Question 1

Is Express or Fastify easier to hire for in 2026?

Accepted Answer

Both Express and Fastify have active talent pools on Haystack. We see first shortlists for Express and Fastify land within 24 hours of kick-off, with the median Express hire closing in 14-21 days alongside comparable Fastify roles.

Question 2

What does a Express developer cost vs a Fastify developer?

Accepted Answer

Mid-level Express engineers anchor around £65k–£85k UK base, with seniors reaching £90k–£130k. Fastify engineers sit around £65k–£85k mid and £90k–£130k senior. German bands run 5-20% higher in EUR and US bands 40-50% higher in USD.

Question 3

Which ecosystem libraries should I screen for - Express or Fastify?

Accepted Answer

For Express we look for working experience with Node.js, TypeScript, Passport. For Fastify the equivalents are Fastify, Node.js, TypeScript. Both ecosystems get surfaced on every Haystack profile so you can filter on exact tooling.

Question 4

Can the same engineer cover both Express and Fastify?

Accepted Answer

Often yes - particularly when both stacks live in the same category (Backend vs Backend). On Haystack we let you require both as primary or secondary skills; senior generalists typically carry one as their main stack and one as supporting.

Question 5

Should I bet on Express or Fastify for a greenfield project?

Accepted Answer

Pick on hiring depth, your team's current strengths and the ecosystem fit. Express suits rest and bff apis serving web and mobile clients with strong typing via typescript; Fastify suits high-throughput json apis with json schema validation. We can shortlist both in parallel so you can interview against the same brief.

Question 6

Do you cover senior and staff Express and Fastify engineers?

Accepted Answer

Yes - the full ladder from junior through staff/principal in both Express and Fastify. The kick-off call captures the level and shipped-work bar you need, and shortlists are filtered accordingly.

Dimension	Express	Fastify
Category	Backend	Backend
Mid-level UK base	£65k–£85k	£65k–£85k
Senior UK base	£90k–£130k	£90k–£130k
Best for	REST and BFF APIs serving web and mobile clients with strong typing via TypeScript	High-throughput JSON APIs with JSON Schema validation
Core ecosystem	Node.js, TypeScript, Passport, Helmet	Fastify, Node.js, TypeScript, Pino
First shortlist	24 hours	24 hours

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