Updated April 19, 2023
Difference Between Mean Stack vs Full Stack
The following article provides an outline for Mean Stack vs Full Stack. Full-stack development is defined as on-demand software for developing both client and server-side software using a set of programming languages and tools to handle both sides software such as Python, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, Ruby, jQuery, etc which is used for developing front-end and back-end in website development which is not an acronym of web technologies and developers who can deal with these technologies and implement their knowledge in designing websites are known as full stack developer. Mean stack development is defined as an extended version of a full-stack framework that uses Java-based technologies and frameworks for developing websites hence it is an acronym for certain web technologies and the developers who work on such technologies like MongoDB, AngularJS, ExpressJS and NodeJS are known as mean stack developers.
Head to Head Comparison Between Mean Stack vs Full Stack (Infographics)
Below are the top 10 differences between Mean Stack vs Full Stack:
Key Difference Between Mean Stack vs Full Stack
Let us discuss some of the major key differences between Mean Stack vs Full Stack:
- Name and the stack usage: Full stack usually refers to the developer who knows multiple programming languages for handling both client and server-side. Whereas mean stack refers to as acronym of web technologies which is considered as a branch of full stack.
- Database: Full stack can have access to any SQL-based and relational database where the developers have more options to choose from the database and can work on the project easily and quickly. Whereas mean stack only relies on MongoDB therefore the developers need to learn this modern concept of non-relational database which open source and easier to scale data.
- Robust server-side programming language: Full stack development uses robust server-side programming languages such as PHP, Python, C#, C++, Java, and many more. Whereas mean stack development does not use so many server-side programming languages as it can be done with a single language such as JavaScript and hence it is not robust when using a server-side programming language.
- Several languages used: In Full stack development where the developers know many different languages to work on both front-end and a back-end that is there are separate languages used for client and server-side programming such as for client-side HTML, CSS, jQuery, etc and server-side there are PHP, Python, Ruby, C#, C++, etc whereas in mean stack development the developer can have only the knowledge of one single technology or language that is JavaScript which can help the developer to work with both front-end and back-end.
- Developer designation: In any organization, if the developer is a full stack developer then it best for the organization to hire such a developer as they can work n different designation also whereas if the developer is a mean stack developer then the organization has the restriction for them to work in a particular domain or designation only.
Mean Stack vs Full Stack Comparison Table
Let’s discuss the top comparison between Mean Stack vs Full Stack:
| Sr. No | Mean Stack | Full Stack |
| 1 | Mean stack has an acronym as its combination of these four languages such as MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, and NodeJS. | Full stack has no acronym for any web related languages or technologies that it uses. |
| 2 | Mean stack refers to a full stack framework that uses a set of Java-based technologies for website development. | Full stack refers to handle both front-end and back-end development using set f programming languages and development tools for developing websites. |
| 3 | For mean stack development, the developers need to learn about the frameworks which can be of the same languages used by full stack or java-based frameworks. | For full stack development, the developers need to learn many different languages for developing both back-end and front-end |
| 4 | Mean stack is restricted to a particular language for framework when developing websites therefore the mean stack developer is focused on one framework only as they do not know any other tools or framework. | Full stack developers are not restricted to learn only a particular set of languages. As there is no compulsion to stick to any particular languages as the full stack developers have known a variety of different languages and frameworks. |
| 5 | It provides access to only a non-relational database like MongoDB and NoSQL. | It can provide access to any SQL-based relational database. |
| 6 | Mean stack helps the developers to use NodeJS and ExpressJS for back-end or server-side programming which is not as powerful as PHP or Python. | Full stack helps the developers to use many different server side programming languages such as PHP, C#, C++, Python. |
| 7 | If a developer knows mean stack then they only know particular frameworks that are related to java-based or any other particular languages. These developers are not that versatile as full stack developers. | If a developer knows full stack then the organization needs to hire less because the full stack developer’s work on both server and client-side technologies and languages which makes any organization get more work done. |
| 8 | In mean stack also we can switch between client and server-side applications to resolve issues in the projects with knowing single technology such as JavaScript. | In full stack we can easily switch between front-end and back-end applications to resolve any issues in the project with knowing multiple languages and technologies. |
| 9 | The developers with mean stack knowledge can upgrade in only a particular language such as JavaScript alone there is no use for them to go for other languages. | The developers with full stack knowledge can upgrade their skill set with a variety of programming languages. |
| 10 | Mean stack developers are not much in demand as it is a less lucrative job than full stack developers and the wages are also less at the entry-level and also for the experienced developer when compared to full stack developer. | Full stack developers are full in demand and also are paid higher wages than mean stack developers and the wages increases as the experience of the developer is more as they are flexible for working with different languages. |
Conclusion
In this article, we conclude that the difference between full stack and mean stack is not much when working with a client and server-side programming language which makes the developers robust in knowing the different languages. In full stack, the developers know many languages and are versatile to work with any languages but in a mean stack, they stick to a particular language or framework which does not make the mean stack developer a versatile developer.
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