# Express vs Koa: source lines of code compared

The Express vs Koa comparison on OctoCounts shows side-by-side source line counts for expressjs/express and koajs/koa, counted with the same engine and analysis options on the dates shown in the methodology line: files, total lines, code lines, comment lines, blank lines, and per-language totals, pinned to the exact commits listed below.

As of 2026-09-16, expressjs/express contains 9,402 total lines (2,619 code) across 70 files, while koajs/koa contains 8,556 total lines (6,432 code) across 14 files as of 2026-09-16. koajs/koa is about 2.5x the size of expressjs/express by code lines. Code size is not code quality: a larger count only means more source material, not a better or worse project.

| Metric | [expressjs/express](https://octocounts.com/github/expressjs/express) | [koajs/koa](https://octocounts.com/github/koajs/koa) |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Files | 70 | 14 |
| Total lines | 9,402 | 8,556 |
| Code lines | 2,619 | 6,432 |
| Comment lines | 5,223 | 1,586 |
| Blank lines | 1,560 | 538 |
| Languages counted | 7 | 3 |

Top languages in expressjs/express: JavaScript (90.5% of code), JSON (3.8% of code), Handlebars (2.7% of code). Top languages in koajs/koa: JSON (83.4% of code), JavaScript (16.6% of code), Markdown (0.0% of code). JavaScript, JSON appear in both top language lists; Handlebars, CSS, HTML appear only in expressjs/express's top languages; Markdown appears only in koajs/koa's top languages.

Methodology: both counts come from cached OctoCounts reports generated with tokei. expressjs/express was counted at ref 9a34acf03cb818ff3f8bc40e44176e277a25cbb9 (commit 9a34acf03cb8) on 2026-09-16; koajs/koa was counted at ref c3c14b6979d313b567afa78f591b1dfe47a85eb0 (commit c3c14b6979d3) on 2026-09-16. See the [counting methodology](https://octocounts.com/docs/methodology) for ignored directories and analysis options.
## About this comparison

expressjs/express counts the Express repository: the Node.js web framework — its router, middleware layer, tests, and examples. koajs/koa counts the Koa repository: the Node.js web framework built around async middleware composition, with its own tests and docs. Both are JavaScript framework source trees in the same ecosystem, counted with the same engine on the dates above.

Both counted archives are overwhelmingly JavaScript in the per-language table, so the totals differ because of how much code each framework maintains — core, tests, examples — rather than because of any language-mix asymmetry.

Each repository is a framework core rather than a complete application stack: routing and middleware composition live here, while templating, databases, and most real-world functionality are external packages not counted on either side.

_A smaller or larger framework core does not translate into fewer or more dependencies in a real application: production stacks add middleware and libraries on top of either framework, and these counts say nothing about request-handling performance._

Sources: [expressjs/express repository (Node.js web framework)](https://github.com/expressjs/express) · [koajs/koa repository (async middleware web framework)](https://github.com/koajs/koa). Statements verified 2026-09-16.

Evidence and next steps:

- [expressjs/express SLOC report](https://octocounts.com/github/expressjs/express)
- [koajs/koa SLOC report](https://octocounts.com/github/koajs/koa)
- [Compare expressjs/express and koajs/koa interactively](https://octocounts.com/compare?left=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fexpressjs%2Fexpress&right=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fkoajs%2Fkoa)

Note: code size is not code quality. OctoCounts only reports reproducible line counts and makes no claim that either project is better.

## Compare FAQ

### Which has more lines of code, expressjs/express or koajs/koa?

koajs/koa has more code: 6,432 code lines versus 2,619 for expressjs/express, about 2.5x as much, based on cached OctoCounts reports as of 2026-09-16.

### Does more source lines of code mean more complexity?

Not necessarily. SLOC measures size, not complexity, quality, or maintainability. A larger codebase can mean more features, more generated or vendored code, more verbose language idioms, or more tests — none of which imply the code is harder to work with. Use SLOC to gauge the scale of what you'd be reading or maintaining, not as a quality signal for expressjs/express, koajs/koa, or any repository.

### How is this comparison calculated?

Methodology: both counts come from cached OctoCounts reports generated with tokei. expressjs/express was counted at ref 9a34acf03cb818ff3f8bc40e44176e277a25cbb9 (commit 9a34acf03cb8) on 2026-09-16; koajs/koa was counted at ref c3c14b6979d313b567afa78f591b1dfe47a85eb0 (commit c3c14b6979d3) on 2026-09-16. See the counting methodology for ignored directories and analysis options.

### Can I compare a different branch, tag, or commit?

Yes. This page shows the default branch for each repository. Use the interactive comparison tool to pick any public GitHub repository, branch, tag, or commit SHA for both sides and get a fresh side-by-side report.

## Related OctoCounts pages

- [Interactive repository comparison](https://octocounts.com/compare)
- [Recently analyzed repositories](https://octocounts.com/recent)
- [Popular SLOC reports](https://octocounts.com/popular)
- [Trending GitHub repositories](https://octocounts.com/trending)
- [Hall of Monoliths](https://octocounts.com/hall-of-monoliths)
- [Original research: how filtering changes SLOC counts](https://octocounts.com/research)
- [GitHub SLOC counter guide](https://octocounts.com/docs/github-sloc-counter)
- [Counting methodology](https://octocounts.com/docs/methodology)
- [SLOC and code metrics glossary](https://octocounts.com/docs/glossary)
- [OctoCounts API docs](https://octocounts.com/docs/api)