# Ktor vs Ruby on Rails

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Ruby on Rails

| Attribute | Ktor | Ruby on Rails |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 57.8 (68% (medium)) | 71.8 (51% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 98 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 484 | 1,358,186 |
| adoption.github_stars | 14,542 | 58,803 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Ktor is an open-source framework for creating asynchronous server and client applications, from microservices to HTTP clients. Built on Kotlin and coroutines, it emphasizes simplicity, lightweight design, and extensibility. It is indexed under Web Frameworks.","source":"https://ktor.io/","question":"What is Ktor?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Ktor is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://ktor.io/","question":"Is Ktor free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Ktor is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor","question":"Is Ktor open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"A complete web application framework for Ruby that provides integrated tools, libraries, and conventions for building database-backed web applications across the full stack—from database models to frontend templates and controllers. It is indexed under Web Frameworks.","source":"https://rubyonrails.org","question":"What is Ruby on Rails?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Ruby on Rails is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://rubyonrails.org","question":"Is Ruby on Rails free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Ruby on Rails supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://rubyonrails.org","question":"What platforms does Ruby on Rails support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Ruby on Rails can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://rubyonrails.org","question":"Can Ruby on Rails be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Ruby on Rails is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/rails/rails","question":"Is Ruby on Rails open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A Kotlin framework that uses asynchronous I/O and coroutines to build server-side, client-side, and microservice applications. | A full-stack framework for building web applications with integrated database modeling, templating, email handling, real-time WebSocket support, background job processing, and security features. |
| features.capabilities | `{"language":"Kotlin","api_routes":true,"hot_reload":true,"typescript_first":false}` | `{"language":"Ruby","rendering":"ssr","api_routes":true,"file_routing":true,"license_type":"MIT/BSD","orm_included":true,"cli_scaffolding":true,"language_runtime":"Ruby","typescript_first":false,"websocket_support":true,"architecture_style":"full-stack-mvc","templating_included":true,"background_jobs_included":true}` |
| language.primary | Kotlin | Ruby |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://ktor.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T23:07:06.179Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://rubyonrails.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-16T21:36:16.955Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 27 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.6.0","date":"2026-09-18T09:58:55Z","type":"stable","version":"3.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.5.2","date":"2026-08-04T12:08:07Z","type":"stable","version":"3.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.5.1","date":"2026-06-29T08:05:31Z","type":"stable","version":"3.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.5.0","date":"2026-05-18T06:57:48Z","type":"stable","version":"3.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.4.3","date":"2026-04-23T11:20:32Z","type":"stable","version":"3.4.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.4.2","date":"2026-03-30T13:37:19Z","type":"stable","version":"3.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.4.1","date":"2026-03-04T14:20:52Z","type":"stable","version":"3.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.4.0","date":"2026-01-23T08:55:39Z","type":"stable","version":"3.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.3.3","date":"2025-11-27T12:13:53Z","type":"stable","version":"3.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.3.2","date":"2025-11-05T14:08:06Z","type":"stable","version":"3.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.3.1","date":"2025-10-10T06:19:56Z","type":"stable","version":"3.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.3.0","date":"2025-09-12T11:59:39Z","type":"stable","version":"3.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.2.3","date":"2025-07-29T14:18:09Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.2.2","date":"2025-07-14T11:45:21Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.2.1","date":"2025-07-04T08:57:57Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.2.0","date":"2025-06-13T12:19:28Z","type":"stable","version":"3.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.1.3","date":"2025-05-06T11:52:28Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.1.2","date":"2025-03-28T09:27:52Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.1.1","date":"2025-02-25T11:49:42Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/ktorio/ktor/releases/tag/3.1.0","date":"2025-02-12T11:44:49Z","type":"stable","version":"3.1.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.4","date":"2026-09-24T14:19:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.1.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.2.4","date":"2026-09-24T16:28:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.2.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.3.1","date":"2026-07-29T14:59:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.1.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.0.5.1","date":"2026-07-29T15:08:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.0.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.2.3.2","date":"2026-07-29T15:05:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.2.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.3","date":"2026-03-24T20:26:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.1.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.0.5","date":"2026-03-24T20:19:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.2.1","date":"2026-03-23T19:42:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.1.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.0.4.1","date":"2026-03-23T19:38:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.0.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.2.3.1","date":"2026-03-23T19:32:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.2.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.2","date":"2026-01-08T20:17:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.1","date":"2025-10-28T23:46:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.0.4","date":"2025-10-28T23:43:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.2.3","date":"2025-10-28T23:24:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.2.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.1.6","date":"2025-10-28T23:19:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.1.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.0.10","date":"2025-10-28T23:12:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.0.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v7.0.9","date":"2025-10-28T23:02:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.0.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.0","date":"2025-10-22T00:35:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.1.0.rc1","date":"2025-10-15T00:50:43Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v8.1.0.rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rails/rails/releases/tag/v8.0.3","date":"2025-09-22T22:19:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v8.0.3"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 4.5 | 6.4 |
| security.trust_center | - | https://rubyonrails.org/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":1,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=io.ktor%3Aktor-client-core-jvm&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"MODERATE"}` | `{"count":18,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=rubygems&package_name=activesupport&per_page=100","last_12m":3,"max_severity":"CRITICAL"}` |

## Capabilities (Web Frameworks)

| Capability | Ktor | Ruby on Rails |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Rendering model | - | Server-side |
| File-based routing | - | ✓ |
| Language | Kotlin | Ruby |
| **Rendering** |  |  |
| Server components | - | - |
| Streaming SSR | - | - |
| **Fullstack** |  |  |
| Built-in API / backend routes | ✓ | ✓ |
| **DX** |  |  |
| First-class TypeScript | ✗ | ✗ |
| Fast refresh / HMR | ✓ | - |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Edge runtime support | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:10:21.703Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*