Comparing
Async http client/server framework (asyncio)
Python HTTP for Humans
| Metric | aiohttp | requests |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem | Python | Python |
| Difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| Weekly downloads | 0 | 324.9M↑ |
| Latest version | v3.13.5 | v2.33.1 |
| Recipes | 1 | 3↑ |
aiohttp only
Shared
requests only
Use aiohttp when you need a battle-tested async HTTP client or server, especially in applications that make many concurrent HTTP calls (scrapers, API aggregators) or build lightweight async web services. It has a mature ecosystem and is widely used in production.
Use requests for any synchronous HTTP work: calling REST APIs, scraping web pages, downloading files, or integrating with webhooks. It's the right default for scripts, CLI tools, and Django/Flask backends that don't need async.
For new async API projects, FastAPI (built on Starlette/uvicorn) has better developer ergonomics, automatic validation, and docs. For synchronous scripts, requests is simpler. httpx offers a compatible API with both sync and async modes if you want flexibility.
Avoid requests when you're writing async code — it will block your event loop. Switch to httpx (drop-in async API) or aiohttp for FastAPI backends, async scrapers, or anything running inside asyncio.
aiohttp
requests