Flask vs Django | Best python web framework to choose in 2021

In the world of Python web development Flask and Django, both are gems. They both are capable of providing you the tools you will need for rapid development. However, there are some differences between both that make it tricky to choose between flask and Django. In this article, we will discuss Flask vs Django to help you to choose the best python web framework according to your project requirements.

Flask vs Django

Let’s start with the basic introduction according to their documentation for Flask vs Django.

Flask is a micro web framework based on python and Django is a high-level framework for rapid development.

The term micro means it provides a simple and lightweight core that is extensible and restriction-free. You can use any database or ORM you want. It has the core that basically handles which method to execute at which route along with sessions, logging, templating, static files, and a few more.

On the other hand, Django has inbuilt ORM, prebuilt admin panel, plug & play models with complete CRUD, inbuilt authentication, form validation, templating, static files, sessions, and a lot more.

What’s inside Flask is also available in Django but the vice-versa is not true. As Flask is lacking a few features, however as we have said earlier. Flask is extensible and has some really good extensions to handle form validation, CSRF protection, authentication, ORM, and etc.

Flask vs Django CLI

Django has a full-featured CLI which helps to create a project scaffolding, run migrations, generate SQL from migrations, start the development server, check for common problems, and a lot more.

Whereas in Flask the CLI basically helps us to run the development server and the flask shell.

Django vs Flask shell

Both Django and Flask provides a shell to play with the application data. However, the flask shell is limited to executing small snippets of management code.

The Django shell is full-featured and you can import models play with the ORM or project code all from the inbuilt shell.

Django vs Flask admin panel

Django comes up with a default admin panel that can be accessed by superuser.

On the other hand, Flask does not have a default inbuilt admin panel or users included with ORM. However, we can do that with the Flask-Admin extension.

A bootstrap 3 based admin panel will be generated with this extension which is very similar to Django Admin and also customizable.

Flask vs Django ORM

First of all, ORM stands for Object Relational Mapping. It helps to create tables in relational databases by creating classes and provides a query builder to query databases with objects.

Flask does not come up with any inbuilt ORM but there is an extension called Flask-SQLAlchemy that provides a bunch of features to play with the DB.

Django on the other hand has inbuild ORM that is feature loaded and very similar to SQLAlchemy. However, with Django ORM the number of methods in query builder is a few more than Flask SQLAlchemy.

That does not actually matter in a real-world project as both provide enough features to perform the task required.

Flask vs Django form validation & security

Security is a concern when you are creating a real-world application. There are various security-related issues involved nowadays. The most popular one is CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery).

Basically in websites where users can submit a form they can intentionally place some script or SQL queries to get data from your database or run a script to redirect users.

CSRF helps to prevent this kind of issue with CSRF tokens. You can learn more about CSRF here.

Django has inbuilt support for CSRF and we can also decide which routes to protect. The flask core does not have support for CSRF but we can support it by using the Flask WTF extension.

Also, Django has a Form class that helps to build object-oriented forms just like database models. The Flask WTF extension also provides the same and both are very similar.

Flask vs Django learning curve

The learning curve actually matters depending on the project deadline. If you have time to prepare then it does not matter.

Basically, Flask is a microframework so the learning curve is smaller as compared to Django.

However when you add extensions like SQLAlchemy, WTF with Flask then somehow the learning curve will be equal.

Both frameworks have well-explained documentations.

Django Documentation

Flask Documenatation

The documentations have almost everything you may need but sometimes making a grip takes a lot of time. Generally, right now developers don’t get enough time to learn something before a project. So we have made real-world project-oriented courses for you to make a grip as fast as possible. All the courses are full-featured that covers everything from scratch to deployment.

Build a blog like Dev.to with Flask

Build a multivendor eCommerce with Django

Django vs Flask job market

The job market of the most popular python web frameworks is engaging.

I have searched on Upwork and found the following results.

Django has 225 active jobs and on the other side, Flask has 91.

So basically with the above results, we can say that Django has 2.5 times more job opportunities than Flask.

However, I will say a single platform can not decide the job market of frameworks. Upwork is the biggest freelancing network so we have used it here. You may find a different ratio with other job portals.

Django vs Flask performance

The performance of both frameworks is good enough to start with. However, as Flask is a microframework so the performance is a bit better than Django.

You can find the latest results here.

However, the performance is an art and it depends on the artist who creates it. The better the developer is the better performance optimization you can expect.

In the real world, we don’t depend on a single server instance or single cores or database only. We use multiple server instances in different zones, we use load balancers, caching, proxies, and many more strategies to improved performance.

Flask vs Django conclusion

In this Flask vs Django article, we have shared various information regarding both of the frameworks. I can suggest you one thing and that is to choose the one you are comfortable with.

Be the artist and create art with the tool of your choice. Both are equally capable of doing amazing things. However, if the application is small or medium one Flask or Django you can use anyone. If it’s a large-scale project then Django, because of its inbuilt domain-driven design and automation.