Yup left my java enterprise job to switch back to ruby on rails
Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
31–40 of 182 posts
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#32It depends on the problem the startup is aiming to solve. E.g, I am pretty sure that Go is much better for building infrastructure products than Ruby.
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#33I’ve worked on several projects this past year, some with newer frameworks, others with no-code solutions like Bubble and I keep coming back to Rails. It strikes that perfect balance between speed and clarity, and so many of the features we’d otherwise code from scratch like admin panels, authentication, queuing, mailing are already there for you to pick.
When you’re building and iterating quickly, Rails save you from manually wiring up all the plumbing. You get enough convention to move fast, but with the flexibility to make your own decisions when necessary.
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#34It's a no brainer for me. I prioritize my happiness above all else right now and Ruby with Rails is just joy.
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#35People often say Rails is great for startups—perfect for prototyping and moving fast. That’s true, but for me, the real joy comes in maintaining Rails apps. Jumping into the production console, debugging issues, tweaking code on the fly—it’s so satisfying. Yes, it’s risky and you must know what you’re doing. But when done right, support is lightning fast.
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#36Once I found Ruby on Rails, I've never looked back. Simply put, no other framework I've worked with (in the Python and JS ecosystems, where I started out years ago), would come close in terms of speed - measured in the number of features as I can ship with Rails. It's just that good, and Ruby is an absolute joy to write.
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#37Yes, I would. In fact, I'd use any boring technology [0]. Anything that's been around and battle tested. If I was at a startup trying to solve a business problem, the last thing I'd want to do is bruise my knuckles fighting with my tools. Rails provides an opinionated way to structure your codebase as well as many existing modules that just work. It's not exclusive in this space, but it's a safe bet. You can get any…
Is it boring technology? I'm actually reluctant to pick up Rails because it had always been sold by the Basecamp cult and Jason Fried gives off Musk vibes. Many opinionated frameworks are also less reliable because of the layers of abstraction, so I'd also associate opinionated framework = sexy and temporary. I've never actually used Rails in production, just did some tutorial, so I'm probably wrong about this.
The worst part about Rails is the 37signals people, in particular DHH.
But the good news is that you can just ignore them and enjoy the framework, like I do.
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#38I’ve built my career on Rails. I first got paid to write Rails code in 2008, then came back to it in 2015 and have worked in it almost nonstop since then.
It’s a wonderful technology, and it’s still as fresh and relevant as it was when I started. I plan on continuing to use it for the next decade.
My only recommendation is to never listen to a word that DHH says. If you don’t know who I mean by “DHH”, that’s all the better.
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#39Most definitely, it is the fastest path to an MVP for a proof of concept.
Re: Ask HN: Would you still choose Ruby on Rails for a startup in 2025?
#40Yes, I would. In fact, I'd use any boring technology [0]. Anything that's been around and battle tested. If I was at a startup trying to solve a business problem, the last thing I'd want to do is bruise my knuckles fighting with my tools. Rails provides an opinionated way to structure your codebase as well as many existing modules that just work. It's not exclusive in this space, but it's a safe bet. You can get any…
Is it boring technology? I'm actually reluctant to pick up Rails because it had always been sold by the Basecamp cult and Jason Fried gives off Musk vibes. Many opinionated frameworks are also less reliable because of the layers of abstraction, so I'd also associate opinionated framework = sexy and temporary. I've never actually used Rails in production, just did some tutorial, so I'm probably wrong about this.
I listened to the latest Rails keynote, I never have before. I don't recall the exact details but it was a bit of a weird vibe for me.
> Many opinionated frameworks are also less reliable because of the layers of abstraction, so I'd also associate opinionated framework = sexy and temporary.
That's one of the persistent knocks against rails -- the layers of abstraction. I think that's fair, but it's a tradeoff. You either go along with it because it's advantageous or don't. Once you get familiar with the concepts and the theory of it the framework does what you expect, not a lot of surprises.
I'll push back on "temporary" though. It's been around for 20 years. It's old, so by definition it's not sexy.
Personally, I've built a number of apps in Rails that are still in production so it's a solid choice.