Full stack vs MEAN stack vs MERN stack. Which One is Better?

The market for mobile app development is constantly growing and trends are evolving with every passing day. To keep up with the trends, developers need to have information about emerging technologies and stacks to choose for their next project. 

Why is it so important for developers to choose the right stack? The tech world is very volatile and the period of a trend is unpredictable. Therefore, software programs must have a robust infrastructure in place to sustain the heat of an unpredictable world. Choosing the right stack is pertinent as it affects scalability, performance, and flexibility. 

The right choice is contingent on the knowledge and clarity the developer has regarding the relevant tech stack. 

What do you understand by the Word “Stack”?

It is a combination of compatible technologies and programming languages. These are generally of two types: Technology stack and Application stack. While the former is just a cross-disciplinary term in the process of software development. 

All of this highlights the importance of choosing the right stack, even more so when Agile development is gaining widespread popularity.

How to Choose the right stack for your next project

Before choosing the right stack, you need to consider a few things:

• What does your project entail and the requirements?
• Does it require agile development?
• What is the objective of the project and how do you plan to achieve it?
• What is the level of expertise that you have available in your team?
• Is your development team scalable and flexible enough for the said project?
• What is the estimated cost of the project?

Gathered from the answers to these questions, three of the main contenders are full stack vs MEAN stack vs MERN stack.

Keep reading to learn more about these three and what differentiates them from each other.

Full Stack vs MEAN Stack vs MERN Stack: Key Differences

Given below are some of the key differences, advantages, and disadvantages of some of the popular technology stacks: Full, MEAN, and MERN.

Full Stack Development

Full-stack development has gained popularity because of the desirability created for it among firms. The popularity is attributed to the collection of developers that come from different streams such as front-end, back-end, mobile app database, and testing. 

Front-end - CSS, Single page applications like HTML5 and Ajax, JavaScript, Angular, React, TypeScript, etc.

Back-end - Python, PHP, NodeJS, ExpressJS, GO, Caching, Django, Middleware, etc.

Mobile app databases - Postgres, MySQL, MongoDB, SQLite, Clusters, etc.

Full-stack developers are in demand because of their versatility and diversification. They can code for multiple technologies and projects encompassing different technological expertise to create great UX/UI. 

RECOMMENDED: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO UI UX DESIGN

Hiring people with only one area of expertise has changed into hiring people with multiple skills.  Full-stack developers are skilled enough to identify errors and offer solutions across different technical streams as they are responsible for managing the project design structure. Their ability to respond quickly and take challenges head-on makes them the best choice for small and mid-sized enterprises working in a decentralized environment. 

Advantages of Full-Stack

Easy switching - Full-stack empowers the developers to shift between front-end and back-end based on the project’s requirements. 

Design structure manager - Full stack developers manage the entire project structure rather than just taking care of one technical aspect of it as a developer. This is an advantage as it covers multiple things in one. 

Cost-effective - Employing a full-stack developer instead of hiring one back-end and one front-end developer separately is cost-effective. It saves both time and money.

Easy upgrade - Full stack developers can update easily with the latest technologies and trends as compared with someone having expertise only in front-end or back-end. 

MEAN Stack Development 

MEAN Stack is a collection of JavaScript-based technologies used to create simple and complicated websites as well as mobile applications, both responsive and progressive. To put it in rather simple words, it simplifies the development process while acting as a stimulus. 

MEAN stack developers are in demand as it is a widely accepted technology across industries. It is easier to find expert MEAN stack developers to develop web apps, mobile applications, and APIs and tackle complex development challenges. Some of the famous mobile applications like YouTube, Forbes, Tumblr, etc are built using MEAN stack technology.

Key components of MEAN Stack 

• MongoDB - A document-based NoSQL database that stores data in the form of JSON files.
• Express.js - It is a back-end web app that works on Node.js.
• Angular - It is a front-end web framework that works JS code in a user’s browser.
• Node.js -  It is a JS runtime environment to execute backend applications in JS.

Recommended: 11 TOP TRENDING JAVASCRIPT FRAMEWORKS FOR 2022

Advantages of MEAN Stack

Full development cycle - It takes in the full development cycle from front-end (client-side) to back-end (server-side) development of JavaScript. 

MVC support - It supports Model View Controller (MVC) for a seamless development process.

Keeps it organized - It minimizes the repetitive grunt work to keep the whole development process organized and smooth.

Technologies - Has the best four technologies as discussed above.

Testing tool - Comes with a built-in comprehensive testing tool. 

Disadvantages of MEAN Stack

• Not compatible/suitable for the development of large-scale applications. 
• It doesn’t have any specific generic JS coding guidelines.
• It’s tough to go back to the old approach once you have created the first site using the MEAN stack.

MERN Stack Development 

MERN is another popular JavaScript stack like the two mentioned above used for the development process. It has some of the most advanced technologies that are used to develop premium applications. These premium applications are developed using various databases, frameworks, libraries, etc. 

MERN stack is stacked with various open-source elements such as MongoDB, React, Node.js, and Express.js. It is these elements that provide end-to-end framework support to developers and make it a robust technology to use. 

• MongoDB -  Open-source and document-based database.
• React -  Front-end JavaScript library used to build user interfaces.
• Express.js - High-speed and minimalist in nature framework utilized for Node.js.
• Node.js - It is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. 

Advantages of MERN Stack

Web development cycle - Comprehensively covers web development cycle ranging from front-end to back-end development.

• Cost-effective - It is cost-effective and reduces server costs.
• MVC support - It supports Model View Controller (MVC) for a smooth development process.
• Best technologies - Has some of the best technologies namely MongoDB, React, Node.js and Express.js.
• Easy conversion - It supports the reversal of a web app to a mobile app and software. 

Disadvantages of MERN Stack 

• It requires more coding which may ultimately slow down the development process.
• This can potentially lead to the missing records being recorded as “successfully written”. 

The primary difference between the three is that the MEAN stack uses Angular whereas the MERN stack uses React JS. React JS supports rapid code development while Angular is better with the management of project files and offers stability to the platform to maintain abstraction in the code. 

Full Stack vs MEAN Stack vs MERN Stack: Which One of the Three is Better?

There isn’t one definite answer between the three but there definitely is one that will suffice as an answer. They have quite a few similar benefits and advantages and differ in other aspects but it entirely depends on the choice of project and the expertise of your team. Your project and the expertise of your team will determine which one you should use which is a definite answer in itself.