---
title: Sinatra Reviews
meta_title: 'Sinatra Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2'
meta_description: Filter 21 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to
  find out how Sinatra works for a business like yours.
aggregate_rating:
  rating_value: 4.3
  review_count: 21
  scale: '5'
date_modified: '2026-07-12'
parent_category:
  name: Web Frameworks
  url: https://www.g2.com/categories/web-frameworks
---

# Sinatra Reviews
**Vendor:** Open Source Initiative (OSI)  
**Category:** [Other Web Frameworks Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/other-web-frameworks)  
**Average Rating:** 4.3/5.0  
**Total Reviews:** 21
## About Sinatra
Sinatra is a DSL for quickly creating web applications in Ruby with minimal effort:




## Sinatra Reviews
  ### 1. A simple frameworks but very complete and strong.

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Jody Lians B. | Assistant Manager, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 23, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

When I need to create a web application without any complications, Sinatra helped me and it was very nice to work with this software, its installation is not complicated, the barriers to learn it to use are simple in difference with other frameworks, and something that stands out this software and what I like is its emphasis for creating applications without making a minimum effort, it integrates with the user in a spectacular way.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Try to implement synatra in a large project to create multiple applications, and it usually falls or hangs up, so it's not very good when it comes to quite broad projects.

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

It is an excellent product and if you are going to focus on making quick and light applications I recommend this product, it should be noted that it is a product for small things, as I mentioned, it is spectacular for designing small web applications and collaborates in the creation of libraries for API.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I greatly improve the way to create small libraries for API, and I collaborate with improving the capacity of some colleagues to create routes and feel comfortable in a smaller environment.

  ### 2. An Excellent Framework That Adds Dramatically to Ruby

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Markus J. | Senior Android Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 22, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra makes ruby dramatically more useful with its incredibly easy post and get extensions as well as the simple inclusion and transmission of parameters. Traditional Ruby on Rails (ROR) meant that our team had to do a lot of running around to get our in-house restful-js api to post to our payment server. What's most notable about Sinatra is just how easy it is to setup. While our previous payment api took almost a year to develop and pass quality control testing, Sinatra was completed in roughly 5 months, which was a dramatic but very welcome change from our previous implementation. 

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Quite simply (as you can tell by the name), the framework can be a bit cheesy at times, making several references to Frank Sinatra before, during, and after compilation. However, this is dramatically outweighed by the functiontionality of the contract. 

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

Naturally, since the framework is from a third party there is not a significant amount of support, so you will be in the dark. However, there are frequent updates.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Primarily, we were looking for a better framework to build our ROR (Ruby on Rails) payment servers on that offered more expandability and functionality than our in house api. As a result, we have seen significantly faster turn around times from the development team, in addition to a more efficient payment server (both in terms of post speed in addition to data requirements and cost).

  ### 3. Looking for simple? Sinatra it is

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Internet | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** February 02, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

No magic, no unicorns, just simply create your simple paths and get your web app or simple API done.
If what you are looking for is a simple, yet elegant solution, but Rails is way too much, then Sinatra is for you.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Remember, it is for simple web services or web pages, but if you are scaling your Sinatra app for running daemons, many asynchronous jobs, complex UI, etc. Then, Sinatra might not be a good fit.
It was made for simple API services with none-complex database operations, anything bigger than that might require specialized software.

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

Do not go with the first Blockchain, complex MVC-based, RX-based or any other crazy architecture when what you are trying to solve is a simple problem, simple problems require simple solutions.

Sinatra is easy and powerful enough to get your quick API shipped with no harm.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Simple APIs have been made with Sinatra like a charm, no need for a complex Ruby on Rails application for a simple web service, developers just love it.

  ### 4. A Great lightweight MVC framework for Ruby projects

**Rating:** 3.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Real Estate | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is a smaller Ruby Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework for Ruby projects.  I have used Sinatra for smaller web based projects that I need to bootstrap quickly to get an iearly application running.  Sinatra is very easy to get going and make things work and it has a few nice built in tools like a Router to help the developer get the project up and running quicker.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

I guess the only thing I dislike about Sinatra is that in a way it is a limited toolset framework, which I believe is by design though.  If I need more of a toolset, I will use Ruby on Rails but RoR called be too heavy for smaller projects, overkill.  Sinatra to Rails is like Lumen to Laravel in PHP.

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

Try it out, you will see quickly how easy it is to get a simple project going.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I mainly use Sinatra with embedded projects mostly on Raspberry Pi devices.  For example, one Sinatra app I have built is a customer welcome screen that is a simple app that checks a report online every day and adds the persons name to the TV in our office if they have an appointment on the day.  If not, it defaults to a standard message.  

  ### 5. Amazing Web application

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Raymond John I. | SDR, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is an extraordinary structure for the individuals who definitely realize Rails yet need to complete a basic API or single page application. 

It goes directly to the point of what you need to do. It is likewise easy to utilize and very easy to use. It is additionally very reasonable. 

Sinatra is generally genuinely clear disclosing to you what's up and in which point, which is unquestionably not basic to advanced stages.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

I have no Problem with it, incredible Application

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

Recommended to try and grab this application. Great help!

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I'm moderately effectively making a web application, Startup web tool

  ### 6. Open & domain specific language written in Ruby!

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Rutik S. | Inside Sales cum Client Engagement, Professional Training & Coaching, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is a DSL for quickly creating web-applications in Ruby with minimal effort. It’s small and flexible in nature. The web application framework is very easy to use, and it’s quite user friendly. The best thing about this is that it does not follow the typical model-view-controller pattern used in other frameworks. 

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

The Routes are matched in the order they’re defined and not otherwise. This is troublesome, and the work gets delayed. Gem install thin is always required to run Sinatra. 

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Quickly creating web applications in Ruby with minimal effort. Rack middleware and error handling is marginally lesser. 

  ### 7. When working within the Ruby interface, my experience was good...

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Todd  R. | Customer Support Specialist, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is an outstanding decision when you want something as packed with features like Rack, but lightweight like Rails.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Outside of basic Ruby libraries, there is a dearth of libraries stacked atop Sinatra; so I wish this was more popular in that regard--that would mean a larger community with a lot more libraries.


**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

Definitely get Sinatra when you need a lightweight web scaffolding for Ruby.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

For application used in-house, we used Sinatra which handled the layouts, dashboard, and reports. Lightweight and user friendly, even amateurs can work with Sinatra.

  ### 8. easy to use

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 23, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

the routing is easy to use. the erb templates are useful to use with sinatra that connects the backend with the frontend.  

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

The documentation isn't very good.  there aren't any examples just example functions if they could show example code that would be better.  They should adopt a refresh system without having to restart sinatra after every change in code.  

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

works well with ruby.  It's easy to develop web applications.  Currently making a task app with sinatra.  Installing is super easy as well just gem install sinatra.  

  ### 9. Perfect for fast prototyping

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Tom H. | Web Developer, Computer Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 19, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

agile and lean, not much baggage, very light assembly

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

limiting because it's so lean but that's kind of the point so...

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

It's great for small things, not big things

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Quickly prototyping ideas and getting them into the wild to prove fit

  ### 10. Rails gets all the love but Sinatra is a fine alternative for smaller scale Ruby projects

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Food & Beverages | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

I like that Sinatra is a fairly straightforward platform with low overhead, thoughtfully put together and extremely user-friendly, even by Ruby standards.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Projects built with Sinatra don't necessarily scale as well as they would on Rails, and of course Rails offers a much more robust feature set.

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

Think long-term when deciding whether to use Sinatra.  It's not the right tool if what you're building is expected to grow multiple orders of magnitude eventually.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

We use Sinatra when we want to spin up a handy, fairly specific internal business tool quickly and efficiently.  It can also be helpful for prototyping web apps that will eventually become much larger undertakings.

  ### 11. Lightweight framework for ruby

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Ray J. | Financial Manager, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 22, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

As a financial manager, I build dashboards. Sinatra is a ruby framework that lets me build dashboards on a lightweight platform.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is older now and something that often would run on monolith infrastructure

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

The business problems I'm solving with sinatra is the capability to build dashboard visualizations with speed that I wouldn't be able to if I used some other application.

  ### 12. If simplicity is what your looking for Sinatra is your software!

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 22, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is a straight and to the point software that is hightly user friendly. It may not have alot of the extras that other softwares like Rails has, but it can be combined with other softwares if your working with something more complex.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

If you have more complex tasks to perform this software requires additional supplementation which can become combersome.  It was definitely intended for simple API services. 

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

If your looking for simplicity this is your hest choice

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

It has solved the issue of creating web applications from ruby programs in a fast and effective format.

  ### 13. Good and simply app

**Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Hamshika K. | Software engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

I had use Sinatra for creating some web application also Sinatra is simply super

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is not suitable for big projects. only for small things.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Anyone want to small library to build API, Sinatra is the best option

  ### 14. Sinatra is a great way to start a backend Ruby. Much easier to use than Rails!

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in E-Learning | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 21, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

It has a very easy to use API that is flexible and can handle even very complex interactions.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

It is a Ruby framework. Therefore, you have to have a VPS or your own server to run it.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I've used it in stead of a standard CMS like WordPress. It gave my CMS much more flexibility and ease of maintanance.

  ### 15. Simple and Powerful

**Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Hardware | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 22, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Simple and powerful for beginners and even the most experienced who want to build out a ruby app.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Program can be a little choppy but overall is great.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

startup web applications

  ### 16. Sinatra

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Education Management | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 20, 2019

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Backend flow is seamless, user integration is top notch.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Program can be a bit jumpy but overall is great to use

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Startup web applications

  ### 17. Lightweight framework for buildling ruby apps

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Verified User in Internet | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** October 13, 2017

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra doesn't have high barriers of entry for both beginners and those more experienced who want to build out a ruby app without requiring all the additional extras included in bigger frameworks like Rails.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

It is what it is - which is pretty basic and no frills. If you go into using that with that in mind there won't be surprises when you can't extend it out. 

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Great for beginners to play around with smaller apps and enhance their ability to create routes and get comfortable in a smaller environment. 

  ### 18. A enjoyable experience working with the lightweight Ruby web framework.

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** James G. | Lead Software Engineer, Internet, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** November 28, 2016

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

If you need something that is lighter than Rails but more full-featured than Rack, Sinatra is a excellent choice.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

I dislike the lack of community adoption - there aren't a lot of libraries and whatnot built on-top of Sinatra beyond normal Ruby libraries.

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

If you're looking for a lightweight web framework for Ruby, use Sinatra.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

We use Sinatra for a little in-house application that handles reports and dashboards. Sinatra is light and easy to work with, and I've had inexperienced people do work on it as well.

  ### 19. A nice framework for API's

**Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Willian M. | Senior Software Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** March 19, 2016

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is a great framework for those who already know Rails but want to do a simple API or single page application.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

The lack of useful methods that Rails provides. But I think it's by design. If you want to use something more just use Rails or install parts of it like active support.

**Recommendations to others considering Sinatra:**

In case you're looking for a small library to build API's you're on the right path. 

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I designed an internal API, my goal was to deliver a Proof of Concept to my director in order to work full time on the project. Sinatra helped me to do it really quickly and after that I got the time to work on my project (and it is still running Sinatra!).

  ### 20. Good and fairly friendly

**Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Alessandra V. | User Experience (UX) International Researcher  , Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** June 06, 2016

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

I use it with Ruby, and creating a web app is relatively easy once you know how to structure the app itself.
Should  you encounter any errors, Sinatra is usually fairly clear telling you what's wrong and in which point, which is definitely  not common to development platforms.


**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

Initially it can be puzzling to remember how to structure the app, and what goes where...

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

I'm relatively easily creating web apps starting from Ruby programs

  ### 21. A simple but powerful web application core

**Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars

**Reviewed by:** Daniel D. | Full stack web developer / digital product technologist, Design, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

**Reviewed Date:** April 30, 2016

**What do you like best about Sinatra?**

Sinatra is very simple to get started with using even script style Ruby and a variety of template renderer plugins, but can easily grow with your requirements combined with Rack middleware and any Rack webserver.

**What do you dislike about Sinatra?**

The DSL isn't particularly well suited for defining API routes, however this can be solved by combining Sinatra with Grape or defining custom helpers.

**What problems is Sinatra solving and how is that benefiting you?**

Sinatra's main offering is giving you a powerful URL building / matching interface, so that you can start serving up whatever you need, be it an API or a web application.



- [View Sinatra pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/sinatra/reviews?page=1&section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-07-22+02%3A37%3A49+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=555ccc1b-4094-4f3e-aaed-bcec72c76cd7&secure%5Btoken%5D=4ee8ec0076a718d9b6ca473cb5c8a8d8835d8eb611cc94f8fb38536f89508f2f&format=llm_user)


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