[Participant @idowu]

Django and Flask are the most popular web frameworks for Python. The aim of this article is not to place one framework over the other, we’ll only be comparing and discussing both frameworks based on some parameters – so we can know which is more suitable for any particular project.

About Django

Django is a full-stack free source Python web framework that was released in 2005. The framework was created by experienced Python developers who felt web development should be made faster and easier. Web developers can then focus on codes rather than time-consuming configurations. Thus, if you want to deliver quickly and efficiently by giving more attention to making web apps – without creating unnecessary management files and folders for complex projects, then Django will be a good choice.

About Flask

Flask is a light-weight open-source Python web framework that was released in 2010. Although Flask does not come with the type of functionality of Django, it still allows for flexibility. Unlike Django, Flask was made to build simple web apps that do not need a complex database management engine or URL mapping to scale. In essence, if you want to do things your way without having to depend on a framework’s decisions, Flask will be a good option.

Database

Both Flask and Django support a wide range of databases, ranging from PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite to SQLAlchemy (the ORM for Flask). Building apps with Flask usually rarely require complex databases (that’s if any is needed at all). Most Data Scientists depend on Flask for deploying their models with the REST API quickly – knowing fully well that model deployment doesn’t necessarily require working with databases.

Packages and Libraries

Django has a lot of open source libraries and it comes with an inbuilt web server for caching, middleware, testing, and development. Addition of an Object Relational Mapping (ORM) library also makes it a smart framework for automatically mapping objects created from models – providing a unique way of creating a relational database management system for any web application.

With Django’s several inbuilt packages – performance optimization and testing become easier without having to build anything from scratch. Django also allows you to directly call objects from the database, and render them on the templates. In addition to these, the Django form package makes data collection easy to manage and control – customization of the form is also done with ease with HTML.

Flask, on the other hand, uses SQL-Alchemy – which provides an Object Relational Mapping system in Flask. SQLAlchemy allows easy version control of the database in Flask, as Flask does not come with an inbuilt ORM package for migrating model classes to tables in the database. Just like Django, Flask also comes with the WTF-Form package to handle data submission on the user end.

SEO-friendliness

When you create a web site, one of your major aims is to rank on top of Google search and generate organic traffic. To do that, you’ll need to do some tweaking of your IP addresses and convert them to some readable formats for easy crawling by search engines – this has been overridden and made easy. Each web application and web pages created with these two frameworks are easily mapped and maintained directly with URLs rather than IP addresses.

Scalability and development

Because Django makes a lot of decisions for app developers, the development of apps becomes easier and faster with a higher chance of scalability. Unlike Flask, by default, Django comes with default files and folders. Whereas in Flask, you’ll have to create stuff on your own from the scratch – making Flask unsuitable for beating schedule and creating complex apps.

Django also allows apps linkage (you can build more than one app at a time with Django) – doing the same thing with Flask will require a lot of tweaks that consume time. Thus, for scalability and rapid development of complex applications, Django is better as a result of its internalization. However, if you wish to build something basic, it is better done with Flask – as Django can be too complex for such tasks.

Conventionalism and Architecture

When it comes to architecture and protocols, Django makes use of the Model, Views, Template architecture – which makes it easier to understand and relate with. In Django, View is used is to create the interface, while context from views is rendered out on templates, which are usually HTML files. Models are then used to handle and create objects on the database. Flask, on the other hand, does not have an architecture, it only uses the concept of Views, Extensions, and Configurations.

Security

Django offers a wide range of security. The forms come with Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) protection. It is also equipped with SQL Injection, clickjacking, and Cross-site Scripting protection. These inbuilt protections prevent the components of your apps from getting hijacked or truncated by internet hackers. Although Flask also comes with some inbuilt security features, you might still need to handle stuff like auth and password caching among others all by yourself.

Popularity and community

In terms of popularity and community usage, Django is commonly used by web developers across the globe. A statistic shows that Django has a higher percentage of search than Flask on Google. On Stackoverflow alone, statistics also has it that there have been more Django-related questions over the years than there are for Flask. Statistically, on Github, there is also a higher repository creation for Django than Flask.

Popular websites that use Django are Google, Instagram, Disqus, YouTube, and Pinterest. Companies that use Flask are Netflix, Airbnb, Python PythonAnywhere and Reddit.

Conclusion

The frameworks we’ve discussed in this article have their suitability for any specific task. As such, we won’t be concluding that one is better than the other. Depending on what you want to build, both frameworks are good, you only need to select the one that suits your type of project. In essence, if you’re building something big, consider using Django – but if it’s something basic, consider using Django.

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