Django vs Flask: Difference Between Django and Flask [Which is Better?]

Introduction

Python is now a widely-used programming language for server-side web development. It offers benefits such as cleaner code and flexibility, and as a developer, you have the option to use its exciting web frameworks. This way, you can bring all your app ideas to life very fast.

While developing web applications in Python, you will come across two popular web frameworks – Django and Flask. We will learn more about them in this article.

Let us understand their basics first.

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What is Django?

Django is a web framework coded in Python. It is open-sourced and was developed for programmers to create applications and websites faster. The framework is maintained by the Django Software Foundation. Django offers flexibility, scalability, and reliability to developers. Learn more about the Django applications.

It is very secure owing to its user authentication system that makes handling user accounts and passwords easy. 

Being open-source, you can download the source code easily. It has a powerful community that constantly enhances the framework by adding plug-ins and updates.

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What is Flask?

Created using Python, Flask is a micro-web framework, which is used for building web applications as it does not need specific libraries and tools to work. As a beginner, it is easy to learn Flask as it has a simple code and syntax for converting ideas into applications. Flask is built on the Jinja2 template engine and WSGI toolkit.

Other salient features include:

• It is compatible with Google App Engine
• It is Unicode based
• It has a debugger and a development server
• It provides secure cookies

Moreover, the Flask framework has many extensions that you can use for enhancing its features.

Now that you have wrapped your head around the basics of the two frameworks, let us compare and understand their differences. This will help you settle the debate – Django vs Flask.  

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Django vs Flask: A comparison

Framework type

Django is a full-stack framework, which is based on a batteries-included approach. The batteries are tools, features, and patterns. These can be used by developers for tasks such as URL routing and user authentication.

On the other hand, Flask is a lightweight framework that offers many out-of-the-box services such as unit testing, error handling, cookies and plenty of third-party extensions.

Database

Django has ORM (Object Relational Mapping), which supports databases such as Oracle, MySql and SQLite. The ORM helps in transferring data between the database and application model. It also maps attributes to their respective fields on the database. ORM also assists in managing database migrations. All this enhances the speed of the development process.

Flask does not have an ORM system and you can choose the ORM that works for your app. Furthermore, Flask requires you to perform database operations with SQLAlchemy. So, you can say that Flask gives you more freedom.

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Administration

Django has a built-in administration panel that can be used for handling all administrative tasks. This helps you to perform CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) for your applications. Furthermore, you can use this panel to manage website content and manage users.

The Flask Admin is an extension that you can use for including administration interfaces in the applications. It is not as powerful as Django’s admin panel but allows you complete control over the look and feel.

Forms

Django comes with forms that are crucial parts of web apps. This is possible by the class called ModelForms that allows you to create forms without HTML code.

But Flask does not support forms. However, its Flask-WTF extension helps you to integrate Flask with WTForms.

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Learning curve

Unlike Flask, Django has a steep learning curve and beginners using this framework might take a while to perfect its use. However, experienced programmers will find it easier to understand Django than Flask.

Flask is easy to learn for beginners and you can master the concepts as you tinker with it.

Community support

Django has a large and powerful developer community where you are likely to find developers to assist you in your project. Moreover, if you have a problem with your application, you can be sure to find the solutions on the net as it has a lot of users.

Flask is relatively new and has a smaller community, so information may be a little difficult to find.       

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Also read: Top 12 Django Interview Questions & Answers for Beginners

Django vs Flask: Wrapping things up

In terms of features, Django is way ahead of Flask – having many extensions, plugins, updates, ORM, in-built forms. The battery included approach makes development faster. It is a great framework for building complex web applications.

But if you are creating a small web application, Flask is great and flexible. It is easier to learn, has customizable admin support and will enable newbies to make applications faster. Thus, the battle of Django vs Flask can be concluded by saying that it all depends upon your project requirements.

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