Gin vs Express: How to Choose Your Microservice Backend?

This article helps you evaluate them side by side, covering performance, ecosystem, developer experience, and error handling, so you can make an informed choice. We will discuss three key points:

1. Performance
2. Ecosystem and Libraries
3. Developer Experience

For about three years, Express has been my preferred go-to framework. I've tried Django as well, but I always returned to the simplicity of Express. Recently, I decided to give Gin a try, and I was immediately impressed.

I manage numerous landing pages for my clients, most of which require a simple contact form and an admin panel to view submissions. This seemed like the perfect place to start my journey with Gin, and here is what I found. For this article's comparison, we will assume a resource-constrained environment: a 1vCPU server with 512 MB of RAM.

First, let's clarify two terms:

1. Framework : It is pre-written code to provide structure and flow to the codebase. It dictates how certain things are done and simplifies the development process.
2. Microservice : Large apps are often broken down into simpler smaller independent services. This enables easier scaling and debugging.

1. Performance

Gin (Go) Gin is built on top of Go’s net/http, which is compiled and designed for concurrency. Go uses goroutines and channels to handle thousands of requests with minimal overhead. Benchmarks consistently show Gin outperforming most Express frameworks in raw throughput. Here is a simple contact submission code using Gin:

package main

import (
  "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
)

func main() {
  r := gin.Default()

  r.POST("/contact", func(c *gin.Context) {
    var data struct {
      Name    string `json:"name"`
      Email   string `json:"email"`
      Message string `json:"message"`
    }
    if err := c.BindJSON(&data); err != nil {
      c.JSON(400, gin.H{"error": "invalid input"})
      return
    }
    // log or save data
    c.JSON(200, gin.H{"status": "ok"})
  })

  r.Run(":3000")
}

Express
Express runs on the V8 engine with an event-driven, non-blocking model. It handles concurrency well, but single-threaded execution means heavy CPU-bound tasks can block the loop. It runs on the Node.js runtime. For I/O-heavy microservices, Express performs well, but it rarely matches Go in raw request-per-second benchmarks.

const express = require('express');
const app = express();

app.use(express.json());

app.post('/contact', (req, res) => {
  const { name, email, message } = req.body;
  console.log(`Contact from ${name} - ${email}: ${message}`);
  res.json({ status: 'ok' });
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server running on 3000'));

a. Memory

Since Gin is compiled into a binary executable, the contact API in idle state sits under 20 MB. Compare it with Node.js which relies on V8 JavaScript Engine, this causes the same contact API consume around 100 MB of ram even in idle state.

b. CPU

While JavaScript event loop is elegant, the truth is that it's still single-threaded. Gin provides multi-threaded lightweight goroutines. Every new request is put on the stack by spawning a relatively lightweight goroutine to handle it. This means our server can handle thousands of concurrent requests.

Verdict: If raw speed and concurrency are critical (like APIs with massive parallel requests), Gin is the better bet. Gin is also better in a resource-restricted environment. Considering how much compute is saved, a simple contact API can greatly benefit from a Gin rewrite.

2. Ecosystem and Libraries

Gin (Go)
Go’s ecosystem is strong in networking, APIs, cloud-native tooling, and DevOps. You’ll find packages for gRPC, Prometheus, Kubernetes integration, and distributed systems. However, compared to Node, the library ecosystem for frontend-adjacent tasks (templating, UI-driven APIs, etc.) is smaller. Currently I write frontends in Next.js and I will continue to do so. Chasing full stack in Golang is an impractical pursuit for now.

Express
NPM has the largest open-source library ecosystem in the world. From database connectors to authentication middleware, you’ll find ready-to-use packages for nearly any need. With NPM, it often feels like every problem has already been solved. On the plus side it is much easier to hire an Express developer. The flip side is that developer quality can be compromised, and over-reliance on third-party libraries can create maintenance debt.

Verdict: If your service requires rapid prototyping or heavy integration with frontend systems, Express offers more plug-and-play options. It keeps development costs down and the stack simple and easy. In my case, I had a clear goal: create and deploy a submission API for my clients and never worry about the server status. Done.

3. Developer Experience

Gin (Go)
Go emphasizes simplicity, clarity, and type safety. The language enforces certain coding styles (e.g., error handling, explicit typing) which reduce bugs in production but can feel verbose to newcomers.

user, err := getUserFromDB(id)
if err != nil {
    log.Printf("failed to get user: %v", err)
    c.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, gin.H{"error": "Internal Server Error"})
    return
}
c.JSON(http.StatusOK, user)

Go forces you to explicitly handle errors. Paired with the fact that most code editors now have powerful AI assistance, I don't think the verbosity is that big of a deal anyway. Gin itself is minimalistic, leading to production code that is naturally well-structured and readable.

Express
JavaScript is more permissive, flexible, and familiar to many developers, especially those coming from frontend backgrounds. Express.js (the closest parallel to Gin) is highly popular, with simple syntax for routes and middleware. Error handling is much looser in JS.

app.get("/user/:id", async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const user = await getUserFromDB(req.params.id);
    res.json(user);
  } catch (err) {
    console.error("failed to get user:", err);
    res.status(500).json({ error: "Internal Server Error" });
  }
});

The trade-off is less compile-time safety, and bugs can slip through runtime more easily.

Verdict: Express feels faster to write for beginners, while Go (via Gin) creates more disciplined, maintainable codebases in the long run.

When to Use What?

• Choose Gin (Go) if you prioritize:

  • High-performance APIs with extreme concurrency
  • Strong type safety and predictable error handling
  • Cloud-native services that integrate with distributed systems

• Choose Express if you prioritize:

  • Faster development and prototyping
  • A massive ecosystem of libraries and frameworks
  • Teams with existing JavaScript expertise

Summary Table

Final Thoughts

As you might have guessed, I started with a very clear goal. Create a tested lightweight, API that handles all of my for all of my clients' landing pages. I wanted highly efficient and cost effective result for my clients so they can pay just pennies on hosting and get by while I don't have to worry about their functionality ever breaking. For now I am certain all those goals have been achieved with this rewrite. If all goes well I'll write their auth and admin panel microservices in Gin next week.

As for you, there’s no absolute winner. Gin is better for systems where performance, reliability, and explicit error handling matter most (think fintech, infrastructure, real-time APIs). Express shines in developer velocity, ecosystem richness, and frontend-backend synergy.

The key is to match the tool to your project’s needs and your team’s strengths. Sometimes the verbosity of Go is a feature, not a bug that forces discipline. Other times, the flexibility of JavaScript is exactly what you need to move fast.

Rule of thumb: For long-lived, critical microservices, I'd go with Go.