Comparing
A high-level Python web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design
FastAPI framework, high performance, easy to learn, fast to code, ready for production
| Metric | django | fastapi |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem | Python | Python |
| Difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| Weekly downloads | 9.9M↑ | 0 |
| Latest version | v6.0.3 | v0.135.2 |
| Recipes | 1 | 1 |
django only
Shared
fastapi only
Use Django for full-stack web applications that need user accounts, an admin interface for content management, forms with validation, or an ORM for complex data relationships. It's the right choice when you want a complete, production-ready framework with a well-trodden path for common features.
Use FastAPI when building REST or GraphQL APIs in Python, especially when you need async support, automatic OpenAPI/Swagger docs, request validation, or are building microservices. It's the best choice for new Python API projects.
Django is heavy for pure REST APIs — the ORM, templates, and admin panel add weight you don't use. FastAPI is a better starting point for API-only projects. Django's synchronous-by-default nature (though async support has improved) can also be a constraint for highly concurrent applications.
FastAPI is API-only — it has no templating, admin interface, or ORM. For full-stack web apps with server-rendered HTML, Django is better. For tiny internal tools, Flask's smaller learning curve might be preferable.
django
fastapi