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 204324 req/s (CPU: 6534.2%, Mem: 10.6GiB) ===

express / limited-conn / 4096c (p=1, r=10, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 203029 req/s (CPU: 6597.2%, Mem: 10.6GiB) ===

express / json / 4096c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 297563 req/s (CPU: 10717.2%, Mem: 11.6GiB) ===

express / json / 16384c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 276647 req/s (CPU: 10873.1%, Mem: 12.3GiB) ===

express / upload / 64c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 945 req/s (CPU: 6055.0%, Mem: 7.3GiB) ===

express / upload / 256c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 980 req/s (CPU: 6341.5%, Mem: 8.8GiB) ===

express / upload / 512c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 936 req/s (CPU: 7098.7%, Mem: 9.1GiB) ===

express / compression / 4096c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 12453 req/s (CPU: 12138.3%, Mem: 8.6GiB) ===

express / compression / 16384c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 12030 req/s (CPU: 11355.2%, Mem: 8.6GiB) ===

express / noisy / 512c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 264820 req/s (CPU: 10961.8%, Mem: 11.0GiB) ===

express / noisy / 4096c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 258154 req/s (CPU: 10785.7%, Mem: 11.7GiB) ===

express / noisy / 16384c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 227021 req/s (CPU: 9367.7%, Mem: 12.3GiB) ===

express / mixed / 4096c (p=1, r=5, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 36742 req/s (CPU: 11156.3%, Mem: 9.6GiB) ===

express / mixed / 16384c (p=1, r=5, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 32577 req/s (CPU: 9742.1%, Mem: 9.7GiB) ===

express / baseline-h2 / 256c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 1388080 req/s (CPU: 11810.5%, Mem: 14.5GiB) ===

express / baseline-h2 / 1024c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 1140080 req/s (CPU: 11741.6%, Mem: 15.7GiB) ===

express / static-h2 / 256c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 640920 req/s (CPU: 10700.1%, Mem: 12.5GiB) ===

express / static-h2 / 1024c (p=1, r=0, cpu=unlimited)
  Best: 521140 req/s (CPU: 10852.5%, Mem: 14.6GiB) ===

Full log

Main benchmark duration is over for thread #61. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #103. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #50
Stopped all clients for thread #61
80
Stopped all clients for thread #103
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #87. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #87
108. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #108
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Main benchmark duration is over for thread #79115. Stopping all clients.. Stopping all clients.

Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #79
71. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #Main benchmark duration is over for thread #24. Stopping all clients.
115
Stopped all clients for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #24
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #92. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #92
71
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #102. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #102
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #67. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #94. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #67
Stopped all clients for thread #94
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #93. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #93
72. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #72
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #105. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #105
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #81. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #81
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #36. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #95. Stopping all clients.Stopped all clients for thread #36

Stopped all clients for thread #95
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #86. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #86
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #75. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #75
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #84. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #32. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #84
Stopped all clients for thread #32
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #38. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #38
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #16. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #16
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #118. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #118
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #1. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #121. Stopping all clients.Main benchmark duration is over for thread #
101Main benchmark duration is over for thread #41. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #1
Stopped all clients for thread #41
Stopped all clients for thread #121
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #43. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #85. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #43
Stopped all clients for thread #85
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #27. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #27
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #2. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #2
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #68. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #97. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #89. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #68
Stopped all clients for thread #89
Stopped all clients for thread #97
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #65. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #117. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #21. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #117
Stopped all clients for thread #65
Stopped all clients for thread #21
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #109. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #109
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #100. Stopping all clients.
. Stopping all clients.Main benchmark duration is over for thread #23. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #122. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #100

Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #122
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #104. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #Main benchmark duration is over for thread #31. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Main benchmark duration is over for thread #23Stopped all clients for thread #31
4935Stopped all clients for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #101. Stopping all clients.
. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #116. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #125. Stopping all clients.

104Main benchmark duration is over for thread #
123. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #74. Stopping all clients.Stopped all clients for thread #35

Stopped all clients for thread #49123

125Stopped all clients for thread #74

Stopped all clients for thread #
116
110. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #20. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #28. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #20
Stopped all clients for thread #28
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #82. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #82
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #62. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #69. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #62
Stopped all clients for thread #69
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #99. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #120. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #120
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #48. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #48
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #76. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #110
Stopped all clients for thread #76
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #40. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #40
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #111. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #111
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #113. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #113
Stopped all clients for thread #99
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #64. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #64
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #98. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #57. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Main benchmark duration is over for thread #114. Stopping all clients.
56. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #Main benchmark duration is over for thread #114
Stopped all clients for thread #56
Stopped all clients for thread #57
Stopped all clients for thread #98
112. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #112
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #51. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #66. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #51
Stopped all clients for thread #66
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #96. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #106. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #96
Stopped all clients for thread #106
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #44. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #63. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #63
Stopped all clients for thread #44
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #47. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #47
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #17. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #17
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #25. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #Stopped all clients for thread #25
90. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #90
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #126. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #119. Stopping all clients.
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #91. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #126
Stopped all clients for thread #91
Stopped all clients for thread #119
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #13. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #13
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #70. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #70
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #73. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #73
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #29. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #29
Main benchmark duration is over for thread #39. Stopping all clients.
Stopped all clients for thread #39

finished in 5.07s, 521140.00 req/s, 8.12GB/s
requests: 2605700 total, 2708100 started, 2605700 done, 2605700 succeeded, 0 failed, 0 errored, 0 timeout
status codes: 2672400 2xx, 0 3xx, 0 4xx, 0 5xx
traffic: 40.59GB (43578022231) total, 26.72MB (28012765) headers (space savings 89.45%), 40.48GB (43462806207) data
                     min         max         mean         sd        +/- sd
time for request:     9.91ms    501.51ms    180.20ms     54.33ms    76.20%
time for connect:     4.29ms       1.42s    202.46ms    319.35ms    91.89%
time to 1st byte:    23.55ms       1.48s    258.30ms    318.73ms    91.89%
req/s           :     280.01      819.82      508.84       85.19    65.53%
  CPU: 10852.5% | Mem: 14.6GiB

=== Best: 521140 req/s (CPU: 10852.5%, Mem: 14.6GiB) ===
[dry-run] Results not saved (use --save to persist)
httparena-bench-express
httparena-bench-express
[skip] express does not subscribe to baseline-h3
[skip] express does not subscribe to static-h3
[skip] express does not subscribe to unary-grpc
[skip] express does not subscribe to unary-grpc-tls
[skip] express does not subscribe to echo-ws
[restore] Restoring CPU governor to powersave...

[BennyFranciscus]

Full benchmark results look great — Express is showing solid all-around numbers for a Node.js framework:

Standout numbers:

• 1.4M baseline-h2 at 256c — Node's native HTTP/2 module performing really well here
• 360K baseline / 435K pipelined — consistent with the earlier dry-run
• Upload at 936-980 req/s — actually one of the better upload numbers we've seen (most frameworks struggle here)
• Noisy profile 265K — clean error handling, minimal degradation

Interesting comparison with Hono (also Node.js on Bun):

• Express baseline 360K vs Hono 662K — Bun's event loop is ~1.8x faster for raw throughput
• But Express compression at 12.5K vs Hono 13K — once you're CPU-bound on gzip, the runtime gap nearly disappears
• Upload numbers are almost identical (980 vs 383) — actually Express wins handily here, likely because Express.js body parsing is more mature
• H2 numbers are nearly identical (~1.4M) — both running on the same underlying Node/Bun HTTP/2 path

Memory usage is higher than Go/Rust entries but that's expected for a V8 runtime. The numbers tell an honest story.