Why I chose Phoenix LiveView over Rails, Laravel, and Next.js

First things first, why do we code? To solve problems in the most optimal way possible.

For me, the number one factor is speed: both application speed and development speed. That’s exactly what led me to Phoenix LiveView.

If I had chosen React or Next.js with Laravel, or even Inertia.js with Laravel, I would have had to maintain both sides of the stack, frontend and backend. As a solo developer, I didn’t have the time to manage state in two different places. I needed a solid monolithic solution that could handle everything together.

So I looked into Laravel Livewire and Rails Hotwire. Both are great tools that simplify frontend work without depending too much on JavaScript. I even thought about going full JavaScript with Next.js, but I’ve never been a big fan of using JS on the backend.

Rails Hotwire really caught my attention, especially because of how fast you can build an MVP with Rails. But I still needed background jobs, real-time updates, and two-way communication that just works. Those things are possible in Rails and Laravel, but they take a bit more effort to set up.

Then I came across Elixir and its framework Phoenix. It had all the elegance of Ruby on Rails, but with far better performance. It came with built-in background jobs through Oban, a familiar and clean syntax, and something truly special called LiveView.

LiveView feels like the perfect balance between traditional server-rendered apps and frontend-heavy frameworks. It’s way ahead of both Rails Hotwire and Laravel Livewire. LiveView communicates through WebSockets, which means real-time two-way updates without sending new requests every time something changes. You can still use Alpine.js or any JavaScript library you want through hooks when needed.

Phoenix also comes with Oban jobs built in. You can declare background jobs easily, and when something fails, it automatically restarts without breaking the app. That’s the beauty of Elixir. It’s a compiled language built on top of Erlang, which powers highly concurrent systems like WhatsApp and Discord.

Here’s what sealed it for me:

• I can build fast
• I can handle high concurrency if needed
• I write almost everything in one language
• I can write clean, readable code
• The compiler catches most bugs before they reach production
• The app is fault tolerant and rarely goes down

I’m not saying Phoenix is better than Laravel, Rails, or Next.js. All of these are excellent frameworks, and I’ve personally used them to build applications. Phoenix just turned out to be the best fit for my specific use case. This is my project - Hyperzoned.com

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but try exploring beyond what you already know. You might find a better and more efficient way to solve your next problem. After all, never stop learning.