Monolith vs Separate Backend: Lessons from Two Personal Projects

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A developer built two personal projects solving similar problems — classroom and student management — but using contrasting architectures. ProfessorOS uses Next.js as a unified application, with frontend, API routes, and database access all running in the same process. LeanPulse, by contrast, separates a NestJS backend from a Next.js frontend, requiring independent deployments and additional configuration for CORS and environment variables. The key takeaway is that a monolithic setup delivers faster value for solo, single-purpose projects, while a standalone backend is worth the overhead if multiple frontends or collaborators may need the same business logic. The developer notes the architectural trade-offs only became clear in hindsight, after comparing both completed projects side by side.

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