Django
Open SourceThe web framework for perfectionists with deadlines.
Published 29 May 2026 · Last updated 27 September 2026
Scores
Popularity3/5
One of the most popular Python web frameworks; used by Instagram, Disqus, and Mozilla.
Learning Curve3/5
ORM and admin are powerful, but the full project structure and settings take time to learn.
Flexibility2/5
Monolithic design tightly integrates ORM, routing, and templates; escaping conventions is costly.
Performance4/5
WSGI and ASGI support; efficient for most web workloads with proper query optimization and caching.
Portability3/5
ORM, admin, and template conventions are Django-specific; migration to FastAPI is a rewrite.
About Django
Django is a high-level Python web framework that takes a batteries-included approach: it ships with an ORM, an auto-generated admin panel, authentication, form handling, and protection against CSRF, XSS, SQL injection, and clickjacking out of the box. Common web tasks get good default solutions, so developers can focus on application logic rather than plumbing.
Django follows the Model-View-Template (MVT) pattern. Models define the data layer and map to database tables, with ORM support for PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MySQL, SQLite, and Oracle, plus built-in migrations. Views hold the business logic and return HTTP responses or rendered templates, and templates use Django's own template language. The admin interface is generated from the model definitions and is usable in production with little extra work.
Recent releases keep extending the core. Async views and an async ORM interface let Django serve long-lived connections under ASGI, and Django 6 added built-in Content Security Policy support, template partials, and a background Tasks framework for work outside the request cycle. A new feature release ships roughly every eight months, with a long-term support release every two years.
Originally built at the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper and open-sourced in 2005, Django is maintained by the Django Software Foundation. Instagram, Pinterest, and Disqus are among the high-traffic sites built on it, and Django REST Framework is the usual companion for building APIs.
Key Features
- Batteries included: ORM, migrations, admin panel, auth, forms, and templating
- Built-in CSRF, SQL injection, XSS, and clickjacking protection, plus CSP (Django 6)
- Automatic admin interface generated from models
- Multi-database support: PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MySQL, SQLite, Oracle
- Async views and async ORM interface under ASGI
- Built-in background Tasks framework and template partials (Django 6)
- Internationalisation and localisation built in
- Mature ecosystem, including Django REST Framework for APIs
Pros
- Everything needed for a full web application ships in one framework
- Security protections are on by default
- Admin panel and scaffolding make internal tools and CRUD apps fast to build
- Predictable releases with long-term support versions
- Large talent pool and thorough official documentation
Cons
- Heavyweight for small services or single-endpoint APIs
- Many built-in components to learn before being productive
- Async support is still partial; much of the ORM and ecosystem is synchronous underneath
- Opinionated project structure may not fit every team
- Server-rendered templates are limited for highly interactive frontends
Django Pricing
Open SourceTech Stacks with Django
HTMX + Django
ProjectA server-driven web stack where Django renders HTML templates and HTMX adds dynamic interactions without writing JavaScript. Ideal for teams that want fast iteration on CRUD-heavy apps and dashboards with minimal frontend complexity.
React + Django
ProjectReact frontend with a Django REST API backend, a popular Python full-stack combination.
Django + HTML Templates
ProjectTraditional Django stack using server-rendered HTML templates, with no separate JS framework needed.
Tools Related to Django
Child tools of Django(1)
django-allauth is a third-party authentication package for Django that layers social login, email verification, and MFA on top of Django's built-in auth.
Works well with Django(2)
HTMX was designed to work with server-side rendering frameworks like Django — Django returns partial HTML fragments via its template engine, which HTMX swaps into the page without a full reload.
PyCharm has a built-in Django support mode — Django template debugging, manage.py runner integration, and ORM query inspection are first-class PyCharm features.
Integrates with Django(2)
Django's ORM has first-class PostgreSQL support — JSONB, ArrayField, HStoreField, and full-text search are PostgreSQL-specific features built into django.contrib.postgres; the production Django stack defaults to PostgreSQL.
Every new Django project is configured with SQLite as its default database in settings.py, and Django's ORM ships the SQLite backend built in.
Built on (1)
Django is a high-level Python web framework for rapid development.
Alternatives to Django(11)
Both Python web frameworks; Django bundles ORM, auth, and admin out of the box, Flask gives a minimal foundation with more flexibility.
Both convention-over-configuration full-stack frameworks; same MVC philosophy in different languages (Python vs Ruby).
Both batteries-included MVC frameworks; Django uses Python, Laravel uses PHP — similar philosophy, different language ecosystems.
Django is batteries-included MVC for full web apps; FastAPI is async-first and focused purely on APIs — different scope and typical use case.
Django is a Python batteries-included framework; Express is a minimal Node.js framework — different language ecosystems.
Axum is a lightweight Rust framework; Django is a Python batteries-included framework — different language and philosophy.
