Not OP but to answer #2, based on the benchmark code here [1] the difference is that actix-pg accesses the database through message passing in the actor system

Not OP but to answer #2, based on the benchmark code here [1] the difference is that actix-pg accesses the database through message passing in the actor system [2] while actix-core accesses it directly [3]. [1]. https://github.com/TechEmpower/FrameworkBenchmarks/tree/master/frameworks/Rust/actix https://github.com/TechEmpower/FrameworkBenchmarks/tree/mast... [2]. https://github.com/TechEmpower/FrameworkBenchmarks/blob/master/frameworks/Rust/actix/src/db_pg.rs#L215 https://github.com/TechEmpower/FrameworkBenchmarks/blob/mast... [3]. https://github.com/TechEmpower/FrameworkBenchmarks/blob/master/frameworks/Rust/actix/src/db_pg_direct.rs#L154 https://github.com/TechEmpower/FrameworkBenchmarks/blob/mast...