Careeroza
SPA vs MPA Comparison
Comparison Table
| SPA | MPA | |
|---|---|---|
| Page loads | one HTML page, content swapped by JS | new HTML page per navigation |
| Speed after first load | very fast, no reloads | slower, full reload each time |
| First load | can be slower (big JS bundle) | fast, server sends ready HTML |
| SEO | harder without SSR | easy, HTML is ready |
| Server work | mostly a JSON API | renders every page |
| Typical tools | React, Angular, Vue | PHP, Django, Rails, JSP |
| Best for | dashboards, apps, logged-in tools | content sites, blogs, simple stores |
Best of Both: SSR
Frameworks such as Next.js (React) render the first page on the server (good SEO, fast first paint) and then behave like an SPA in the browser. This is called server-side rendering + hydration.
Tip: Interview answer: "An SPA loads once and updates the page with JavaScript; an MPA reloads a full page from the server on every navigation."