Astro vs Next.js: Performance Comparison

Both Astro and Next.js are popular frameworks, but they take fundamentally different approaches to web development.

Performance Benchmarks

In our testing:

• Astro: 0.8s average load time, 48KB JavaScript
• Next.js: 1.8s average load time, 287KB JavaScript

The Key Difference

Astro ships zero JavaScript by default. Next.js requires React hydration on every page, even static ones.

When to Use Each

Use Astro for:

• Marketing sites
• Landing pages
• Blogs
• Maximum performance

Use Next.js for:

• Complex web applications
• Heavy interactivity
• Server-side rendering needs