Comparative Analysis of Web Frameworks for Rapid Development: A Systematic Literature Review
##plugins.themes.EpsilonTheme.article.main##
Farid Ullah Qayoumi*
Fawad Bikzadl
Selecting the most suitable web framework for rapid development remains a significant challenge for software teams, often leading to increased costs, slower delivery, and technical debt. This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) comparing six leading web frameworks React, Vue.js, and Angular for front-end development, alongside Django, Ruby on Rails, and Express.js for back-end development to evaluate their effectiveness for rapid development of Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), Single Page Applications (SPAs), and scalable prototypes. Following the Kitchenham and Charters (2007) SLR guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Google Scholar, focusing on 47 empirical studies published between 2015 and 2025 and assessed against five criteria including development speed, learning curve, performance, deployment time, and scalability. Findings reveal that Vue.js and Ruby on Rails offer the fastest initial development times due to gentle learning curves and built-in scaffolding, making them ideal for MVPs. React and Django demonstrate superior scalability and robustness for large-scale, data-intensive applications, while Angular and Express.js excel in enterprise contexts requiring structured architectures and microservice flexibility. No single framework universally outperforms the others; optimal selection depends on project-specific requirements, team expertise, and scalability needs. The study offers evidence-based recommendations to help developers and decision-makers balance rapid development with long-term maintainability.
Abbasi, A. (2025). React vs. Vue vs. Angular: Which Framework Should You Learn in 2025? Roocket. https://roocket.ir/articles/react-vs-vue-vs-angular/
Alasmar, I. (2025). Evaluating the performance of the Node.js frameworks Express, Fastify, and NestJS in modern cloud environments. DiVA Portal.
Cavalcante, G. dos S. (2025). Uma análise comparativa de frameworks de desenvolvimento web. Universidade Federal do Ceará.
Darkoob Co. (2023). Comparison of Web Programming Frameworks. Darkoob Co. https://darkoob.co.ir/back-end-frameworks-comparison
Freeman, A. (2018). Pro Angular 6. Apress. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-3649-9
Higgins, J. P. T., Thomas, J., Chandler, J., Cumpston, M., Li, T., Page, M. J., & Welch, V. A. (2019). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119536604
Holovaty, A., & Kaplan-Moss, J. (2009). The Definitive Guide to Django. Apress. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4302-1937-8
Kitchenham, B. A., & Pfleeger, S. L. (2008). Personal Opinion Surveys. In Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering (pp. 63–92). Springer London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84800-044-5_3
Kitchenham, B., & Charters, S. (2007). Guidelines for Performing Systematic Literature Reviews in Software Engineering. In Technical Report EBSE 2007-001. Keele University and Durham University.
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Medicine, 6(7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
Popay, J., Roberts, H., Sowden, A., Petticrew, M., Arai, L., Rodgers, M., Britten, N., Roen, K., & Duffy, S. (2006). Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews: A product from the ESRC Methods Programme. Lancaster University. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1018.4643
RoyalSite. (2025). Compare React, Vue, and Angular. RoyalSite. https://royalsite.org/articles/compare-react-vue-angular
Sabzdanesh. (2025). 7+5 Python Web Frameworks for Web Development in 1404. SabzDanesh. https://royalsite.org/articles/compare-react-vue-angular
Thomas, D., Hansson, D. H., & Breedt, L. (2007). Agile Web Development with Rails. Pragmatic Bookshelf.
Tilkov, S., & Vinoski, S. (2010). Node.js: Using JavaScript to Build High-Performance Network Programs. IEEE Internet Computing, 14(6), 80–83. https://doi.org/10.1109/mic.2010.145
Verma, D. (2022). A comparison of web framework efficiency : performance and network analysis of modern web frameworks. Theseus.
Vyas, R. (2022). Comparative Analysis on Front-End Frameworks for Web Applications. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 10(7), 298–307. https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2022.45260
Wohlin, C., Runeson, P., Höst, M., Ohlsson, M. C., Regnell, B., & Wesslén, A. (2012). Experimentation in Software Engineering. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29044-2
