express vs koa
express is downloaded 13.8× more often than koa (425,540,092 vs 30,749,504 per month), so it has the larger community and more answered questions online. koa ships 74% less gzipped JavaScript (61.8 kB vs 236.1 kB), which matters if bundle size is a priority. Both projects are actively maintained.
| Metric | express | koa |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly downloads | 102,441,526✓ | 7,366,089 |
| Monthly downloads | 425,540,092✓ | 30,749,504 |
| GitHub stars | 69,072✓ | 35,709 |
| Minified size | 586.4 kB | 358.3 kB✓ |
| Minified + gzipped | 236.1 kB | 61.8 kB✓ |
| Dependencies | 28 | 18✓ |
| Open issues | 214 | 32✓ |
| Last commit | 2026-05-17 | 2026-05-28✓ |
| Latest version | 5.2.1 | 3.2.1 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
When to choose which
express
The minimal, ubiquitous Node.js web framework.
Choose it when: The safe default — simplest model and the largest middleware ecosystem; ideal for small to mid APIs and learning.
- + Simplest to learn
- + Huge middleware ecosystem
- + Everywhere
- - No built-in TS / async error handling
- - Dated callback style
koa
A lightweight, modern core by the Express team.
Choose it when: You want a tiny async/await middleware core and to assemble the rest yourself.
- + Modern async middleware
- + Tiny core
- + Clean design
- - Assemble everything yourself
- - Smaller ecosystem
Feature comparison
| Feature | express | koa |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | Minimal | Minimal |
| TypeScript-first | ✗ No | Partial |
| Performance | Moderate | High |
| Built-in features | Minimal | Minimal |
| Ecosystem | Huge | Medium |
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[](https://devcompare.dev/compare/express-vs-koa)Data from npm, Bundlephobia and GitHub. Last updated 2026-06-02.