Express Middleware for Rate Limiting Comparison
express-rate-limit vs rate-limiter-flexible vs express-slow-down vs express-limiter vs express-brute
1 Year
express-rate-limitrate-limiter-flexibleexpress-slow-downexpress-limiterexpress-bruteSimilar Packages:
What's Express Middleware for Rate Limiting?

These npm packages provide various methods for rate limiting in Express applications, helping to protect against abuse and ensuring fair usage of resources. They implement different strategies for limiting the number of requests a client can make to a server within a specified timeframe, which is crucial for maintaining application performance and security. Each package offers unique features and configurations to suit different use cases and requirements.

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express-rate-limit1,368,5992,946124 kB68 days agoMIT
rate-limiter-flexible624,3243,101141 kB182 months agoISC
express-slow-down21,52126080.4 kB07 months agoMIT
express-limiter11,828424-217 years agoMIT
express-brute8,650565-218 years agoBSD
Feature Comparison: express-rate-limit vs rate-limiter-flexible vs express-slow-down vs express-limiter vs express-brute

Configuration Flexibility

  • express-rate-limit:

    Express-rate-limit provides straightforward configuration options for defining limits based on IP addresses, making it easy to implement without extensive setup. It supports custom message responses and headers for feedback.

  • rate-limiter-flexible:

    Rate-limiter-flexible offers a high degree of configuration flexibility, supporting various rate limiting strategies (like sliding window) and allowing for custom handling of exceeded limits, making it ideal for complex systems.

  • express-slow-down:

    Express-slow-down allows you to configure both the rate limit and the delay for responses, giving you control over how to handle excessive requests while still allowing access to legitimate users.

  • express-limiter:

    Express-limiter offers basic configuration options, focusing on simplicity. It allows you to set a fixed number of requests per time window but lacks advanced features for customization.

  • express-brute:

    Express-brute allows extensive configuration options, enabling developers to define custom rate limits, group users, and choose different storage backends. This flexibility makes it suitable for complex applications with varying rate limiting needs.

Storage Options

  • express-rate-limit:

    Express-rate-limit uses in-memory storage by default but can be extended to use Redis or other storage solutions for persistence and scalability.

  • rate-limiter-flexible:

    Rate-limiter-flexible supports various storage options, including in-memory, Redis, and MongoDB, making it versatile for both single-instance and distributed applications.

  • express-slow-down:

    Express-slow-down also relies on in-memory storage, making it easy to implement but potentially limiting in distributed systems without additional configuration.

  • express-limiter:

    Express-limiter primarily uses in-memory storage, which is simple but may not be suitable for distributed applications where persistence is required.

  • express-brute:

    Express-brute supports multiple storage backends, including in-memory, Redis, and MongoDB, allowing for persistence and scalability in rate limiting across different environments.

Performance Impact

  • express-rate-limit:

    Express-rate-limit is designed to be lightweight and efficient, ensuring that it does not significantly impact application performance even under moderate load.

  • rate-limiter-flexible:

    Rate-limiter-flexible is optimized for performance and can handle high traffic loads efficiently, especially when using Redis or other fast storage solutions.

  • express-slow-down:

    Express-slow-down can introduce additional latency for users exceeding the rate limit, which can be beneficial for mitigating attacks but may affect user experience if not configured properly.

  • express-limiter:

    Express-limiter has minimal performance impact due to its simplicity, making it suitable for applications with light traffic.

  • express-brute:

    Express-brute can introduce some overhead due to its flexibility and storage options, but it is generally efficient for most applications. Performance may vary based on the chosen backend.

Use Case Suitability

  • express-rate-limit:

    Express-rate-limit is a good choice for most applications needing basic rate limiting based on IP addresses, making it versatile for various use cases.

  • rate-limiter-flexible:

    Rate-limiter-flexible is perfect for complex applications that require advanced rate limiting features and support for distributed systems, making it highly suitable for microservices architectures.

  • express-slow-down:

    Express-slow-down is particularly useful for applications that need to mitigate brute force attacks while still allowing legitimate users access, making it suitable for login endpoints.

  • express-limiter:

    Express-limiter is best suited for simple applications where basic rate limiting is sufficient, such as small APIs or websites with low traffic.

  • express-brute:

    Express-brute is ideal for applications requiring complex rate limiting logic, such as those with different user roles or varying limits based on user behavior.

Community and Support

  • express-rate-limit:

    Express-rate-limit has a large community and extensive documentation, making it easy to find support and examples for implementation.

  • rate-limiter-flexible:

    Rate-limiter-flexible has a growing community and is well-supported, with comprehensive documentation and examples available for various use cases.

  • express-slow-down:

    Express-slow-down has a moderate level of community support, with documentation available but fewer examples compared to more popular packages.

  • express-limiter:

    Express-limiter has a minimal community presence, which may limit available resources and examples for implementation.

  • express-brute:

    Express-brute has a smaller community compared to some other options, but it is well-documented and actively maintained, providing sufficient support for users.

How to Choose: express-rate-limit vs rate-limiter-flexible vs express-slow-down vs express-limiter vs express-brute
  • express-rate-limit:

    Opt for express-rate-limit if you need a simple yet effective middleware that provides basic rate limiting functionality with minimal setup. It is widely used and well-documented, making it a good choice for most applications needing basic rate limiting based on IP addresses.

  • rate-limiter-flexible:

    Choose rate-limiter-flexible for advanced rate limiting features, including support for multiple strategies (like sliding window) and the ability to handle distributed systems. It is highly configurable and suitable for applications that require more sophisticated rate limiting mechanisms.

  • express-slow-down:

    Use express-slow-down when you want to not only limit requests but also slow down responses for clients that exceed the rate limit. This can be particularly useful for mitigating brute force attacks while still allowing legitimate users to access your application without being completely blocked.

  • express-limiter:

    Select express-limiter for a straightforward and minimalistic approach to rate limiting. It is easy to set up and works well for simple use cases where you want to limit requests based on IP addresses without complex configurations or additional dependencies.

  • express-brute:

    Choose express-brute if you need a flexible and customizable rate limiting solution that can handle various backends for storing rate limit data, such as memory, Redis, or MongoDB. It allows for complex configurations, including grouping users and applying different limits based on user roles.

README for express-rate-limit

express-rate-limit

tests npm version npm downloads license

Basic rate-limiting middleware for Express. Use to limit repeated requests to public APIs and/or endpoints such as password reset. Plays nice with express-slow-down and ratelimit-header-parser.

Usage

The full documentation is available on-line.

import { rateLimit } from 'express-rate-limit'

const limiter = rateLimit({
	windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
	limit: 100, // Limit each IP to 100 requests per `window` (here, per 15 minutes).
	standardHeaders: 'draft-8', // draft-6: `RateLimit-*` headers; draft-7 & draft-8: combined `RateLimit` header
	legacyHeaders: false, // Disable the `X-RateLimit-*` headers.
	// store: ... , // Redis, Memcached, etc. See below.
})

// Apply the rate limiting middleware to all requests.
app.use(limiter)

Data Stores

The rate limiter comes with a built-in memory store, and supports a variety of external data stores.

Configuration

All function options may be async. Click the name for additional info and default values.

| Option | Type | Remarks | | -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | windowMs | number | How long to remember requests for, in milliseconds. | | limit | number | function | How many requests to allow. | | message | string | json | function | Response to return after limit is reached. | | statusCode | number | HTTP status code after limit is reached (default is 429). | | handler | function | Function to run after limit is reached (overrides message and statusCode settings, if set). | | legacyHeaders | boolean | Enable the X-Rate-Limit header. | | standardHeaders | 'draft-6' | 'draft-7' | 'draft-8' | Enable the Ratelimit header. | | identifier | string | function | Name associated with the quota policy enforced by this rate limiter. | | store | Store | Use a custom store to share hit counts across multiple nodes. | | passOnStoreError | boolean | Allow (true) or block (false, default) traffic if the store becomes unavailable. | | keyGenerator | function | Identify users (defaults to IP address). | | requestPropertyName | string | Add rate limit info to the req object. | | skip | function | Return true to bypass the limiter for the given request. | | skipSuccessfulRequests | boolean | Uncount 1xx/2xx/3xx responses. | | skipFailedRequests | boolean | Uncount 4xx/5xx responses. | | requestWasSuccessful | function | Used by skipSuccessfulRequests and skipFailedRequests. | | validate | boolean | object | Enable or disable built-in validation checks. |

Thank You

Sponsored by Zuplo a fully-managed API Gateway for developers. Add dynamic rate-limiting, authentication and more to any API in minutes. Learn more at zuplo.com

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Thanks to Mintlify for hosting the documentation at express-rate-limit.mintlify.app

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Finally, thank you to everyone who's contributed to this project in any way! 🫶

Issues and Contributing

If you encounter a bug or want to see something added/changed, please go ahead and open an issue! If you need help with something, feel free to start a discussion!

If you wish to contribute to the library, thanks! First, please read the contributing guide. Then you can pick up any issue and fix/implement it!

License

MIT © Nathan Friedly, Vedant K