Head-to-head pages for the choices teams actually make: database, framework, language, API style, vector store, and repo shape. Each page leads with the decision rule, names the winner per use case, and gives the migration cost if you picked wrong. Pick the page that matches the choice in front of you and read the recommendation first.
Pages
- Postgres vs MySQL: Postgres for most new projects; MySQL when Aurora or Vitess scale is the constraint.
- React vs Vue: React for ecosystem depth and hiring; Vue for ergonomics and faster ramp-up.
- Next.js vs Astro: Next.js for app-shaped sites; Astro for content-shaped sites.
- Tailwind vs CSS Modules: Tailwind for speed and consistency; CSS Modules for component encapsulation.
- TypeScript vs JavaScript: TypeScript for any codebase over 5k LoC; plain JS only for prototypes.
- REST vs GraphQL: REST for simple CRUD and CDN caching; GraphQL for client-driven aggregation.
- Server vs Client Components: Server Components for data and SEO; Client Components only for interactivity.
- Pinecone vs pgvector: Pinecone for pure vector workloads; pgvector when Postgres is already in the stack.
- Claude vs GPT: Claude for reasoning, long context, and agentic coding; GPT for breadth and image generation.
- Monorepo vs Polyrepo: Monorepo for shared types and atomic refactors; polyrepo only when release cycles must diverge.
- Astro vs Hugo: Astro for component-driven sites with islands; Hugo when raw build speed and zero-JS win.
- MongoDB vs Postgres: Postgres for almost every new workload; JSONB covers document patterns. MongoDB only at horizontal-shard scale with schemaless writes.
- Ollama vs llama.cpp: Ollama for ergonomic local LLM dev; llama.cpp for raw control, custom quantization, or embedded inference.
- Prisma vs Drizzle: Prisma for ergonomic schema and migrations; Drizzle for SQL-first queries, smaller bundles, serverless cold starts.
- SQLite vs Postgres: SQLite for single-writer apps and local-first tools; Postgres the moment two processes write concurrently.
- TanStack Query vs SWR: TanStack Query for richer cache control and mutations; SWR for small read-mostly Vercel apps.
- Turborepo vs Nx: Turborepo for small teams wanting caching with minimal config; Nx once the repo crosses 30 packages.
- Vercel vs Cloudflare: Vercel for Next.js DX and preview deploys; Cloudflare for lower cost and deeper edge primitives.
- Zod vs Valibot: Zod for ecosystem reach and tRPC; Valibot when bundle size matters in edge workers or browser-shipped forms.
- Zustand vs Redux: Zustand for 99% of new React apps; Redux Toolkit only when time-travel debugging or RTK Query is the constraint.
- Anthropic vs OpenAI: Pick Anthropic for reasoning, long-context work, and agentic coding; pick OpenAI when you need image generation, voice, fine-tuning, or the broader plugin and Assistants ecosystem.
- Vitest vs Jest: Pick Vitest for new Vite or ESM-native projects where speed and config simplicity carry; pick Jest when the legacy suite, the rule depth, and the existing matcher library are the moat.
- Playwright vs Cypress: Pick Playwright for cross-browser coverage, parallel runs, and lower flake rates; pick Cypress when the DX, time-travel debugging, and existing rule library matter more than browser breadth.
- Cypress vs Puppeteer: Pick Cypress for UI testing with developer experience; pick Puppeteer for scripted browser automation, scraping, or programmatic PDF generation.
- Biome vs ESLint + Prettier: Pick Biome for new projects where one tool covers lint plus format with no plugin config; pick ESLint plus Prettier when you need deep rule libraries or framework-specific plugins.
- SvelteKit vs Next.js: Pick SvelteKit for smaller bundles and simpler ergonomics; pick Next.js for ecosystem depth, hiring pool, and React-shared components across web and native.
- htmx vs React: Pick htmx for server-driven apps where the server owns the state; pick React for SPA-shaped products with rich client state, optimistic UI, and a real frontend team.
- Python vs TypeScript: Pick Python for data, ML, and scripting where expressiveness wins; pick TypeScript for any web-shaped product where tighter typing and shared frontend types pay off.
- Rust vs Go: Pick Rust for performance-critical systems and memory safety without GC pauses; pick Go for microservices, CLIs, and infrastructure where simplicity and team ramp matter more.
- FastAPI vs Django: Pick FastAPI for new API services where async, OpenAPI, and Pydantic carry the design; pick Django when you need the admin, the ORM, and the batteries on day one.
- DynamoDB vs Postgres: Use Postgres by default; reach for DynamoDB only when you need predictable single-millisecond latency on primary-key lookups at massive scale with a fixed access pattern.
- Aurora vs RDS Postgres: Pick RDS Postgres for cost and standard Postgres compatibility; pick Aurora Postgres for high availability, fast failover, and read scale-out.
- Redis vs Memcached: Pick Redis when you need rich data structures, persistence, or pub/sub; pick Memcached only for pure LRU string caching on a team that already knows it.
- Docker vs Podman: Pick Docker for ubiquity and ecosystem breadth; pick Podman when rootless containers or a daemonless architecture improves your security posture.
- nginx vs Caddy: Pick Caddy for automatic TLS and minimal configuration; pick nginx when you need fine-grained control, a mature module ecosystem, or deep operational familiarity.
- AWS vs Cloudflare: Pick Cloudflare for edge performance and cost at the CDN, DNS, and workers layer; pick AWS for breadth of managed services and anything requiring stateful compute.
- Grafana vs Datadog: Pick Datadog for managed, integrated observability with minimal ops overhead; pick Grafana for cost control, self-host flexibility, or when open-source tooling is a requirement.
- OAuth vs JWT: OAuth is a delegation protocol; JWT is a token format. Use OAuth for third-party access flows; use JWT for stateless claims transport; never use JWT as a session store.
- Postman vs Bruno: Pick Bruno for local-first, git-friendly API collections; pick Postman when team sharing, mock servers, or enterprise governance are required.
- SST vs CDK: Pick SST for app-aware AWS deployments where the dev loop matters; pick CDK when you need raw cloud control, multi-account governance, or constructs that go beyond app shapes.