Rust in Production: Framework Survey 2024

Rust in Production: Which Frameworks Do Developers Choose?

The Rust community continues to grow actively, and this language is increasingly chosen not for experiments, but for serious production projects. To understand which tools are truly in demand in real-world conditions, the JetBrains team, together with the Rust Foundation, conducted a large-scale survey among developers. The results turned out to be quite revealing.

Over 9,000 developers from around the world participated in the survey. Participants were asked which web frameworks they use in production and which only in pet projects. Let's break down the key findings.

Market Leaders: Actix and Axum

The undisputed leader in production use is Actix Web. Despite its turbulent history (including the departure and return of its creator), the framework demonstrates stability and high performance. It was chosen by 29% of respondents working with Rust in real projects.

In second place is Axum (24%), a modern framework from the Tokio team. It is rapidly gaining popularity due to its tight integration with the Tokio ecosystem and convenient modular architecture. Many developers note that Axum is easier to learn and less prone to breaking API changes.

• Actix Web — 29% production usage
• Axum — 24%
• Rocket — 15%
• Warp — 12%
• Tide — 5%
• Poem — 3%
• Others — 12%

Rocket and Warp: Proven Classics

Rocket (15%) and Warp (12%) continue to hold their positions. Rocket is valued for its convenient macros and strong typing, while Warp is appreciated for its composability and functional approach. However, both frameworks lag behind the leaders in terms of the speed of developing new features and adapting to modern async standards.

Why Is Rust Chosen for Production?

The survey also revealed the main reasons why companies are switching to Rust:

• Memory safety — the absence of an entire class of vulnerabilities (use-after-free, buffer overflow).
• Performance — Rust often outperforms C++ in benchmarks with lower resource consumption.
• Reliability — the strict compiler and ownership system eliminate entire categories of bugs.
• Growing community — more libraries, tools, and documentation are emerging.

What's Next?

The trend is clear: Rust is firmly establishing itself in web development. Axum and Actix will compete for leadership, while Rocket and Warp will likely either evolve or give way to more modern solutions. If you're just starting to learn Rust for backend development, take a closer look at Axum — it's on the rise and actively developing.

On PythonLib, we will continue to follow news from the Rust world and share practical guides on setting up frameworks. And which framework do you use? Share in the comments!

Source: JetBrains and Rust Foundation survey, 2024.