Flask, FastAPI, and Django

Quick comparison between 3 popular Python frameworks

Flask, FastAPI, and Django are all popular web development frameworks for the Python programming language. While all three frameworks can be used to create web applications, there are some key differences between them that make each one better suited for different types of projects.

Flask is a microframework that is designed to be lightweight and flexible. It is often used for smaller, more simple projects that don’t require a lot of heavy-duty functionality. Flask is easy to get started with and allows developers to quickly create web applications with minimal boilerplate code.

A hello world example is Flask is as follows.

from flask import Flask

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/')
def index():
    return 'Web App with Python Flask!'

app.run()

FastAPI, on the other hand, is a more modern, high-performance web framework. It is built on top of Python’s asyncio library, which makes it well-suited for handling large amounts of concurrent traffic. FastAPI also includes features like automatic documentation and data validation, which can make it easier to develop and maintain complex web applications.

from fastapi import FastAPI

app = FastAPI()


@app.get("/")
async def root():
    return {"message": "Hello World"}

Django, meanwhile, is a full-featured web framework that is designed to be powerful and flexible. It includes a wide range of built-in features, such as an ORM (object-relational mapper) for working with databases, an authentication system, and tools for handling common web development tasks like routing and rendering templates. Django is often used for larger, more complex projects that require a lot of functionality out of the box.

# polls/jpview.py
from django.http import HttpResponse


def index(request):
    return HttpResponse("Hello, world. You're at the polls index.")

# polls/urls.py
from django.urls import path

from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path('', views.index, name='index'),
]

# mysite/urls.py
from django.contrib import admin
from django.urls import include, path

urlpatterns = [
    path('polls/', include('polls.urls')),
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
]

In summary, the main differences between Flask, FastAPI, and Django are their scope and the level of functionality they provide. Flask is a microframework that is easy to get started with and is well-suited for small projects, while FastAPI is a modern, high-performance framework that is great for building APIs and handling large amounts of traffic. Django, on the other hand, is a full-featured framework that provides a wide range of built-in functionality and is suitable for larger, more complex projects.