NestJS: Still Worth Investing in 2025 – Why It Stands the Test of Time?

In 2025, amid the ever-proliferating landscape of JavaScript backend frameworks, NestJS remains the unrivaled leader in enterprise-level application development. Since its initial release in 2017, this Node.js-based framework has not only withstood the pressure from predecessors like Express and Koa but also fended off challenges from rising stars such as Fastify and Adonis. Instead, it has amassed over 60k stars on GitHub, securing a spot among the world's top 5 backend frameworks. What enables NestJS to break the "three-year cycle" curse of frontend frameworks? What irreplaceable reasons make it a top choice in 2025?

I. Architectural Philosophy: From "Chaotic Freedom" to "Structured Elegance"

NestJS's core competitive advantage lies in its complete solution to the "loss of architectural control" problem in Node.js backend development. While early Express offered flexibility, it lacked built-in architectural standards, resulting in vastly differing code styles in team collaborations. Consider the same user authentication function – an Express project might exhibit 10 different implementation approaches:

// Common chaotic approach in Express
app.post('/login', (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;
  // Writing business logic + database operations directly in the route
  db.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username=?', [username], (err, result) => {
    if (err) return res.status(500).send('DB error');
    if (!result[0]) return res.status(401).send('User not found');
    if (result[0].password !== password) return res.status(401).send('Wrong password');
    // Generating and returning token directly
    const token = jwt.sign({ id: result[0].id }, 'secret');
    res.send({ token });
  });
});

In contrast, NestJS enforces a modular + dependency injection architecture, allowing even beginners to write standardized code:

// user.module.ts
@Module({
  controllers: [UserController],
  providers: [UserService, AuthService],
})
export class UserModule {}

// user.controller.ts
@Controller('users')
export class UserController {
  constructor(private readonly userService: UserService) {}

  @Post('login')
  async login(@Body() loginDto: LoginDto) {
    return this.userService.validateUser(loginDto);
  }
}

// user.service.ts
@Injectable()
export class UserService {
  constructor(
    private readonly authService: AuthService,
    @InjectRepository(User)
    private readonly userRepo: Repository<User>,
  ) {}

  async validateUser(loginDto: LoginDto) {
    const user = await this.userRepo.findOneBy({ username: loginDto.username });
    if (!user) throw new UnauthorizedException('User not found');
    if (!await bcrypt.compare(loginDto.password, user.password)) {
      throw new UnauthorizedException('Wrong password');
    }
    return this.authService.generateToken(user);
  }
}

The direct benefits of this architecture are: over 40% improvement in code maintainability (based on NestJS's official 2024 developer survey) and an average 50% reduction in onboarding time for new team members.

II. Deep TypeScript Integration: The Ultimate Solution for Type Safety

Backend development in 2025 is far beyond the era of "dynamic type freedom"; TypeScript has become the standard for enterprise-level development. NestJS was the first mainstream framework designed entirely based on TypeScript from the ground up, rather than being adapted later.

This deep integration manifests in three aspects:

• Automatic Type Inference: Controller parameters and service method return values automatically get type hints

// Automatically recognizes @Query parameter types
@Get()
findAll(@Query() query: { page: number; limit: number }) {
  // query.page automatically suggests number type
}

• Decorator Metadata: Implementing declarative programming using TypeScript decorators

// Data validation takes effect automatically
export class CreateUserDto {
  @IsString()
  @MinLength(3)
  username: string;
  
  @IsEmail()
  email: string;
}

• Dependency Injection Type Binding: Automatic type checking for service dependencies

// Injecting wrong type causes direct compilation error
constructor(private readonly userService: ProductService) {
  // Type mismatch, compilation fails
}

Compared to the Express+TypeScript combination, NestJS eliminates大量 (a large amount of) type declaration boilerplate code, increasing average type coverage by 35% and reducing type-related bugs in production by over 60%.

III. Ecosystem: One-Stop Enterprise-Grade Solution

NestJS's ecosystem can be called the "Swiss Army Knife" of Node.js backends, featuring high-quality modules maintained by the official team or community for everything from database interactions to authentication, API documentation, and microservices:

• Seamless Database ORM Integration

// Prisma integration example
@Injectable()
export class PostService {
  constructor(private readonly prisma: PrismaService) {}
  
  async getPost(id: number) {
    return this.prisma.post.findUnique({
      where: { id },
      include: { author: true }
    });
  }
}

• TypeORM: Officially recommended, supporting MySQL/PostgreSQL/SQLite, etc.

• Prisma: Added official adapter in 2024, offering better type safety

• Mongoose: Encapsulated best practices for MongoDB

• Authentication and Authorization System

@Injectable()
export class JwtStrategy extends PassportStrategy(Strategy) {
  constructor(private configService: ConfigService) {
    super({
      jwtFromRequest: ExtractJwt.fromAuthHeaderAsBearerToken(),
      secretOrKey: configService.get('JWT_SECRET'),
    });
  }
  
  async validate(payload: any) {
    return { userId: payload.sub, username: payload.username };
  }
}

• PassportModule: Supports JWT, OAuth2, local strategies, etc.

• CASL: Fine-grained permission control

• Automatic API Documentation Generation

@ApiOperation({ summary: 'Create user' })
@ApiResponse({ status: 201, description: 'User created successfully' })
@Post()
create(@Body() createUserDto: CreateUserDto) {
  return this.usersService.create(createUserDto);
}

• SwaggerModule: Automatically generates OpenAPI documentation based on decorators

• Microservices and Message Queues

// Microservice controller
@MessagePattern('user_created')
handleUserCreated(data: User) {
  console.log('New user:', data);
  return { status: 'received' };
}

• Built-in support for RabbitMQ, Kafka, Redis, etc.

This "out-of-the-box" ecosystem eliminates the need for developers to test compatibility between various libraries, saving an average of 30% configuration time.

IV. Core Differences from Other Frameworks

In terms of performance, NestJS performed excellently in 2024 benchmark tests:

• Single instance QPS reaches 8,500 (Express at approximately 9,200, a difference of only 8%)
• Memory usage is 15% higher than Express but much lower than Spring Boot (about 1/5)
• Supports automatic clustering, with linear performance growth after horizontal scaling

For 95% of enterprise applications, this slight performance difference is completely offset by improved development efficiency.

V. Enterprise-Grade Application Cases: Who Uses NestJS Extensively?

NestJS's enterprise-grade DNA has gained recognition from top companies worldwide:

• Autodesk (parent company of AutoCAD)

  • Refactored backend APIs for 12 of its products using NestJS
  • Processes over 1 billion requests daily with 99.99% stability

• Adidas

  • E-commerce platform core services based on NestJS microservice architecture
  • Supports real-time inventory synchronization across 30+ regions globally

• Roche (pharmaceutical company)

  • Backend for medical data analysis platform
  • Utilizes NestJS's type safety to ensure accuracy in medical data processing

• Netflix

  • Some edge services developed with NestJS
  • Achieves rapid iteration by combining with its microservice architecture

• Domestic cases: Multiple business lines within Tencent Cloud and ByteDance

  • Recommended framework for Tencent Cloud Serverless cloud functions
  • Backend services for ByteDance's education product lines

The collective choice of these enterprises demonstrates that NestJS can support the full lifecycle needs from startups to large enterprises.

VI. 10 Compelling Reasons to Choose NestJS in 2025

1. Long-term support guarantee: The NestJS team has secured Series A funding and committed to maintenance until at least 2030

2. Continuous version iterations: The v10 version released in 2024 added native Prisma support and GraphQL Federation 2.0

3. AI era adaptation: Official launch of NestJS AI module, seamlessly integrating OpenAI/Anthropic APIs

@Injectable()
export class AiService {
  constructor(private readonly aiClient: AiClient) {}
  
  async generateSummary(text: string) {
    return this.aiClient.complete({
      model: 'gpt-4',
      prompt: `Summarize: ${text}`,
    });
  }
}

4. Cloud-native friendly: Perfectly adapts to K8s, Serverless, and Docker

5. Abundant learning resources: Over 500 paid courses worldwide, with official documentation in multiple languages

6. Vast talent market: 45% annual growth in NestJS developer positions on LinkedIn

7. Low migration cost: Enables gradual replacement of existing Express applications

// Gradual migration example: embedding Express routes in NestJS
@Module({
  imports: [
    ExpressAdapterModule.create(expressApp),
  ],
})

8. Excellent testing experience: Built-in Jest integration, with dependency injection simplifying unit testing

describe('UserService', () => {
  let service: UserService;
  
  beforeEach(async () => {
    const module = await Test.createTestingModule({
      providers: [
        UserService,
        { provide: UserRepository, useValue: mockRepository },
      ],
    }).compile();
    
    service = module.get<UserService>(UserService);
  });
});

9. GraphQL best practices: Both code-first and schema-first development modes

10. Active community: Over 3 million weekly npm downloads, with 92% issue response rate

VII. Future Outlook: NestJS's Next Five Years

The NestJS team announced their future roadmap at the 2024 Developer Conference:

• 2025: Introduce Server Components support for frontend-backend component sharing
• 2026: Native WebAssembly support to enhance performance for computationally intensive tasks
• 2027: AI-assisted development toolchain for automatically generating code that follows best practices

These plans indicate that NestJS not only meets current needs but is also actively positioning itself for future technological trends.

Conclusion

In the rapidly changing world of JavaScript, NestJS's enduring popularity is no accident. It addresses team collaboration issues with a structured architecture, improves code quality through deep TypeScript integration, reduces development costs with a rich ecosystem, and has gained industry recognition for its enterprise-grade DNA.

Choosing NestJS in 2025 means choosing a proven backend development methodology. Whether for startup MVP development or core system refactoring in large enterprises, NestJS provides appropriate support – this is the core reason it can transcend technological cycles and maintain its vitality.

If you're still hesitant about backend framework selection, give NestJS a chance – it might become one of the longest-used frameworks in your career.

Leapcell: The Best of Serverless Web Hosting

Finally, we recommend the best platform for deploying NodeJS services: Leapcell

🚀 Build with Your Favorite Language

Develop effortlessly in JavaScript, Python, Go, or Rust.

🌍 Deploy Unlimited Projects for Free

Only pay for what you use—no requests, no charges.

⚡ Pay-as-You-Go, No Hidden Costs

No idle fees, just seamless scalability.

📖 Explore Our Documentation

🔹 Follow us on Twitter: @LeapcellHQ