It is a daunting task for any developer or entrepreneur to choose the right technology Stack for web or mobile applications. When it is between Mean Stack and Mern Stack technology, then you are entering into a great dilemma.
You need to be intelligent enough to know the difference between Mean and Mern stack. So that you can determine which one will work better for your business. You need a complete understanding to find out the similarities and contrasts. Let’s know about the Mean and Mern stack first.
What is Mean Stack?
Before entering the comparison between Mean Stack and Mern Stack, first know what is Mean Stack? It is a much-defining approach used in web and mobile app development. Mean Stack basically stands for MongoDB, ExpressJS, Angular, and Node.js. Developers use Mean as an open source and has a free JavaScript framework that offers seamless and quick development. It provides swift access to numerous plugins and other tools for an efficient development process.
The key functionalities of these technologies:
- MongoDB is a database program that helps in storing and retrieving data.
- Express.js is a back-end framework that makes requests to the database and returns with a response.
- Angular is a front-end framework that accepts the requests made and displays the results.
- Node.js is a server environment that handles client and server requests.
Why choose Mean Stack?
Mean Stack will help you to learn easily with good community support, this technology is ideal for small to medium-scale projects because of its lower development cost and faster development cycle. The Mean Stack is highly flexible for code transfer within other frameworks. It provides various libraries, reusable modules, and frameworks within the Stack for business benefits in terms of development speed.
Pros of Mean Stack
Isomorphic code
Mean Stack operates on JavaScript on the client and server sides. Its isomorphic design enables speedy development and deployment of applications.
Single Team Management
You don’t need to hire development teams to manage the back-end and front-end. The same unit can build the entire application even by lowering costs and saving time.
Compatible Cross-Platform
As Stack is using JavaScript, you don’t need a different codebase at the time of developing web and mobile applications. Here, Stack supports hybrid mobile application development to use the same codebase in web applications while maintaining the same functionality and features across all platforms.
Extensive Libraries Access
As Mean Stack is open-source, the development team can easily access solutions to problems they encounter at the time of development. It helps them to debug easily. This Stack technology allows businesses access to resourceful libraries and tools for efficient development.
Real-Time and Interactive Apps Development
Node.JS in the Mean Stack facilitates feature integration in real-time without user app updation. Demonstrating live apps and building interactive apps in real-time are two of the ways you can use it.
Model-View-Controller
The functionality of this system allows for the implementation of the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture.
Cons of Mean Stack
- Mean Stack offers poor isolation of server and business logic that potentially results in spaghetti code.
- There is a chance of data loss during data partitioning.
- Security might be an issue here as it is a young stack that might attract hackers and cyberattacks.
What is Mern Stack?
Mean Stack vs Mern Stack cannot be complete without knowing Mern Stack. It is the variation of Mean Stack. It is the alternative to Mean Stack, where traditional Angular.JS is replaced, and React.JS utilises the development process to make it smooth and swift. This technology Stack includes MongoDB, Express.js, React JS, and Node.js.
The key functionalities of these technologies:
- ReactJS: It is a JavaScript library used for building reusable UI components for web applications.
- NodeJS: Runs JavaScript on a computer using a runtime environment.
- ExpressJS: It is a NodeJS-based layered framework that manages website back-end functionality and structure.
- MongoDB: A text-oriented database that doesn’t require SQL.
Why choose Mern Stack?
It is a popular technology for creating different projects. Mern Stack is very much scalable and helps developers to work easily within tight deadlines. React.js in Mern helps in building great front-end interfaces and technology that promotes the reusability of code and components. Mern Stack is popular due to its impressive performance in delivering good-quality projects at the right time.
Pros of Mern Stack
High Performance
It offers fast UI rendering due to React’s virtual DOM feature. As React is a library, it gives you the freedom to organise and optimise the code for performance improvement.
Cost-effective
Save money and time by hiring one team to manage both front-end and back-end. The flexibility allows switching between client and server-side development, resulting in faster deployment.
Offers native experience to users
In Mern Stack, React enables businesses to build robust hybrid mobile apps. As it is dedicated to mobile applications, it supports features like camera access and seamless data sync between offline and online app states.
Low Productivity
To accomplish their tasks, developers rely on a variety of third-party tools and libraries.
Ideal of Small Projects
The Mern Stack is an ideal choice for developing single-page applications and mobile apps.
Difference Between Mean and Mern Stack
Here is a comprehensive list highlighting the differences between MEAN and MERN:
MEAN Stack
- Uses Angular for the front-end
- Has a steeper learning curve
- Offers good developer productivity for fast deployment (for devs who are familiar with the framework)
- Lower performance in UI rendering
- Usually preferred for large-scale apps because of its opinionated and standardised approach.
- Angular uses two-way data binding
- Supports hybrid mobile app development, but there’s no Angular framework for building native apps.
MERN Stack
- Uses React library for the front-end
- Easy to learn, and there is a large pool of talented developers available for it.
- Low productivity due to reliance on third-party tools, resulting in slower development.
- Quicker response time
- Often used for building single-page applications
- React uses a unidirectional data flow
- React Native is a specialised framework designed specifically for developing hybrid mobile applications.
- Using Angular and React as programming frameworks results in noticeable differences in the technology stacks.
Several Factors to Consider before choosing between MEAN and MERN stacks
Your choice of application stack should be based on the following factors:
1. Consider the UI requirements
React can build complex interfaces from simple block component architecture. But if you are looking for advanced, intuitive interfaces, it is better to choose Mern Stack in your comparison of Mean Stack vs Mern Stack. MERN provides a superior user experience compared to MEAN, thanks to its swift UI rendering.
2. Modifications and Maintenance Factors
If you want to go for easy maintenance, then Mern Stack is the right choice, especially on the front end. It is best for shipping a minimum viable product(MVP) as you build a robust application.
3. Project Timeline
When you are working with Mean Stack, third-party tools in Angular are integrated in a plug-and-play fashion to improve productivity.
Final Thoughts
In today’s application development market, Mean and Mern Stack are equally important. Day by day, their popularity is increasing as an integral part of Full Stack Development. Both Mean and Mern are reliable frameworks. They differ only in their structure placement. Mean is more useful for large-scale apps, and Mern is for faster development of small apps. When you have to deal with the comparison of the MEAN stack vs MERN stack, you need to choose as per your project requirement. Based on your needs you can find a suitable one.