Free and open first

Best Frameworks in 2026

28 apps
Research read 7 Oct 2026
How the order is worked out

1

Play Framework

Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3

8.7 Open source Visit site
2

Symfony MakerBundle

Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2

MakerBundle provides a focused set of code-generation commands for Symfony projects, with a path to custom makers when defaults do not fit.

8.5 Open source Visit site
3

Gatsby

Free plan APISelf-hostedWeb

Gatsby combines React site building with several rendering approaches and a GraphQL data layer. Review the Free plan's monthly credit limit and the Gatsby 5 requirements before choosing it.

7.3 Free plan Visit site
4

Ionic Framework

Free plan AndroidiPhoneWeb

Choose Ionic Framework if you want a free, MIT-licensed toolkit for building mobile and web apps with one codebase and web languages.

7.2 Free plan Visit site
5

Astro Starlight

Free plan Self-hostedWeb

Starlight combines common documentation-site features with Astro integrations and flexible content options. Its beta status and recommendation to update regularly are worth considering.

7.1 Free plan Visit site
6

Laravel Vapor

Free plan APIWeb

Vapor combines Laravel deployment workflows with managed infrastructure, metrics, and team controls.

7.0 Free plan · paid from $39/mo Visit site
7

Micronaut Launch

Free plan APILinuxMac+2

Micronaut Launch provides flexible Micronaut scaffolding through its web interface and API, with broad language, build, test, and project-type choices.

7.0 Free plan Visit site
8

NestJS CLI

Free plan

NestJS CLI covers project setup, code generation, building, and deployment-related commands for Nest applications.

6.6 Open source Visit site
9

Flutter
by Google
Free plan WebWindowsMac+3

6.4 Free plan Visit site
10

Express

Free plan LinuxMacWindows

Choose Express if you need a free, open-source JavaScript backend framework with SSR and can manage self-hosted deployment.

6.3 Free plan Visit site
11

Grails

Free plan LinuxMacWindows

6.2 Free plan Visit site
12

CakePHP

Free plan Web

6.1 Free plan Visit site
13

CodeIgniter

Free plan Web

6.1 Free plan Visit site
14

.NET MAUI

Free plan AndroidiPhoneMac+1

6.1 Free plan Visit site
15

FastAPI

Free plan Web

Choose FastAPI for a Python backend project when self-hosted deployment, built-in authentication, and an open-source license fit your needs.

6.0 Free plan Visit site
16

Quarkus

Free plan LinuxMacWeb+1

6.0 Free plan Visit site
17

Django

Free plan

Choose Django if you want a free, open-source Python backend framework with an included ORM and built-in authentication. Look elsewhere if you need a deployment target other than self-hosted.

5.9 Free plan Visit site
18

Hono

Free plan Web

5.9 Free plan Visit site
19

NativeScript

Free plan AndroidiPhone

5.9 Free plan Visit site
20

Gin

Free plan

Gin provides a free, open-source Go backend framework with SSR and self-hosted deployment. Its fit depends on whether a project can operate without bundled ORM and authentication features.

5.8 Free plan Visit site
21

Jam.py

Free plan Web

5.8 Free plan Visit site
22

Nuxt

Free plan Web

Choose Nuxt if you need an open-source, free meta-framework for a JavaScript or TypeScript web project and hybrid rendering suits your approach.

5.7 Free plan Visit site
23

React Developer Tools

Free plan Web

5.7 Free plan Visit site
24

Next.js

Free plan Web

Choose Next.js if you want a free, open-source full-stack web framework with hybrid rendering and JavaScript or TypeScript support.

5.6 Free plan Visit site
25

Ruby on Rails

Free plan Web

Ruby on Rails offers a free, open-source foundation for Ruby web applications. Its full-stack structure, SSR support, included ORM, and self-hosted deployment target define its main appeal.

5.5 Free plan Visit site

#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price

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