Choosing the right framework is one of the most important decisions you'll make when starting a FiveM roleplay server. Your framework affects everything from script compatibility to performance, community support, and future development possibilities.
In this brief guide, we'll compare the three most popular FiveM frameworks: ESX, QBCore, and Qbox to help you make an informed decision.
But before we begin..
The conclusions and opinions on each framework found below is our opinion only - always perform your own due diligence and come to your own conclusions. The information in this article is meant to be easily digestable for everyone and is not a deep dive into the technical details of each framework.
Most Used Framework
It is only natural to start the framework comparison by usage.
- The most used framework in FiveM is ESX as of September 13th, 2025 according to 5Metrics.
- The second most used framework is QBCore by the same metrics.
- Finally, we have Qbox trailing both in third by the same metrics.
As a result, ESX is the #1 most used framework in FiveM. However, it would be remiss to not mention that Qbox is the newest of the three and has had far less time on the market to establish a significant presence.
Best Performing Framework
We measured server CPU utilization for each framework in their default state - no modifications, no additional resources, and no players connected. Using FiveM's built-in profiler over 60-second intervals, we recorded the percentage of server processing power each framework consumes while idle.
- ESX recorded a CPU utilization rate of 0.27%
- QBCore recorded a CPU utilization rate of 0.47%
- Qbox recorded a CPU utilization rate of 0.36%
Lower percentages indicate better performance and less server resource consumption.
As a result, ESX is the best performing framework in FiveM using 25% less CPU than Qbox and 43% less than QBCore, with Qbox ranking second and QBCore third.
Most Complete Framework
While usage and performance are measurable, "completeness" is more subjective - but some frameworks definitely ship with more built-in functionality. We'll examine which framework gives you the most features without needing additional scripts.
With ESX the lack of modern & core systems for a FiveM server are immediately noticable. While it contains the basics such as housing, jobs & more it lacks in areas such as having no modern inventory system, no dedicated interaction system such as a target, no vehicle fuel & key systems, no phone system, no weather management and more.
QBCore contains all the basics ESX does while also providing additional functionality that ESX is missing, it includes: a modern inventory system, a dedicated target resource, vehicle fuel & key systems, a weather management system, an admin menu, a complete phone, criminal activities & more.
Finally, Qbox boasts nearly the same completeness as QBCore but with better & more high-quality external dependencies. It ships by default utilizing some of the most powerful and feature rich resources such as ox_inventory. It also combines other resources such as ox_fuel for vehicle fuel management, Renewed Weathersync for weather management, NPWD for their phone & much more.
As a result, we find Qbox is the most complete FiveM framework out of the box.
Framework Strengths & Weaknesses
Every framework has its pros and cons. Based on our analysis of usage statistics, performance testing, and feature completeness, here's a balanced, brief & quick-fire overview of what each framework excels at and where it falls short. These insights come from real-world experience supporting thousands of FiveM servers and observing common pain points in each ecosystem.
ESX
- ✅ Most used framework overall
- ✅ Large third-party resource support
- ✅ Best performance out of the box
- ❌ Instability in leadership
- ❌ Feels dated overall
- ❌ Lacks a modern inventory system
- ❌ Least complete out of the box
QBCore
- ✅ Widely used framework overall
- ✅ Large third-party resource support
- ✅ Most complete out of the box
- ❌ Mixed community sentiment
- ❌ Lack of standard version control
- ❌ Worst performance out of the box
Qbox
- ✅ Rapidly growing market share
- ✅ Looks & feels more modern
- ✅ Backwards compatibility with QBCore resources
- ✅ High-quality external dependencies
- ❌ Less (native) third-party resource support
- ❌ Lack of custom inventory support
- ❌ Is a fork of QBCore
Finally, what is the best framework?
If we were starting a FiveM server today we would be starting with Qbox as our foundation.
While ESX is a great option and was our previous framework of choice, it experiences unclear direction, feels dated when compared to other options and we still don't understand why they don't adopt the high-quality external dependencies such as ox_inventory itself.
QBCore, while a more complete option and often touted as the best framework to start with has it's own issues. From its poor performance to mixed community sentiment on its origin and no support for the framework by high-quality resources like ox_inventory, it can be a more difficult starting point for new server owners.
Qbox is our framework of choice today. It has its own issues that we hope get addressed such as the lack of custom inventory support and complete it's overall seperation from its QBCore roots among others - but overall it is a good foundation for any developers looking to start a FiveM server!
Ready to build? Check out our Top 10 FiveM Scripts that work perfectly with Qbox.
