Comparing
pytest: simple powerful testing with Python
Python HTTP for Humans
| Metric | pytest | requests |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem | Python | Python |
| Difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| Weekly downloads | 0 | 324.9M↑ |
| Latest version | v9.0.2 | v2.33.1 |
| Recipes | 1 | 3↑ |
pytest only
Shared
requests only
Use pytest for any Python project with tests. It's the de facto standard — most libraries, frameworks, and CI pipelines assume pytest. Its plugin ecosystem covers everything from coverage (pytest-cov) to async tests (pytest-asyncio) to parameterisation.
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 extremely simple one-off scripts where adding a dependency feels heavy, unittest is built into Python. For property-based testing, add Hypothesis on top of pytest rather than replacing it.
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.
pytest
requests