Spring Boot

Spring Boot

Open Source

Build production-ready Spring applications faster.

Backend Frameworks
Java Frameworks

Published 29 May 2026 · Last updated 27 September 2026

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Scores

Popularity2/5

The dominant Java web framework; used extensively in enterprise Java systems.

Learning Curve5/5

Spring DI, AOP, security, and configuration model is one of the most complex in web development.

Flexibility3/5

Convention-heavy; extensive configuration options but opinionated about project structure.

Performance5/5

JVM-based with excellent throughput under load; GraalVM native images are very fast.

Portability3/5

Spring DI and AOP patterns are partly transferable within Java; escaping Spring requires rewriting.

About Spring Boot

Spring Boot is the standard way to build applications on the Spring Framework, the long-running Java platform for enterprise backends. It takes a convention-over-configuration approach: auto-configuration sets up sensible defaults based on the libraries on the classpath, curated starter dependencies pull in a tested set of libraries for web, data, security, or messaging, and an embedded server (Tomcat or Jetty, or Reactor Netty for reactive apps) means an application ships as one runnable JAR or container image.

Around that core, Spring Boot integrates the wider Spring ecosystem: Spring Data for databases, Spring Security for authentication and authorisation, Spring Cloud for distributed systems, and Spring AI for LLM features. Actuator adds production endpoints for health checks, metrics, and runtime information, and externalised configuration lets the same build run in every environment. GraalVM native images give fast startup and a small memory footprint where that matters.

Spring Boot 4, built on Spring Framework 7, keeps a Java 17 baseline while supporting the latest Java releases, moves to Jakarta EE 11, adds built-in API versioning and null-safety annotations, and splits auto-configuration into smaller modules. Kotlin is fully supported alongside Java.

It is free under the Apache 2.0 licence and maintained by Broadcom's Spring team, with commercial long-term support available for older versions. The trade-offs are memory use and startup time compared with lighter frameworks such as Quarkus or Micronaut, and "auto-configuration magic" that can be hard to debug when defaults do something unexpected.

Key Features

  • Auto-configuration based on the libraries in the project
  • Starter dependencies for web, data, security, messaging, and more
  • Embedded Tomcat or Jetty (Reactor Netty for WebFlux) in a runnable JAR
  • Actuator endpoints for health checks, metrics, and runtime info
  • GraalVM native images for fast startup and low memory
  • Integration with Spring Data, Spring Security, Spring Cloud, and Spring AI
  • Built-in API versioning and null-safety annotations (Spring Boot 4)
  • Java and Kotlin support

Pros

  • Far less setup than plain Spring: a running service in minutes
  • Huge ecosystem, documentation, and hiring pool
  • Production features built in: health checks, metrics, externalised config
  • Mature integrations for databases, messaging, security, and caching
  • Strong fit for microservices through Spring Cloud

Cons

  • Higher memory use and slower startup than Quarkus or Micronaut
  • Auto-configuration can be hard to debug when defaults misbehave
  • Stepping outside the conventional Spring way takes extra effort
  • Starters often pull in many transitive dependencies
  • The wider Spring ecosystem has a steep learning curve
  • Heavy for small services where a minimal framework would do

Spring Boot Pricing

Open Source

Tech Stacks with Spring Boot

Spring Boot API

Project

Production-ready Java REST API with Spring Boot and PostgreSQL (or MySQL and MariaDB), the standard enterprise stack for backend services.

Spring Boot
Spring Boot

Backend

Java
Java

Programming

PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL

Databases

Railway
Railway

Hosting

Details Sandbox
Database:
Deploy on:
Authentication add-on:
CI/CD add-on:
Containerization add-on:
Observability add-on:
Email add-on:
Payments add-on:

Spring Boot + Angular

Project

Enterprise full-stack Java: an Angular frontend consuming a Spring Boot REST API.

Angular
Angular

Frontend

Spring Boot
Spring Boot

Backend

Java
Java
TypeScript
TypeScript

Programming

PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL

Databases

Railway
Railway

Hosting

Details Sandbox
Database:
Deploy on:
Authentication add-on:
CI/CD add-on:
Containerization add-on:
Observability add-on:
Email add-on:
Payments add-on:
Analytics add-on:

Tools Related to Spring Boot

Child tools of Spring Boot(1)

Spring Security

Spring Security

Spring's official security framework: authentication, authorization, and protection against common exploits for Spring applications, including Spring Boot.

Open Source
Authentication
5/5

Spring Security is the official security framework for the Spring ecosystem, auto-configured into any Spring Boot app via its starter dependency.

Works well with Spring Boot(4)

Keycloak

Keycloak

Open-source identity and access management platform with SSO, SAML 2.0, OIDC, and LDAP/AD federation — self-hosted, no per-user pricing.

Open Source
Authentication
5/5

Keycloak is the primary open-source IAM solution used with Spring Boot — Spring Security's built-in OAuth2/OIDC support connects directly to Keycloak realms for SSO, RBAC, and token-based API security.

Firebase Auth

Firebase Auth

Google's authentication service with deep integration across Firebase platform and extensive mobile SDK support.

Freemium
Authentication
4/5

Firebase Auth JWT tokens can be verified in Spring Boot via the Firebase Admin SDK — a common pattern for mobile/web apps with a Java backend.

Supabase Auth

Supabase Auth

Supabase Auth is the open-source authentication service built into Supabase, tied to PostgreSQL Row Level Security so the signed-in user's identity drives database access rules.

Freemium
Authentication
4/5

Supabase Auth integrates with Spring Boot via JWT verification — Spring Security can validate Supabase JWTs for API routes.

Clerk

Clerk

Clerk is a hosted authentication and user management platform with pre-built sign-in, sign-up, and profile components for React, Next.js, and other frameworks, plus organisations and MFA.

Freemium
Authentication
4/5

Clerk integrates with Spring Boot via JWT token verification — used when Spring Boot serves as the backend API for a Next.js + Clerk frontend.

Alternatives to Spring Boot(10)

NestJS

NestJS

Progressive Node.js framework for building efficient, scalable server-side applications with TypeScript and modular architecture.

Open Source
Backend Frameworks
4/5

Both opinionated enterprise-grade frameworks with dependency injection; NestJS targets Node.js, Spring Boot targets Java.

Ruby on Rails

Ruby on Rails

Full-stack Ruby web framework following convention over configuration. Includes ORM, routing, templates, and testing tools out of the box.

Open Source
Backend Frameworks
3/5

Spring Boot is a Java enterprise framework; Rails is a Ruby MVC framework — both opinionated, different language ecosystems.

Gin

Gin

Gin is a high-performance HTTP web framework for Go, offering a Martini-like API with up to 40× faster throughput via httprouter. It is widely used for building REST APIs and microservices.

Open Source
Backend Frameworks
3/5

Gin is a lightweight Go framework; Spring Boot is a Java enterprise framework — different language ecosystems and complexity levels.

Axum

Axum

Axum is an ergonomic, macro-free web framework for Rust built on top of Tokio, Hyper, and Tower. It offers type-safe request extractors, composable middleware via Tower, and minimal boilerplate for building async HTTP APIs.

Open Source
Backend Frameworks
3/5

Axum is a lightweight Rust framework; Spring Boot is a Java enterprise framework — different language ecosystems and performance profiles.

Django

Django

High-level Python web framework for rapid development with clean, pragmatic design. Includes built-in ORM, admin panel, authentication, and security features.

Open Source
Backend Frameworks
3/5

Django is a Python framework; Spring Boot is a Java enterprise framework — both are full-featured, different language ecosystems.

Flask

Flask

Flask is a lightweight Python web framework with a minimal core of routing, templating, and request handling, extended through a large ecosystem of extensions for databases, auth, and APIs.

Open Source
Backend Frameworks
3/5

Flask is a minimal Python framework; Spring Boot is a Java enterprise framework — different language ecosystems.

Links

Website Docs GitHub

Vendor

Broadcom

Tags

Open SourceSelf-hostableWeb

Details

License
Apache-2.0
Maintained
Yes
Primary language
Java
Domain
Backend
GitHub stars
81.5k
Stars updated
2026-09-23