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When it comes to technology, the good and bad news is that you have options. If you are not well-versed in software development, it might be a good idea to find a reliable software development company to guide you through the development process. However, if you are deciding between Laravel and Django, keep reading.

Key Difference Between Django vs Laravel

First of all, there is no black-and-white answer in Django and Laravel opposition. The choice of technology depends on a variety of factors, including how your users are going to use the finished product. Though there is a clear difference between the two that might guide you through the choice. 

Both Django and Laravel are extremely popular frameworks for web development that give each other tough competition. The key difference between them lies in their approach to web development.

Django is a high-level Python-based framework that follows the Model-View-Template (MVT) architecture pattern and emphasizes the use of reusable code.

On the other hand, Laravel is a PHP-based framework that follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern and emphasizes the use of elegant syntax and tools for fast web app development.

Django is also considered to be more suitable for large and complex applications while Laravel is more frequently chosen for smaller and lightweight apps.

Before we dive into the Django or Laravel comparison mode, let’s find out more about the technologies, their usage, and core concepts.

A Brief Overview - What is Django?

Django is a free, open-source Python web framework that enables rapid development with less code and clean design. Its readable syntax allows saving time and effort during the development process while MVT architecture makes the web app design aesthetic and highly functional. Django has a wide range of security features, is easy to scale and can be used for all kinds of software projects from one-page websites to complex scientific computing systems.

What Popular Apps Are Built with Django?

Popular Apps Built with Django

A Brief Overview - What is Laravel?

Laravel is a free, open-source PHP-based server-side web framework that has many advanced features such as routing, middleware, template engine, and an Object-Relational-mapping system to make web development easy and sleek. Laravel has gained a lot of popularity among PHP developers due to its facility to develop a completely functional website with customized logic, elegant syntax, and easy-to-use tools.

What Popular Apps Are Built with Laravel?

Popular Apps Built with Laravel

Django vs Laravel - Pros and Cons

Deciding between Django or Laravel may be difficult as both have their positive and limiting factors, so let’s break down each.

Pros of Django

  1. Speedy Development: Django is designed for rapid development which enables to take applications from concept to market in a shorter timeline. A lot of built-in functionality reduces the amount of code needed to build complex applications.
  2. Strong Security Features: Django facilitates the creation of secure web applications with its strong built-in security features to prevent widespread web attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and cross-site request forgery.
  3. High Scalability: It is designed to handle high traffic volumes with ease, delivering fast loading times while integrating seamlessly with various technologies. It also optimizes elements like images, CSS, HTML, and balances resource utilization for optimal performance. 
  4. Flexibility and Versatility: Django modular design allows developers to swap out components or add new functionality when needed. It has a large community and extensive documentation which also add to its flexibility, making it easy to implement rapid changes during development.



Cons of Django

  1. Not for Smaller Projects: Django is not suitable for projects with only a few features and limited requirements. It requires extensive coding which can consume significant server processing time and bandwidth during development. It is primarily used for projects that require scalability or are meant for large-scale deployment.
  2. Monolithic Framework: It is a monolithic framework with a small number of dependencies. The need for backward compatibility in all developed modules slows down the evolution of the framework.
  3. Multiple Request Issue: Unlike other widely-used frameworks, it does not have the capability to handle multiple requests at once, presenting a challenge for developers to effectively work on the codebase.                    
pros & cons of Django

Pros of Laravel

  1. High Security: Laravel has several features and functionalities that allows developers to quickly develop and scale the web application without worrying about security issues. For example, its ORM uses PDO to prevent SQL injection. Also, its syntax and privilege handling reduce the risk of cross-site request forgery and scripting.
  2. Faster Time-To-Market: Laravel operates on a modular basis, having pre-built functions and structures that are built on the latest PHP principles for creating responsive web applications quickly and efficiently. Laravel is fast and intuitive, eliminating the need for long hours of manual coding, which speeds up delivery and proves to be cost-effective.
  3. In-built Authentication & Authorization System: Laravel's authentication and authorization system offer several advantages, such as easy implementation, secure storage and handling of user data, customizability, scalability, and comprehensive documentation. It is a fast, secure, and flexible solution for implementing user authentication and authorization in web applications. With its pre-built functions and methods, password hashing and encryption, and scalability, Laravel's system is an ideal choice for developers.
  4. Eloquent ORM: Laravel's Eloquent ORM provides an intuitive and easy-to-use interface for interacting with databases. It enables developers to write database-related code using an object-oriented syntax, making it simpler to create and maintain. Additionally, Eloquent ORM implements an advanced PHP-based active record pattern, allowing developers to enforce constraints on how database objects are related and to make database queries using PHP instead of SQL.

Cons of Laravel

  1. Lightweight Framework: Typically, the lightweight feature of this framework is viewed as a benefit, however, it also causes excessive backlog in database query processing, resulting in a decreased performance with increased data congestion.
  2. No Payment Services Support: If you need to handle payment issues on your website, you may have to look beyond Laravel. While the framework does provide a library to help you integrate a payment method, many e-commerce sites opt for third-party payment services. Therefore, you may need to use another framework to ensure your website is equipped with the necessary payment capabilities.
  3. Steep Learning Curve: Laravel has several features that can be streamlined. Initially, its extensive documentation may be overwhelming for some programmers. However, the strong support from Laravel and its online developer community can make the transition to using the framework smooth and manageable.               
pros & cons of Laravel

Performance Comparison

In Django vs Laravel performance comparison, Django is an absolute winner. In 2018, the frameworks were tested head-to-head for JSON serialization, and Python won with a great difference in terms of speed. Django performed 69k JSON responses per second while Laravel only 8k.

Application Architecture

When selecting a web framework, it's crucial to consider the architectural pattern, as it must align with your project's needs to ensure flexibility and avoid rigid enforcement of architecture and guidelines.

Django Architecture

Django uses MVT architecture which is a variation of popular MVC architecture. In MVT architecture, the template file, which holds HTML and Django Template Language, performs the controller's role of creating dynamic websites. This makes it easier to handle cases like personalizing each user's feed on Instagram.

Laravel Architecture

Laravel, on the other hand, uses MVC architecture that provides full control over the application, allowing for the selection of specific routes and customization of global appearance. This improves the application's SEO. Integrating external APIs and reusing logic is easy with Laravel's MVC architecture, enabling the creation of robust backend support for any web application.

Scalability

The app must scale with the growth of your business and evolving user and market demands. The programming language or the web framework you choose defines the scalability of your application, and its capacity to handle heavy traffic.

Django Scalability

Django is a scalable framework, leveraging the scalability of Python language and its AI/ML capabilities. It integrates with different technologies for optimal performance and fast loading times. It easily optimizes CSS, images, databases, load balancing, etc., and integrates well with cloud and CDN solutions to ensure long-term scalability.

Laravel Scalability

Laravel provides scalability through its use of PHP for supporting growing businesses. When combined with a reliable load balancer and database, it can provide excellent horizontal scaling. You can also scale your Laravel-based applications by taking advantage of AWS, MySQL, and caching. Nevertheless, PHP is not as flexible as Python when it comes to responding to changing demands and new trends. As a result, Laravel's scalability is not as impressive as Django's.

Security

To protect your business and user data, and to save money, you should consider investing in a secure web framework for your application. So, let’s compare Laravel vs Django security.

Django Security

Python is renowned for its security, and Django is no exception. With Django, you can rest assured that your application is well-protected from a variety of threats. It has a secure user authentication system to manage accounts and passwords, as well as measures in place to reduce the chances of common security errors such as XSS, cross-site requests, forgery, clickjacking, etc. 

Laravel Security

On the other hand, Laravel, which is based on PHP, has a higher security risk associated with it. To its credit, Laravel uses salted and hashed passwords that do not allow passwords to be saved in the form of plain text in the database, and it utilizes the “Bcrypt Hashing Algorithm” for creating an encrypted password representation. It also has mechanisms to safeguard users from cyberattacks like XSS, SQL injection, intercepting data, harmful cookies, etc. Although the PHP community is working to fix the security issues, in this comparison, Django remains the safer option.

Ease of Testing

Every application sometimes faces performance, security, and user experience issues which can be resolved through regular testing and debugging.



Django Testing

Debugging with Python is not challenging. There are also great debuggers available online to help you test the code, for example, Python Debugger. Therefore, testing a Django-based application is not a daunting task as there are plenty of tools available to make the testing process simpler. To make it more efficient and straightforward, you can refer to their documentation to test the code at different levels to create a robust, bug-free application.

Laravel Testing

Laravel offers two distinct levels of testing: feature tests and unit tests. It also has comprehensive testing documentation to help you test your code at various levels, including mock tests. Sometimes, debugging PHP code can be a challenge, but you can use a PHP debugger like XDebug to make the process easier. With Laravel, you have access to a wide range of testing tools to ensure your application is free of errors so both web frameworks are great in terms of testing and debugging.

Microservices Compatibility

Microservices are used in the development of applications, representing an architectural approach that structures an app as a set of smaller services. These services are designed to be loosely coupled, testable, and easily maintainable, and are organized around the business's capabilities.

Django Microservices

Django is an ideal platform for microservices architecture. It allows for fast deployment, flexibility, and built-in security. By breaking down a Django project into smaller microservices with distinct roles and capabilities, you can scale it quickly. Furthermore, Django is a great option for incorporating ML and AI capabilities into your applications.

Laravel Microservices

Same as PHP, Laravel supports microservices architecture and breaks down the app into small modular components. Each of these components has its own purpose and responsibility, and they communicate with each other through language-agnostic APIs.

For the past few months, the demand for a lightweight version of Laravel that could be used with microservices architecture was so great that a developer created a framework – Lumen. It is a slimmed-down, more compact, and lighter version of Laravel that serves the same purpose.

Community

A thriving developer community can greatly benefit both the language or web framework and its members. Feedback and modifications from the community enhance its functionality, while networking opportunities and expert support allow professionals to collaborate and help each other. Additionally, new developers are welcomed and provided with a space to ask questions and receive guidance from experienced peers.

Django Community

Django benefits from the extensive community of Python. The Django subreddit has a large and active community, with over 108k members discussing the framework and sharing resources. It is also one of the most popular topics on StackOverflow, with more than 304k questions tagged with "Django". The official Django repository on Github has 28k watchers and 68k Github stars, indicating significant interest in the development of the framework.

In fact, the community continues to expand, so we can expect the popularity of Django to grow.

Laravel Community

PHP dominates the server-side programming market for web applications, with a market share of 79%. The Laravel subreddit community has more than 74k members while more than 203k questions on StackOverflow are tagged with “Laravel”. The official Laravel repository on Github has 23k watchers and 72k stars.

The combination of PHP and Laravel forms a robust community, where developers exchange Laravel-related resources, such as podcasts, news, documents, and repositories.

Django vs Laravel community

Hiring Developers

When it comes to hiring Laravel or Django developers, one should not find it challenging due to the large developers’ community in both technologies. Glassdoor gives approximate figures of $96k annually for middle Laravel PHP developers in the US and $79k annually for middle Django developers. Important to note, that the rates will significantly depend on the country of your software development company and the amount of experience the software developers have.  
 

Conclusion

Both technologies have top-notch features, capabilities, and applications to serve different sectors, including startups, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large corporations. Therefore, it is difficult to definitively say which one is superior. It comes down to a decision based on the needs and nature of your project. If you are stuck between Django and Laravel, take a step back and think about which one will be more beneficial for your project in the long run.

Django vs Laravel

Choose Django if you want to build:

  • A dynamic and customizable social media website;
  • ML or AI-integrated apps with superior personalization features;
  • CRMs for e-commerce sites or high-load booking engines;
  • Large, secure B2B applications;
  • Apps that leverage data analysis and visualization.

Choose Laravel if you want to build:



  • Interactive website layouts with resonating content;
  • A small-scale application, for example, a blog;
  • Customized web applications using CSS and JavaScript
  • You need to build a web application quicker and faster with object-oriented libraries.
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