Nifra vs Elysia

Elysia is the best-known Bun-first backend framework, and it set the bar Nifra measures itself against. The short version: on identical benchmarked workloads Nifra is level to ahead of Elysia on Bun and ahead on Deno, and the larger difference is scope - Elysia is a backend framework, Nifra is a full-stack one.

Throughput, on identical workloads

Both frameworks are fast enough that the interesting question is overhead relative to the raw runtime. In our published two-workload benchmark (a path-param GET and a schema-validated POST, identical semantics per framework, load driven by oha):

On Bun, Nifra runs level with Elysia on GET /users/:id at 101% of a hand-rolled Bun.serve baseline - the framework layer costs nothing measurable - and 105% of Elysia on the validated POST.
In the realistic middleware shape (security headers + CORS + request-id on every request), Nifra runs at 103% of Elysia on GET and 108% on POST.
On Deno, Nifra leads every measured framework, Elysia included, on both workloads.

Single-digit percentages, honestly labeled: treat them as "the same speed class, with the edge to Nifra as middleware stacks up". The harness and methodology are public - the benchmarks page has every row, including the ones Nifra loses.

Typed clients: Eden vs inferred

Both frameworks solve typed API access. Elysia's Eden gives you a typed treaty client from your server type; Nifra's client infers request and response types from route declarations the same way. The difference is what sits above it: Nifra's typed contract extends through loaders, pages, and server functions, because the frontend is part of the framework rather than a separate project consuming the API.

Backend framework vs full-stack framework

	Nifra	Elysia
HTTP + validation + typed client	Yes	Yes
SSR + file-based frontend routing	Yes - React, Vue, Svelte, Solid, Preact	No (bring your own frontend)
Server functions, ISR, islands	Yes	No
Runtimes	Bun, Node, Deno, edge workers	Bun-first, adapters for others
Verification tooling	`nifra check` / `assure` / `doctor`, structured output	Type-level guarantees
Docs for AI agents	Live MCP server + typed corpus, CI-gated freshness	llms.txt style docs

When to pick which

Pick Nifra if you want the backend and frontend in one typed contract, the option to change UI framework or runtime later, and tooling built for AI-assisted development - at the same or better throughput.
Elysia holds up if you specifically want a backend-only Bun framework and lean on its plugin ecosystem, with a separate frontend story you are happy with.

Start with bunx create-nifra my-app (backend) or --template site (full-stack). Deeper capability comparison: the comparison doc.