Flask vs FastAPI: Which Python web development framework is better for high performance
Python is a popular programming language for web development because of its simplicity, readability, and ease of use. Flask and FastAPI are two popular Python web development frameworks that developers use to create high-performance web applications.
Flask
Flask is a lightweight Python web development framework that is best suited for small to medium-sized applications. It is easy to learn and has a large user community with a vast collection of plugins and extensions. Flask is an excellent choice for developers who prefer flexibility and customization options over integrated features.
Flask has a simple and intuitive user interface, making it a great choice for small projects, prototyping, and testing. Flask also provides built-in support for Jinja2 templates for creating dynamic web pages.
It's essential to note that Flask is not well suited to complex enterprise-level applications requiring high-performance web services. Flask relies heavily on external libraries, making it more complicated and slower than other frameworks.
FastAPI
FastAPI is a modern, lightning-fast Python web development framework explicitly designed for building high-performance APIs. It uses modern Python features and async I/O, making it faster than Flask for complex web applications that require numerous queries and high database traffic.
FastAPI boasts incredible performance benchmarks, making it one of the best choices for building high-performance web services. FastAPI is fully integrated and has excellent documentation, making it a good choice for teams working on large, enterprise-level applications.
The main advantage of FastAPI over Flask is its speed. FastAPI can handle up to 70,000 requests per second, making it an ideal choice for high-traffic web applications. It also has built-in support for data validation, serialization, and swagger documentation.
Flask vs FastAPI: Performance Comparison
| Framework | Request per second | Time per request (ms) |
|---|---|---|
| Flask | 4,600 | 220 |
| FastAPI | 70,000 | 52 |
(Source: https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/benchmarks/)
As the numbers show, FastAPI has significantly better performance than Flask. However, it's important to note that Flask is still an excellent choice for small web applications, prototyping, and testing.
Conclusion
Choosing the right Python web development framework for your project is essential to ensure good performance, scalability, and maintainability. Flask is an excellent choice for small to medium-sized applications, while FastAPI is best suited for large, high-performance web applications.
FastAPI has incredibly high performance benchmarks and provides developers with built-in data validation, serialization, and documentation. Flask is easy to learn, flexible, and more suited to simple applications with fewer requirements.
Ultimately, the choice between Flask and FastAPI depends on your project requirements, the scale of your application, and the development team's skills.
References
- "Flask - A Python Microframework." Flask, https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/2.1.x/
- "FastAPI." FastAPI, https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/
- "FastAPI Benchmarks." FastAPI Benchmarks, https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/benchmarks/
- "Comparing Flask and FastAPI for building a real-world Python web app." Gaurav Singhal, Medium, https://towardsdatascience.com/comparing-flask-and-fastapi-for-building-a-real-world-python-web-app-ebb6e3f6d8c6