Next JS vs Gatsby: Choosing the Right React Framework

React.js for frontend development has been around for ages now, so has been the showdown of Next JS vs Gatsby.

According to Statista, 17.9% of respondents reported using Next.js, and 1.6% reported using Gatsby.

However, the React ecosystem has been expanding to such an extent that it went beyond the nuances of frontend and now features a pool of frameworks, libraries, and tools for mobile/desktop/VR/gaming app development.

NextJS and Gatsby are two of those frameworks in particular that dominate React developers and fans more than anything else.

Besides, the latest and trending Jamstack framework – TezJS, built with Vue- dominates the market and gives a tough fight to NextJS and Gatsby. In fact, TezJS is considered for both – a front-end framework and Static Site Generator (SSG).

Generally, we can say that the Gatsby vs NextJS debate boils down to a simple choice.

Gatsby is for creating static websites with infrequent content changes, while NextJS is useful for building complicated sites with high server interaction.

But even so, these two frameworks have significant differences between them that confuse developers as to which one to pick for robust web development.

Did the same confusion of choosing the perfect framework drive you to this blog? Keep reading to find out!

Understanding the Great GatsbyJS

It is a free and open-source React framework for creating high-performance apps and websites. It mainly focuses on generating static HTML pages and enabling blazing-fast performance. If we combine built-in PWA support with this, it's possible to achieve instant loading times by getting only the critical assets on the first load and prefetching the needed assets for the following pages.

Although Gatsby is a React-based invention, it has its own ecosystem of starters, plugins, and ready-to-use themes. It's extendable by default and brings the best bits of GraphQL, React, and react-router to provide a developer-friendly static-site generator.

Let's move on to the next part of Next JS vs Gatsby and see how NextJS stacks up to its rival.

Defining the Nimbus NextJS

Contrary to Gatsby, the primary goal of Next.js and its features is not performance (although it’s still great) but to offer an opinionated set of tools that empower developers to build server-side rendered websites and apps with nearly zero configuration.

React websites built with Nextjs are capable of generating HTML templates every time a new request comes in by interacting heavily with the server and using features like automatic code-splitting, data fetching of the box, single-file components, hot code reloading, etc.

Above everything, this framework enables you to easily customize or entirely replace all of its components without any trouble.

Next JS vs Gatsby: Are There Any Similarities?

The ongoing discussion on Gatsby vs NextJS adds up to the fact that these frameworks must have some similarities in the first place. So, before we get into the differentiating factors, let’s have a look at what they have in common even though they address different problems.

1. SEO Optimization

Everything in your website/app revolves around SEO. Fortunately, both NextJS and Gatsby come with SEO optimization, namely SSR and plugins, to help you reach the app’s full performance. Moreover, they can export and import HTML components to CND databases, increasing the page loading speed.

2. Incremental Build

Next.js and Gatsby are some of the best JavaScript frameworks for web development as they support an incremental build model allowing developers to make changes in the content without updating the whole page. This reduces the building time and speeds up the process of building new pages.

3. Built-in Performance and Caching

The performance-catching feature of Gatsby and Next JS web development saves developers from the trouble of code splitting and optimizing. Based on each page route, they split the code by default and create new pages using built-in routing.

4. Developer Experience

Both these frameworks offer comprehensive documentation for developers to set things up quickly, get them running, and add more features to existing products. Instead of learning everything from scratch, Nextjs and Gatsby need you to have only a basic understanding of React.

5. Dynamic Web Development

Gatsby and NextJS excel at developing high-performance web apps for some incredible features like good Lighthouse score, hot reloading out-of-the-box, asynchronous prefetching of subsequent pages, prerendered HTML, and more.

Next JS vs Gatsby: What are the Key Differences?

Now that we are well aware of the similarities between Gatsby vs NextJS, shall we look into their contrasting aspects and figure out the winner? But before we do that, let’s make sure you have a clear understanding of how this framework differs from its root – Next.js vs React Next.js vs React.

Let’s break the ice now!

1. Data Handling

In terms of data handling capability, Nextjs allows developers to manage the entire data however they want, while Gatsby tells you the exact way you should fetch and handle data (GraphQL).

Gatsby is really commendable for allowing developers to fetch only the required data for each page. It also has a rich collection of plugins that help in connecting with various data sources. On the other hand, Next.js leaves it totally up to us, meaning developers can create an architecture of their choice and fetch data in several ways (SSR, SSG, or pre-rendering).

2. Page Rendering

When it comes to pre-rendering in Next JS vs Gatsby talk, GraphQL

Gatsby generates HTML pages during the build time, and that's why it's a static site generator. It eliminates the need to use a Node server to manage rendering. However, it's not a good approach if you want to build a sizeable website with many subpages and hundreds of HTML templates.

Contrastingly, Next JS progressive web apps render pages via SSR usage. You need to install Node.js and NPM to manage HTML rendering in the runtime for every request. Once the initial HTML gets loaded, NextJS runs the app by handling hydration.

3. Extensibility

Extensibility is the third parameter of our Gatsby vs Next JS comparison course.

Gatsby has a huge set of tools and plugins that you can use to add extended functionalities to the website or app. Some of the benefits of Gatsby plugin libraries are pre-configured themes, compressed images, TypeScript compilers, etc. Additionally, you can customize themes and functionalities and host them in the plugin library.

Next.js measures up to its rival quite well as it features a broad range of partner tools and libraries. It comes with several default features that were previously difficult to add to a React project, such as code splitting, page routing, and image optimization.

4. Scalability

Talking about the scope of scalability in Gatsby vs NextJS, Gatsby is not a great option for creating large-scale apps, while NextJS is a perfect framework if you need to scale for enterprise use.

Gatsby is a decent framework for static web pages or personal blogs, but if you want to increase the app size in the future, it gets comparatively slow during build time or might not build at all. Thus, it has serious scaling issues.

On the flip side, Next.js follows the latest enterprise web development trends and is currently one of the best choices for building large-scale apps. With this framework, you can seamlessly display unique and engaging content to logged-in users.

5. Infrastructure and Data Security

Let’s shed light on the infrastructure and data security of Gatsby and Next JS web apps.

Gatsby enables developers to create superfast web apps by simply prerendering on a build and using a CDN. It fetches only the requested data from the source and thus is fairly secure.

In contrast, in NextJS, you need to set servers up with databases, maintenance, etc., for infrastructure. It has private APIs and CMS tools, but because the data is present on the server, it is more likely to get exposed.

Gatsby vs Next JS: Highlighting A Few Use Cases

In order to pick the best one between Gatsby and Next.js, we should take the decision as a matter of horses for courses. Let's have a look at how these two frameworks perform in certain use cases so that you know what to use when.

• Static Websites

Gatsby is the master of the realm of simple, static websites; it’s where Gatsby shines. A static website basically comprises a set of individual HTML pages, each of which represents a physical web page. A good example of this kind of website is a personal blog. The same content will be visible to different visitors with no real-time update.

In such cases, between Next JS vs Gatsby, Gatsby is the best choice since the content stays unchanged and there is a predictable number of pages on the website. It provides a broad range of databases, REST APIs, CMS systems, and GraphQL. As Gatsby is able to separate the website and the data, anyone from your team without programming knowledge can edit the web page data and compile it during the runtime.

• Large, Multi-User Websites

If you are planning to develop a website with numerous users creating their own accounts and commenting on the page content, going for NextJS would be the supreme decision.

Creating a static website for these needs is almost impossible during runtime as this sort of website deals with a lot of visitors joining and using it at the same time. Thus, Gatsby’s build time makes it not a very wise choice for such products.

Moreover, large websites need you to display dynamic and unique content to registered users. SSR is one of those many Next JS advantages and best web development stacks you should consider to address multiple users based on authentication. Users can see the appropriate content as soon as they visit the website.

• Hybrid Web Apps

Next JS beats Gatsby when it comes to developing hybrid web apps where you need to handle data to the CSR as well as render the UI using SSR.

A single web app consists of both CSR for logged-in users and SSR for new visitors. You have to optimize most of the website pages for SEO, and since the content has to be dynamic and publicly accessible in such web app pages, NextJS will definitely perform better than Gatsby.

Next JS vs Gatsby: Real Life Website Examples

Curious to know how these two frameworks fit in live websites? Let us give you some examples of their position in the current market as a modern web technology:

Next JS Examples of Websites

• Netflix
• Twitch
• Uber
• Docker
• Invision
• Magic Leap

Gatsby JS Examples of Websites

• Figma
• Nike
• Airbnb Engineering
• Digital Ocean
• Hasura
• Impossible Foods
• Send Grid

TL;DR and What to Choose Between Next JS vs Gatsby

To conclude the Gatsby vs NextJS discussion, we can say that both these frameworks have become a lot closer than they were ever before. Gatsby went through multiple modifications and now supports more client-side functionalities like SSR and DSG. As a result, it has become more difficult for us to choose one over the other. After all, it boils down to what you prefer and what you want in your project.

In summing up, NextJS is suitable for large, high-traffic apps, while Gatsby is preferable for small-scale and static websites.

Therefore,

Go for Next JS when:

• You are building a large-scale app to manage lots of content and data that will also grow in the future. If you combine a headless CMS with NextJS features, you will get high flexibility.

Go for Gatsby when:

• You are working on a smaller project where consistency and stability are of the highest priority. It's easier to set up and offers reduced development time.

However, in the end, both Gatsby and NextJS are excellent frameworks, and perhaps the biggest winner here is the development team you chose. Their expertise in modern web app development services is absolute bliss. Choose wisely!