Flask vs Django: Let’s Choose Your Next Python Framework

Python developers are in high demand due to the increasing need for Python in major industries. Having expertise in Flask or Django, or both will boost your career prospects.

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Although Flask likewise allows for quick MVP development, there’s an obvious difference when it comes to the frontend. With Django, it’s faster to add the frontend and receive feedback.

So, what does it mean for you in this Flask vs Django comparison? To help you make a decision, this table sums it all up.

Flask Django
Cost-effectiveness Free open-source, will cost more for maintenance and security. Free open-source, suitable for low-budget projects.
Development Time The development process takes a longer time than Django. Excellent for quick development and projects with tight deadlines.
Ease of Use/Learning Easy to learn and straightforward. Best for beginners. More complex and requires advanced knowledge of Python. Best for advanced users.
Employment Opportunities In demand with slightly higher average salaries than Django. More popular than Flask. In demand with slightly lower average salaries than Flask.
Features Flask relies mostly on third-party extensions for additional functionality. Django comes with a wide range of built-in features.
Performance Flask is lightweight and simpler, allowing it to build projects in a shorter time and with less coding. More suitable for building larger projects rapidly and effortlessly.
Scalability Limited scalability. Ideal for small projects. High scalability. Recommended for large, complex projects.
Security Short codebase making it more secure to threats, but limited in integrated security features. Long codebase, making it more prone to mistakes and attacks, but includes numerous security features by default.
Speed Lightweight, more flexible and faster than Django. Full-stack solution. Less flexible than Flask.

Flask vs Django: Which Should You Choose?

This increases the responsibility placed on your development team to keep security up to date by assessing and keeping track of third-party libraries and extensions.

Therefore, Django is easier to secure upfront and maintain throughout the life of your app.

Some of the well-known companies that have employed Flask include Samsung, Netflix, Lyft, Reddit, and Zillow.

Flask… or Django? Finding the right option for your Python project depends on a few key factors…💪Click to Tweet

Winner: Flask

Features

Being based on Werkzeug, Flask aims to be as simple as possible yet extensible to allow easy future expansions of the project. It’s this simplicity, flexibility and lightweight that allows developers to build small apps in shorter times.

Both frameworks are excellent for creating web apps, and the best one for you will depend on the project’s size, demands, and existing requirements.

Summary

Are you a professional developer? With Django’s broad feature set, you or your team will need to make fewer decisions. That should allow you to develop your project faster.

It’s common for Flask applications to be developed locally using the Werkzeug WSGI server but deployed publicly using a WSGI server like Gunicorn or uWSGI, with a robust server like Nginx as the public-facing proxy.

This Flask-vs-Django comparison guide will help you decide by examining the core differences between the two.

What Is Flask?

The Flask logo.
Flask Logo (Source: Flask Pallets Project).

Flask is scalable as it can process a large number of requests each day. The micro-framework modularizes the entire code and allows developers to work on independent chunks as the code base grows.

In contrast, Django facilitates rapid development, especially if you have a tight deadline, thanks to its various built-in features and minimal code utilization.

For those looking to build more demanding projects rapidly and effortlessly, then Django would be a good fit. Django is able to deliver quick outcomes and smoothly take applications from concepts to completion.

Winner: Flask

Scalability

For a developer, it’s essential to have a solid user community for the framework you choose. These communities can offer you a great deal of assistance by responding to any queries you may have. They can also encourage the development of new framework-related applications.

Winner: Flask

Employment Opportunities

Django here shines again as it comes with a functional admin panel that allows you to quickly perform CRUD operations against your model as you build up an application without requiring any extra code.

Routing and Views

Django is a sophisticated Python-based framework with full-stack development configurations such as template layouts, request and troubleshooting, cookies, form validation, unit tests, table settings, and other functionality devs use to create dynamic web applications.

Django is a component-based framework that provides complete scalability options. Each layer of the developed app is independent, meaning you can scale the app at any level.

The features of any framework can indicate the applications for which it’s most useful. Flask has some cutting-edge features for building and optimizing web applications. Here are a few prominent Flask features you should know.

1. Lightweight

Flask doesn’t use external libraries for its development process. This makes it lightweight. It is Python-based on a smaller scale without any set of specific instruments.

Django might be the better choice if you need to develop a highly scalable web application.

Flask and Django intend to help developers work smarter and save a great deal of time. Yet, one lags behind the other here.

It also doesn’t have a database layer or arrangements for shape approval and utilizes expansions.

2. Unit Testing System

Unlike Flask, Django comes packed with useful features plus a few available extensions. In terms of the variety of features, Flask comes ahead. But it’s always useful to have most of the needed features built into a framework, and, in that respect, Django takes the lead.

Database

Although Flask has a ton of functionality and is well-known for being easy to use, it has a few shortcomings worth mentioning. The benefits and drawbacks of using Flask are listed below.

Advantages

  • Flexible with full control access
  • Great for smaller projects
  • Scalable
  • Easy to integrate databases
  • Adjustable to new tech
  • Easy and fast to build prototypes
  • Extensible
  • Small codebase with simple functions
  • Easy URL routing through Werkzueg
  • Allows architecture and library experimentation

Drawbacks

  • No support for multi-page apps
  • Lack of security features
  • No built-in admin site
  • Difficult maintenance
  • No object-relational mapping without extensions

Pros and Cons of Using Django

Flask is a micro-framework that doesn’t require external libraries to implement its functionalities. It was developed in 2011 by Armin Ronacher, who came up with it while developing a solution that combined Werkzeug (a server framework) and Jinja2 (a template library).

Flask and Django both have large, knowledgeable, and passionate communities. Django has a larger group since it has been around for 5 years longer than Flask. But, despite being smaller, the Flask community is quite active.

No matter which framework you choose, you can get it up and running easily on Kinsta’s Application Hosting platform. You can see just how easy by checking out our quick start examples for Flask and Django.