Compare
Django vs FastAPI
Lightweight Python framework specialized for building fast APIs with type hints
Which to pick
Pick Django if you want…
- Rapid, secure Python web apps
- Full-stack Python web apps
- Integrations with Python (on Django's list, not FastAPI's)
Pick FastAPI if you want…
- Fast, type-hinted Python APIs
- API services
- Integrations with Starlette, Pydantic or uv (on FastAPI's list, not Django's)
Batteries-included Python web framework with ORM and admin; FastAPI is a lighter framework focused on typed APIs.
Side by side
- What it is
- Django:Django is a free, open-source high-level Python web framework for rapid, secure, and scalable web development.
- FastAPI:FastAPI is a modern Python web framework for building high-performance APIs using standard type hints.
- Best for
- Django:Rapid, secure Python web apps
- FastAPI:Fast, type-hinted Python APIs
- Who it’s for
- Django:Python developers building web applications.
- FastAPI:Python developers building APIs and microservices
- Pricing
- Django:Open source
- FastAPI:Open source
- Open source
- Django:Yes, 91,240 GitHub stars
- FastAPI:Yes, 102,754 GitHub stars
- Works with
- Django:Python
- FastAPI:Starlette, Pydantic, uv, Uvicorn, Swagger UI, ReDoc
Django features
- Object-relational mapper. Maps Python classes to database tables, handling SQL automatically.
- Automatic admin interface. Generates a ready-to-use admin UI for managing site data.
- Robust template system. Provides a powerful, extensible way to render HTML with Python data.
- Internationalization. Built-in support for translating apps into multiple languages.
- Security features. Includes protections against common attacks like XSS, CSRF, and SQL injection.
- Scalability. Designed to handle high-traffic sites and scale horizontally.
FastAPI features
- High performance. Runs at speeds comparable to NodeJS and Go using Starlette and Pydantic.
- Fast development. Reduces code writing time by 200-300% with automatic validation and docs.
- Automatic docs. Generates interactive Swagger UI and ReDoc documentation from code.
- Data validation. Validates request data and converts JSON to Python types using Pydantic.
- Dependency injection. Provides an easy-to-use DI system for managing resources and services.
- Security support. Built-in OAuth2, JWT, and HTTP Basic authentication helpers.
Django vs FastAPI FAQ
Is Django or FastAPI free?+
Yes, both are free and open source.
Is Django or FastAPI open source?+
Yes, both are open source: Django (django/django on GitHub, BSD-3-Clause license) and FastAPI (fastapi/fastapi on GitHub, MIT license).
Do Django and FastAPI integrate with the same tools?+
Their integration lists don't overlap: Django lists Python; FastAPI lists Starlette, Pydantic, uv, Uvicorn and 2 more.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.