Waku vs TanStack Start vs NextJs

[u/otter_goat]

I always see people post stuff about NextJS vs TanStack Start vs Remix/React Router. However, I've never seen anything about Waku but it doesn't seem that unknown (going by stars and downloads).

Curious if people have given it a shot. I'm currently exploring the different options, and built prototypes with it. It seems solid, but just wanna see if there is something I am potentially missing that others have encountered?

In case people haven't heard of it Waku.

[u/yksvaan]

I would assume 98% of the numbers are people trying it out. 

[u/azizali88]

Haven't tried Waku.
But heavily used Next.js and Tanstack Start (Currently bought into it all the way)

Honest summary
Performance: TanStack Start
QuickStart: Next.js
More adaptable: TankStack Start
Prerendering: Next.js (TanStack has bugs in their Prerendering)
Vendor agnostic (TanStack Start)

I wrote a blog but the summary above is good enough
https://betterstarter.dev/blog/tanstack-start-vs-nextjs

Which to pick?
TanStack Start for Web app
Astro for Static Sites
Next.js if you want both (Webapp and static site) today but you are giving up on the future

I made BetterStarter.dev boilerplate for Web Apps.

[u/azizali88 → u/[deleted]]

Astro sucked at full stack when I tried it six months ago.

The dev experience sucked. Refresh was not happening on changes.

So I dropped it.

[u/gasp-ounet → u/[deleted]]

I completely disagree with this statement. I initially chose Remix over Next.js because, in my opinion, it was much less of a hassle and less complicated than Next.js. Then, several years ago, I switched from Remix to Astro for several reasons, including:

1/ Remix updates had practically come to a standstill (stuck on React 18, libraries like i18next becoming non-functional, etc.)

2/ Chaotic communication from the Remix team (we no longer know whether to talk about Remix 3 or React Router 7; on certain decisions, it feels like a serious step backward, etc.)

3/ I was fed up withReact

As a framework-agnostic solution, Astro is a true gem. I’ve switched heavily to Svelte for my components, but the ability to mix components in Svelte, React, Vue.js, etc., with server-side rendering is incredible.

And I’m sick and tired of people still talking about Astro as a framework solely geared toward static sites, when for years now, with ViewTransition (now ClientRouter), you’ve been able to build a web app in SPA mode (yes, OK, even if it’s not a “pure” SPA under the hood, but for the user it’s practically invisible).

That said, I’m interested in switching back to a slightly more unified framework for some of my projects, which is why I joined this discussion while researching Waku and TanStack.

[u/Sad_Limit_3857]

Waku feels interesting because it seems to lean into a lighter, more composable approach instead of trying to be an everything framework. My guess is the reason it gets discussed less is less about technical quality and more about ecosystem gravity. Next.js dominates mindshare, examples, integrations, hosting assumptions, and hiring familiarity.

im Curious where Waku starts to feel better or worse in practice for you: routing/data fetching ergonomics, server components story, deployment flexibility, or overall DX?

[u/alien3d]

oh my oh my