Laravel vs Django – Which Back-end Web Framework to Choose?

Read this blog if you want:

• To develop web applications in a limited budget
• Back-end framework that helps to achieve scalability
• Developers to create a product easily with wide-ranging features

However, the reasons are infinite.

According to Statista, when it comes to most used web frameworks and especially back-end frameworks, Django is used by 14.99% of developers, and Laravel is used by 10.12% of developers. Have a look at the below screenshot to know in detail.

Image Source: Statista

Since Django and Laravel has gained attention in the web application development arena; if you are searching for Laravel vs Django, you have landed at the right place. This blog provides you with an in-depth idea of choosing one as per your requirements.

So, which one to choose? Let’s find out.

Have a look at it and decide which web development framework is best for your business requirements.

Tabular Comparison: Laravel vs Django

From the above tabular comparison of PHP Laravel vs Python Django, you have got an overall idea of Laravel and Django. Let’s understand each framework in detail.

What is the Laravel Web Framework?

Laravel is a PHP and open source framework that comes with a set of syntax and tools to create an elegant web application. It follows the model-view-controller architecture pattern.

Taylor Otwell created this framework in June 2010 to provide an advanced alternative to the CodeIgniter framework as it lacked in-built support for user authentication and authorization.

Since Laravel is based on PHP programming language, it has a rich set of features that boost development speed. Thus, most companies adopt this framework to streamline the development process. The New York Times, Bankrate, About You, Disney are the few reputed companies utilizing Laravel as a backend framework to enhance their website.

Apart from this, CakePHP-one of the PHP frameworks also tops in the list of the best PHP frameworks. Laravel and PHP both are free open-source frameworks but Laravel is more robust and secured. Know the complete difference of CakePHP vs. Laravel.

Space-O even has experience in creating Laravel web applications. Being one of the leading Laravel development company, Space-O has a dedicated team of Laravel developers who builds customized solution in Laravel.

Moreover, Space-O even has experience developing backends for a different PHP framework. Recently, we have developed the backend of video-sharing eCommerce solution using one of the PHP frameworks, which gained attention in a short span of time.

Now let us even take an overview of Django along with its features and useful information. Let’s understand Django in the following section.

What is Django Web Framework?

Django is a Python-based free and open-source framework used for creating secured web applications. It is one of the popular backend frameworks and was created in 2005 with the primary goal to ease the creation of complex and database-driven websites.

Being one of the best web frameworks, it focuses on reusability, less code writing, rapid development and works on the DRY principle [aim at reducing the repetition of software patterns]. Instagram, Mozilla, Disqus, Pinterest, and Open Stack are some of the well-known companies leveraging Django framework as one of their tech-stack to streamline web app development.

So if you are looking to develop a customized solution using the Django framework, Space-O, a leading web development company, easily caters to your business requirements. You can even take web development consulting services from Space-O to validate your business idea.

Let’s further discuss the detailed comparison of Django vs Laravel for web app development based on the functionalities.

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After understanding the general idea let’s check in-depth comparison to know which framework to choose for your app development project.

Django vs Laravel: In-depth Difference Comparison Between Django and Laravel

1. Django vs Laravel: Learning Curve

   Is Django easier to learn?
   Since Django is a Python-based framework; it doesn’t require much effort to learn. Python is developer-friendly, uses an object-oriented approach, and was developed with the aim to help programmers write clear business logic code. Moreover, the readability and other structural elements of Python are designed to be easy to understand; it is a great language for beginners. Developers just need to learn the basics of Python to start with Django development.

   Is Laravel easier to learn?
   Comparing it with Django, Laravel has a steep learning curve. You need to know the fundamentals of web development, PHP, object-oriented programming, SQL databases to learn Laravel. PHP attributes follow syntax like case-sensitive variable names, semicolons to terminate the statement make Laravel difficult to learn compared to Django.

   Who is the winner?

   Django is a winner as you need only basic knowledge of Python and web-working to start with Django.

2. Django vs Laravel: Application Architecture

   What kind of architecture does Django support?

   Django is based on model-view-template architecture.

   But what is MVT? How is it different from widely known MVC – model view controller architecture?

   Let’s understand with an example: Developers have to display a list of books in the library stored in a table named books.
   MVC (Model View Controller) Architecture: Developers need to write the business logic code to fetch the list of books from the database, write the presentation layer – HTML and CSS, map it with a URL and send it to the user.

   MVT (Model View Template) Architecture: Developers do not have to write the code about fetching the data from the database and mapping it with the URL. This activity is done by the framework itself. The only thing developers need to tell the framework is what data is to be presented to the user (Book table). The framework then creates a view of the data and sends it to the user.

   So, coming to the point, Django takes care of the controller part, and developers need to code only a template. Templates is an HTML code that is used to render data. The contents of these files can be static or dynamic.

   What kind of architecture does Laravel support?

   Laravel supports MVC model-view-architecture. Each of these components has independent jobs, and they can work separately without affecting each other. However, in MVC, developers have to write the control-specific code. Generally, Laravel is suitable for developing large applications but less likely for developing small applications.

   Who is the winner?

   Here Django wins the race; since it supports MVT architecture, modifications can be easily made and can be used to develop both small and large applications.

3. Django vs Laravel: Scalability

   Is Django scalable?

   The volume traffic of Instagram is enough to answer the scalability of Django. For achieving scalability, optimization of elements like images, CSS, and HTML is necessary. Django provides these operations and even achieves scalability through cloud solutions. Thus, it is one of the best frameworks when the website wants to achieve scalability.

   Is Laravel scalable?

   Laravel applications can be scaled without any limitations. Laravel scales the number of requests by load balancing with a load balancer like HAProxy, database by MySQL cluster, and implementing an authentication scheme using token-based authentication. Laravel simplifies hosting upgradation as the traffic grows and provides enough space to save data in the server.

   Who is the winner?

   Laravel: Although both the frameworks are equally compatible in terms of scalability and can handle the traffic with ease, Laravel is more scalable as it is a stateless application and can deploy on multiple servers.

4. Django vs Laravel: Testing

   Is Django good for testing?
   Testing is not an issue with the Django framework. Django offers tools and functionalities which simplify the testing process. Developers just have to simulate requests, insert test data, inspect the application’s output, and verify the code. The preferred way to write tests in Django is using a unit test module built-in into the Python standard library. Here is a testing document of Django which makes it easy to develop a bug-free application.

   Is Laravel good for testing?
   In Laravel, there are two ways to test the app; one is with unit testing, while the other is with feature testing. The unit test focuses on a small, isolated portion of code and enables you to test your classes models and controllers. Feature testing tests a larger portion of the code, including several objects interacting with each other or even a full HTTP request to a JSON endpoint. Laravel also provides various testing tools and documentation that make the testing easy.

   Who is the winner?

   Tie: Both the frameworks help test the application without any problem under increasing traffic. However, with both frameworks, your solution has to go with different testing to ensure compliance with the UI standards, compatibility, and usability.

5. Django vs Laravel: Supported Libraries

   Does Django have library support?

   Django is a “batteries included” web framework that means this framework is fully loaded with ready-to-use features; developers don’t need other solutions for the common tasks. Django contains extensive packages and reusable features that are suitable for developing wide-ranging projects. Moreover, other Python libraries developers can use with Django are Django Rest Framework, Django-cors-headers, Django Filters, and Django Storages. Django Packages is a directory of reusable apps, sites, tools that developers require to develop Django projects.

   Does Laravel have library support?

   Laravel even has a set of libraries that enables developers to build applications with less hassle. Laravel libraries make development easier by simplifying the common practices used in developing major projects such as packages, modules, plug-ins, and components. One of the great advantages of the Laravel library is that it provides access to all the features that the framework offers to its host application, including routing, migrations, tests, and view features.

   Who is the winner?

   Tie: Both Django and Laravel have an extensive set of libraries that make the developer’s work easier.

6. Django vs Laravel: Database Support

   Does Django provide Django support?
   Django officially supports the databases such as PostgreSQL, Maria DB, MySQL, Oracle, and SQLite. In addition to these databases, backends like CockroachDB, Firebird, Google Cloud Spanner, and Microsoft SQL provided by third parties enable the developer to use it with Django. With this, developers can efficiently store the project’s data and organize it effectively.

   Does Laraevl provide database support?
   Laravel officially supports the databases like PostgreSQL, Maria DB, MySQL, Oracle, and SQLite. It makes interacting with the databases easy as it supports fluent query builder and Eloquent ORM (object-relational mapping) along with the raw SQL. Both databases help in retrieving records from the database table and streamlining the database operations. Moreover, it protects your application against SQL injection attacks and enables developers to connect with most databases.

   Who is the winner?

   Tie: Both the databases are efficient as both reduce the loss of data, reuse the data in the short, medium, and long term, and even help in manipulating the databases as and when needed.

7. Django vs Laravel: Marketshare and Popularity

   The market share and popularity of both frameworks are increasing steadily due to the ease in testing, performance, and scalability.

   Let’s check both by numbers.

   According to stack share,

   • Django has

     128K Stacks
     24.9K Followers
     3.9K Votes

   • Laravel has

     21.1K Stacks
     17.1K Followers
     3.6K Votes

   

   Image Source: SimilarTech

8. According to Google Trends, in Canada, the number of users using Laravel is less compared to the number of users in Django.

   

   Image Source: Google Trends

   Who is the winner?

   Django: Although both the frameworks are popular, Django wins the race. Developers of Canada use Django more in comparison with Laravel.

   Until now, you have understood the comprehensive differences between Django and Laravel. However, Laravel and Django are both backend frameworks; they have many similarities. After understanding the significant differences, let’s go through the shared similarities between Django and Laravel.

What is Common Between Laravel and Django?

Although Django and Laravel are different, they have a few similarities, i.e., worth discussing.

1. Both the frameworks help to achieve scalability and reuse the code
2. Both help with auto queries of databases and provide easy to handle databases
3. Both have the packages and libraries to enhance the web applications
4. Both have large communities, which means problems or errors can be resolved easily
5. Both are easy to install and provide complete documentation, making it easier for beginners
6. Both are cross-platform frameworks and can be used on various operating systems like Windows, Linux, Unix, etc., along with other web servers like NGINX or Apache

Laravel vs Django: When to Choose?

When to Choose Django?

You can choose Django if

1. You are looking to develop an API backend
2. You have no boundaries in the budget and want to develop a large-scale application
3. You want to deploy the application faster and make quick changes
4. You want your application to be secured from vulnerabilities like SQL injection, Clickjacking, and XSS
5. You are looking for API backend and web app in the same application
6. You need operational-relational mapping support in the database
7. You want to build a data-driven application for the travel, food, and hospitality industries
8. You have an application that focuses on data analysis and visualization

When to Choose Laravel?

You can choose Laravel if

1. You want to develop the web application or the back-end of the application
2. You have a limited budget and looking to develop large-scale or small-scale applications
3. When you are in less hurry to deploy the applications
4. You want to develop an interactive website that handles more traffic
5. Security is the primary concern for your web application
6. You require an excellent documented framework with constant community support

Still, have some queries regarding the backend development of using Django or Laravel? Then, read our next section of FAQs.

Ready to Get Started with a Laravel Application or Django Application?

In this blog, you have learned the differences, similarities of Laravel and Django applications. Both are the best solution and have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Choosing between Laravel and Django depends on your requirements, business types, goals, features you want to integrate.

Still, if you’re not sure about which to choose for web app development, let our experienced IT consultants help you choose the best framework for you. We at Space-O Technologies have a team of in-house Laravel and Django developers who have experience developing custom solutions.

We have delivered more than 300 web solutions across the globe for different industry verticals. Get in touch with us through the contact us form, and one of our tech consultants will get back to you in the next 12 hours.