AdonisJS is a batteries-included TypeScript framework for Node.js, and it is very much alive. The AdonisJS site lists an ORM on Knex, session and token auth, VineJS validation, mail, file storage, queues, cache and Japa tests in the box. On npm, @adonisjs/core moved to version 7.0.0 on February 25, 2026, the same day the 6.x line got its last release, 6.21.0. The current release is 7.6.0 from October 5, 2026.
Version 7 raised the floor to Node 24, and that change is what sends many teams on older hosts looking for another option. Others want a bigger ecosystem, or a framework in a language their team already knows. If you came from hapi, our hapi alternatives page covers the lighter servers in more depth, and the Meteor alternatives guide covers realtime full-stack platforms.
The first four picks keep a full MVC structure. The last three trade it for a smaller core or a different deployment model.
Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| NestJS | Structured TypeScript backends | Free (MIT) | Node.js 20+ |
| Laravel | Batteries-included MVC in PHP | Free (MIT) | PHP 8.3+ |
| Ruby on Rails | Convention-heavy MVC in Ruby | Free (MIT) | Ruby, any OS |
| Sails.js | Node MVC with auto REST and sockets | Free (MIT) | Node.js |
| Fastify | Fast core you assemble | Free (MIT) | Node.js 20, 22 |
| Hono | APIs on Workers, Bun or Node | Free (MIT) | Edge runtimes, Bun, Deno, Node |
| RedwoodSDK | React apps on Cloudflare | Free (MIT) | Cloudflare Workers |
NestJS
Nest is the obvious Node comparison, because both impose structure on TypeScript code. Where Adonis gives you an ORM and auth in the box, Nest gives you modules, providers and dependency injection, then leaves the data layer to whichever library you prefer.
Version 12.0.0 came out on August 27, 2026, and 12.4.0 in early November 2026. It needs Node 20 or newer, so it runs on hosts that Adonis 7 has left behind. The NestJS docs say it sits on Express by default, with Fastify as an option.
Best for: API-first teams who want Adonis-level structure on an older Node version.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- Enterprise support from the core team, price on request
Watch out for:
- Nothing like Lucid, VineJS or the Adonis mailer is built in, so you choose and wire each library yourself.
- Majors arrive fast. 11.0.0 shipped in January 2025 and 12.0.0 in August 2026.
Official site: NestJS.
Laravel
If you chose Adonis because you wanted Laravel's conventions in TypeScript, the original is still the most complete version of that idea. Routing, Eloquent models, queues, mail and auth scaffolding all come from one team, with a much larger package and tutorial base.
Laravel 13 was released on March 17, 2026 and requires PHP 8.3. Per the Laravel 13 release notes, it gets bug fixes until Q3 2027 and security fixes until March 17, 2028. The framework skeleton is MIT-licensed.
Best for: Teams willing to write PHP for a deeper ecosystem than any Node MVC.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- Laravel Cloud hosting is a separate paid service
Watch out for:
- You leave TypeScript. Shared types between a React or Vue front end and the server need extra tooling.
- Each major has a short bug-fix window. Laravel 12 bug fixes ended on August 13, 2026, so yearly upgrades are part of the deal.
Official site: Laravel.
Ruby on Rails
Rails is the framework most MVC tools still copy. Active Record, migrations, mailers and background jobs ship together, and a single developer can carry a product a long way with it.
Rails 8.1.4.1 was released on November 4, 2026, under MIT. The Rails maintenance policy gives each minor series one year of bug fixes and two years of security fixes, and the 8.0 series reaches its security end on November 7, 2026.
Best for: Small product teams who value conventions over language choice.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- No paid edition
Watch out for:
- Rails 8.1 is current, but its bug-fix window closed on October 10, 2026, leaving security fixes only. You also leave TypeScript for Ruby.
Official site: Ruby on Rails.
Sails.js
Sails stays in Node and keeps an MVC layout. The Sails homepage says it was modelled on Rails, ships the Waterline ORM for any database, and generates basic REST routes through blueprints. Socket messages route to the same controllers as HTTP requests, which keeps realtime features close to your normal code.
The Sails Company in Austin created it in 2012 and still maintains it, under MIT. The current release is 1.5.18 from May 27, 2026.
Best for: CRUD apps with chat or live updates that should stay in plain Node.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- Professional support from The Sails Company, price on request
Watch out for:
- Progress is slow. Version 1.0.0 dates from March 28, 2018, and eight years later the framework is still on the 1.5 line.
- Sails still supports very old Node versions on paper (Node 0.10+), so you cannot rely on it to tell you which modern Node versions are tested.
Official site: Sails.js.
Fastify
Fastify is for Adonis users who used only the router and validator and found the rest heavy. You start with a small core and add plugins, and route schemas in JSON Schema handle both validation and output serialization. TypeScript declarations are maintained by the project.
The latest release is 5.12.8 from November 2, 2026, MIT-licensed. The Fastify homepage puts it at around 90 thousand requests per second on a simple route.
Best for: Lean JSON APIs where throughput matters more than built-in features.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- Paid end-of-life support through HeroDevs, price on request
Watch out for:
- Version 5 tests Node 20 and 22, and 6.0.0-alpha.6 is out, so another major upgrade is coming.
- There is no ORM, auth or mail layer, so the batteries Adonis gave you become your own integration work.
Official site: Fastify.
Hono
Hono changes where your code runs. It is written against Web Standard APIs with zero dependencies, so one app can deploy to Cloudflare Workers, Deno, Bun, AWS Lambda or Vercel as well as Node. The tiny preset is under 14kB minified.
Version 4.13.17 is from November 7, 2026, MIT-licensed, and 5.0.0-rc.1 is on the next tag. Node support comes through a separate adapter, per the Hono docs.
Best for: Edge APIs and small services where a full MVC framework is too much.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- Hosting billed by your runtime provider
Watch out for:
- Workers are not a full Node environment. Database drivers built for Node and long-running queue workers need a different setup there, so data access the Adonis way needs rethinking.
Official site: Hono.
RedwoodSDK
RedwoodSDK suits Adonis users who mostly paired it with Inertia and React. It is a React framework for Cloudflare that starts as a Vite plugin and gives you server-side rendering, React Server Components, server functions and realtime server functions.
The package rwsdk reached 1.7.5 on October 22, 2026, MIT-licensed, according to the rwsdk npm page. The older RedwoodJS framework is a different product, and its @redwoodjs/core package has not moved past 8.9.0 from October 21, 2025.
Best for: React-first apps that will live on Cloudflare Workers.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT licence
- Cloudflare Workers usage billed separately
Watch out for:
- It is tied to Cloudflare. The package lists wrangler and @cloudflare/vite-plugin as peer dependencies, so moving to another host later is not a config change.
Official site: RedwoodSDK.
How to choose
| If you need | Pick |
|---|---|
| Adonis-style structure on Node 20 or 22 | NestJS |
| The full Laravel experience Adonis imitates | Laravel |
| Mature conventions and a one-person stack | Ruby on Rails |
| Node MVC with auto-generated REST and sockets | Sails.js |
| Only a fast router and validator | Fastify |
| APIs on Workers, Bun or Lambda | Hono |
| React with server components on Cloudflare | RedwoodSDK |
When to stay with AdonisJS
Stay with AdonisJS if your team writes TypeScript, your servers can move to Node 24, and you use most of the built-in parts. No other Node option here ships an ORM, auth, validation, mail and tests from one team, and the v7 line has had regular releases through 2026. Check the @adonisjs/core release history before planning an upgrade from 6.x.
Frequently asked questions
Is AdonisJS still maintained?
Yes. @adonisjs/core 7.0.0 shipped on February 25, 2026, and 7.6.0 on October 5, 2026. Companion packages also move: @adonisjs/inertia 5.0.5 came out on October 22, 2026.
What Node.js version does AdonisJS 7 need?
The package declares Node 24.0.0 or newer. The last 6.x release, 6.21.0, is from February 25, 2026, so apps that must stay on Node 22 stay on a 6.x line that has had no release since then.
AdonisJS vs NestJS, which is better?
Adonis is better when you want everything from one team: ORM, auth, validation, mail and testing. Nest is better when you want to choose those parts yourself and need decorators and dependency injection for a large codebase. Nest also runs on Node 20, which Adonis 7 does not support.
Is AdonisJS the Laravel of Node.js?
It is the closest Node match. Both are batteries-included MVC frameworks with an active record ORM, auth, validation and mail built in. The difference is the language and runtime: Laravel 13 runs on PHP 8.3 or newer, and Adonis 7 runs on Node 24 in TypeScript.
