10 Ruby on Rails Alternatives You Should Know About

Of all the websites worldwide, at least 5.3% are built using the Ruby on Rails framework. It is among the most popular frameworks in many countries, including Turkey, Chile, and the Cocos Islands. 

While the framework is widely used for website design and development, it is not very versatile. That’s why developers may have to look for other development frameworks. In this guide, we discuss 10 Ruby on Rails alternatives to consider. 

We did not merely choose the most popular frameworks but also ensured that every item on the list has an active community, extensive documentation, a friendly user interface, and a low learning curve for developers. 

Key Takeaways:

• From Django in Python to Laravel in PHP and even frameworks like Hanami in Ruby itself, developers have many choices based on their project requirements and familiarity with specific languages.
• Frameworks like Laravel, Flask, and Express.js boast vibrant communities, making them suitable for beginners. 
• Alternatives differ from Ruby on Rails in their choice of programming language, architectural patterns, learning curves, community and ecosystem support, and performance characteristics.

1. Django

Django is among the popular Python frameworks for creating websites. According to Statista, it is used by 11.4% of developers. 

Lawrence Journal-World invented Django in 2003 to simplify website creation and meet short newspaper deadlines. It was released to the public in 2005. 

Django works on the Model View Template design pattern. 

• Model: This is where you define your database tables, columns, and relationships between them. 
• View: The view portion is a request handler. It returns templates based on user requests. 
• Template: A template is an HTML file that contains the webpage’s layout and the logic to display dynamic content. 

The framework emphasizes component reusability. Its Don’t Repeat Yourself principle allows developers to avoid repetitive coding and focus on creating efficient, modular components. Django also follows Create Read Update Delete operations to help developers manage databases. 

2. Sinatra

Sinatra is one of Ruby’s web frameworks, also called Gems. It is lightweight and minimal, stripped down to the essentials. 

The framework does not adhere to strict coding rules and has no predefined file structure, making it flexible for developers with different programming styles. It’s easy to learn for beginners due to its ”barebones” nature. Sinatra is less restrictive since there aren’t many conventions like Ruby on Rails web development. 

Sinatra handles HTTP requests and integrates with other Ruby Gems. You can use it for various applications like web services and APIs. 

3. Hanami

Hanami is another one of Ruby’s frameworks, called Lotus when it was initially released. Developer Luca Guidi created Hanami to overcome the limitations of Ruby on Rails, particularly raw execution speed. 

Some key features of Hanami include: 

• Multiple apps: Unlike Rails, which is like a sizable modular app, Hanami lets you keep several apps for one main project in the main folder tree. 
• Fast: The idea behind Hanami was to create a framework that’s fast out of the box. Its emphasis on minimalism allows it to be speedy. 
• Callable objects: Hanami elevates the concept of object-oriented programming by introducing a shared mixin-injection mechanism, simplifying the composition of intricate objects from simpler ones.

4. Laravel

Laravel is a PHP web development framework that follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern. The framework has over 75,000 GitHub stars, which is a testament to its popularity. 

Being a popular backend framework, Laravel offers a wide range of features, such as:

• MVC architectural pattern: The MVC architectural pattern allows developers to separate the business logic, presentation layer, and data access layer. It helps them keep their codebase clean and maintainable. 
• Artisan CLI: Artisan is a command-line interface (CLI) that comes with Laravel. It provides commands to automate repetitive tasks like creating controllers, models, and migration files. The Artisan CLI streamlines web development and saves developers time. 
• Built-in authentication: Laravel offers ready-made solutions for authentication and authorization that are straight out of the box. All it takes is a few commands to set up authentication for your web application. 
• Blade Template Engine: The Blade Template Engine lets developers connect data models, divert output to different streams, and process code in template tags. 

A Laravel comparison with Ruby on Rails inevitably comes up. Both frameworks share a lot of similarities, like following the MVC architectural pattern. However, Laravel offers additional features that are lacking in Rails such as built-in authentication and Blade Template Engine. 

5. ASP.NET

ASP.NET is a backend web development framework from Microsoft that is similar to Ruby on Rails. Being a cross-platform framework, it works on Docker, macOS, Linux, and Windows. ASP.NET is an extension of the .NET platform. Here are the additions it brings to the platform: 

• An authentication system 
• Libraries for web patterns like the MVC 
• Webpage templating syntax to build dynamic webpages 
• Editor extensions for code completion and similar functionalities 

6. Flask

Flask is a Python-based microframework designed for building web applications. It is lightweight and flexible, with no external dependencies. The framework is the brainchild of Armin Ronacher, who led Poocco, the international team of Python programming language enthusiasts. 

Flask’s components include: 

• Werkzeug WSGI toolkit: The Web Server Gateway Interface (WSGI) in Flask is powered by Werkzeug, a comprehensive WSGI toolkit. It provides a flexible and powerful foundation for creating web applications. 
• Jinja2: It is the default template engine for Flask and provides a secure way of rendering HTML templates. Jinja2 supports template inheritance, which allows the creation of base templates with common elements that can be inherited by other pages. 

7. Koa

Koa is a web framework for Node.js designed by the creators of Express. It is a minimalistic and flexible framework that uses modern JavaScript features thanks to its use of generators. Koa’s main selling points include its small codebase and its lack of callbacks, making it easier to write asynchronous code. 

Koa differs from Express by being more modular. It is also a barebones framework that does not require domains. Koa also does not have middleware, so developers must use third-party libraries for functionalities such as body parsing and session storage. 

8. Phoenix Framework

The Phoenix Framework is a web framework written in Elixir, a functional programming language that runs on the Erlang Virtual Machine. It’s one of the best Ruby on Rails alternatives since it shares characteristics with Rails, such as its MVC architecture. 

The Phoenix Framework’s key features include highly performant real-time applications and Erlang’s battle-tested concurrency model. It also allows rapid application development, making it an ideal framework for startups and small companies. 

Phoenix offers the ideal combination of superior developer efficiency and exceptional application performance. Plus, it introduces innovative features such as channels for real-time functionalities and pre-compiled templates, ensuring rapid execution.

9. CakePHP

CakePHP is an open-source framework that allows rapid development of web applications with less code and in a shorter period. It is one of the most popular PHP frameworks, developed by Michal Tatarynowicz in 2005. 

Some features that make CakePHP stand out include: 

• Speed: Experienced developers who want to cut development time can choose CakePHP as it’s among the fastest web development platforms. 
• URLs: CakePHP lets developers create search engine-friendly URLs that are easy to manage. It also has better routing features than other frameworks, making it easier to map URLs to code.
• Built-in validation: The CakePHP framework includes built-in data validation features that prevent common security attacks like SQL injections and cross-site scripting.
• Caching operations: CakePHP offers developers built-in caching operations, making it easier to store data in cache for faster retrieval.

10. Express.js

Express.js is often called the de facto framework for building web applications with Node.js. As an un-opinionated framework, website developers can choose the tools and libraries they prefer. It also has a vast ecosystem of modules and packages, making it highly customizable for web application development. 

Besides web applications, Express.js can also be used to make APIs. The availability of middleware and several HTTP utility methods, routing, templating engines, and a large community of developers make Express.js ideal for developing complex web applications. That explains why 19.28% of developers use this framework. 

Conclusion 

Whether you’re looking for a full-stack framework or a backend framework in particular, there are plenty of Ruby on Rails alternatives to meet your needs. While the Ruby framework is handy, it may not suit everyone’s taste. 

Alternatives like Flask, Laravel, Koa, and Express.js offer their own unique features and benefits for full-stack development. You should select a framework that best matches your project requirements and team’s skillset. 

If you’d rather stick to Ruby on Rails, benefit from Flatiron’s services in this regard.