Hono vs Elysia for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Hono Overview

Hono is the portable JavaScript framework. It runs on Cloudflare Workers, Bun, Deno, Node.js, and AWS Lambda using Web Standard APIs. The framework is tiny (around 14KB) but ships with a comprehensive middleware collection covering auth, validation, CORS, rate limiting, and caching.

The portability angle is what makes Hono special. You write your API once and deploy it anywhere. Start prototyping on Node.js, deploy to Cloudflare Workers for edge distribution, switch to Bun for local performance testing. Your code stays the same across all runtimes. For a solo developer, this means you're never locked into a deployment platform.

Hono's middleware system is composable and well-typed. The TypeScript integration provides type inference through middleware chains, though you do need to be explicit about schemas in some places. The built-in validator works with Zod, and the JSX support means you can render server-side HTML if needed.

Elysia Overview

Elysia is purpose-built for Bun, optimized from the ground up to exploit Bun's native compilation and fast HTTP handling. It consistently tops JavaScript framework benchmarks, delivering throughput numbers that rival Go frameworks. The developer experience is focused on end-to-end type safety with minimal boilerplate.

The type system is Elysia's standout feature. Define your request and response schemas, and the types propagate automatically through your entire handler chain. There's no disconnect between what your API expects and what TypeScript knows about it. The Eden Treaty feature takes this further by generating a fully typed API client from your server definition.

Elysia's plugin architecture is clean and composable. Plugins modify the application instance in a type-safe way, so adding auth or validation doesn't break type inference. The lifecycle hooks (onBeforeHandle, onAfterHandle, onError) give you fine-grained control over request processing without cluttering your route handlers.

Key Differences

Runtime support. Hono runs on five runtimes. Elysia is optimized for Bun. This is the fundamental trade-off. Hono gives you portability. Elysia gives you peak Bun performance. If you know you'll deploy on Bun, Elysia extracts more speed. If you might deploy to Workers or Lambda, Hono is the safer bet.

Performance on Bun. When both run on Bun, Elysia is faster. Its deep integration with Bun's internals lets it bypass abstractions that Hono uses for portability. The difference is measurable in benchmarks, ranging from 20-40% throughput advantage for Elysia. Whether that matters for your actual workload depends on your traffic.

Type inference depth. Both frameworks have excellent TypeScript support, but Elysia's type inference goes deeper. Elysia propagates types through the entire middleware and handler chain automatically. Hono requires more explicit type annotations in some cases. For developers who want maximum type safety with minimum annotation, Elysia has the edge.

End-to-end type safety. Elysia's Eden Treaty generates a typed client from your server. This means your frontend knows exactly what your API accepts and returns, with zero manual type definitions. Hono has an RPC mode that does something similar, but Eden Treaty is more mature and better integrated.

Middleware ecosystem. Hono has more built-in middleware: JWT, Basic Auth, Bearer Auth, CORS, Cache, Compress, ETag, Logger, Pretty JSON, Secure Headers, and more. Elysia's plugin collection is growing but smaller. For common middleware needs, Hono provides more out of the box.

Community and stability. Hono has broader adoption across multiple runtimes and a larger community. Elysia has enthusiastic adoption in the Bun ecosystem specifically. Hono's multi-runtime strategy gives it a wider user base and more diverse testing.

When to Choose Hono

• You need multi-runtime portability (Workers, Lambda, Node.js, Bun, Deno)
• You want to deploy to Cloudflare Workers for edge distribution
• You value the largest possible middleware collection
• You want flexibility to change your deployment platform later
• You're building for a runtime other than Bun

When to Choose Elysia

• You're committed to Bun as your runtime
• Maximum TypeScript performance on Bun is a priority
• You want the deepest possible end-to-end type safety
• You're building a frontend that consumes your own API (Eden Treaty)
• You prefer schema-first type inference over explicit annotations

The Verdict

Hono at 8/10 is the more versatile choice for solo developers. The multi-runtime portability means your technology decision today doesn't lock you in tomorrow. Edge deployment on Cloudflare Workers is a genuine superpower for global APIs. The middleware collection covers almost every common need without reaching for third-party packages.

Elysia at 7/10 wins on pure performance and type safety depth. If you've committed to Bun and you're building a TypeScript API where every millisecond counts, Elysia squeezes out more speed. The Eden Treaty feature is a real productivity boost if you own both the frontend and backend.

The 1-point difference reflects portability versus specialization. Hono is the safer, more flexible choice. Elysia is the performance champion for its specific niche. For most solo developers, the ability to deploy anywhere matters more than being the fastest on one runtime.