For a new Next.js project, choose the App Router by default: it is the current recommended approach and supports React Server Components and nested layouts. If you already have a stable Pages Router application, you do not have to migrate; Pages Router remains supported, and you can move routes gradually if the newer model would benefit the project.
What is the practical difference?
Both routers map files to URLs, but organize routes and application behavior differently. Pages Router centers on page files and page-level data-fetching functions. App Router organizes routes into folders, adds special files for pages and shared layouts, and uses Server Components by default.
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Routes and shared layouts
In Pages Router, a component file such as pages/about.js serves the /about route. In App Router, folders represent route segments, and a page file makes a route publicly accessible. A layout file defines shared UI around its segment and can persist across navigation without rerendering, preserving state and interactivity.
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See the official Pages Router Pages and Layouts and App Router Layouts and Pages guides.
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Rendering and component boundaries
App Router pages and layouts are Server Components by default. Use a Client Component when a component needs state, event handlers, effects, custom hooks, or browser APIs such as window or localStorage. Server Components can support server-side data access, keep secrets out of client code, reduce JavaScript sent to the browser, and stream content progressively. These are framework capabilities, not a guarantee of a particular speed improvement for every application.
The Server and Client Components documentation explains where each fits.
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Data fetching
Pages Router uses page-level functions such as getStaticProps, getServerSideProps, and getStaticPaths. App Router allows asynchronous Server Components to fetch data close to where it is used, with caching and revalidation configured through the APIs for the Next.js version in use. Do not carry over assumptions about caching from a Pages Router implementation without checking the relevant version’s guidance.
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Next.js documents the Pages Router options in its Pages Router data-fetching guide and the App Router migration context in its migration guide.
Which router should you use?
| Situation | Better starting point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New application | App Router | It is the current recommended approach for projects that want Next.js’s latest React features and its layout and server/client component model. |
| Existing, stable Pages Router application | Keep Pages Router unless there is a concrete reason to move | Pages Router remains supported; migration is optional, not a requirement to keep an application up to date. |
| Existing application that would benefit from App Router capabilities | Migrate incrementally | The app and pages directories can coexist, allowing routes to move one at a time. |
The official Pages Router overview recommends App Router for the latest React features while confirming continued support for Pages Router.
Does App Router perform better?
There is no universal winner established by the official documentation: it does not publish a named head-to-head benchmark showing that one router is always faster. App Router offers features that can affect an application’s rendering and the JavaScript sent to the browser, but actual results depend on how the application uses them and how it is deployed. If performance is the reason to migrate, compare the relevant outcomes in your own application rather than treating the router choice alone as proof of a speedup.
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What does migration involve?
Moving from Pages Router is more than changing directory names. App Router has different route and special-file conventions, root layouts, metadata APIs, error and not-found files, Route Handlers, and a different data-fetching model. Pages Router API routes can continue to work in the documented migration approach, so a team can leave them in place while moving other routes.
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- Identify the routes or features that would benefit. Consider whether persistent nested layouts, server-first composition, or the App Router data-fetching model solves a real need.
- Review the current migration guide for your Next.js version. The cited migration guide is specifically for Next.js 15 and was updated April 15, 2025; check the documentation matching the version you plan to use before applying its API or command details.
- Move incrementally. Keep
appandpagesside by side and migrate route by route rather than treating a full rewrite as a prerequisite. - Revisit data and component boundaries. Adapt fetching to the App Router model, and mark client-side components where interactivity or browser APIs require them.
- Validate each moved route. Check its layout, metadata, errors, data behavior, and any API routes it depends on before moving more of the application.
The migration guide describes the coexistence approach and changed conventions: Migrate from Pages Router to App Router.
Quick Recap
A simple decision checklist
- Starting fresh? Choose App Router unless a specific project constraint calls for Pages Router.
- Maintaining an established Pages Router app? Staying put is reasonable if its conventions meet the team’s needs.
- Need persistent nested layouts or server-first component composition? App Router’s model may fit better.
- Considering a move mainly for speed? Measure the application; official guidance does not establish a universal performance advantage.
- Worried about a disruptive migration? The directories can coexist, enabling a gradual transition.
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