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Django vs Laravel 2026: Framework Comparison

Django is a Python-based framework excelling in rapid development, data science integration, and scalability, while Laravel is a PHP-based framework known for elegant syntax, developer experience, and built-in features like authentication. Choice depends on your language preference and project requirements.

D

Django

Python-based web framework emphasizing rapid development, clean code, and batteries-included architecture.

Data-heavy applications, AI/ML integration projects, rapid prototyping, enterprise apps, teams with Python expertise

Score63%
VS
Laravel

Laravel

PHP backend web framework with built-in ORM, authentication, and comprehensive tooling.

Web applications, startups with limited budgets, teams prioritizing code readability, projects on PHP-native hosts

Score63%

Quick Answer

AI Summary

Django is a Python-based framework excelling in rapid development, data science integration, and scalability, while Laravel is a PHP-based framework known for elegant syntax, developer experience, and built-in features like authentication. Choice depends on your language preference and project requirements.

Our Verdict

AI-assisted

Choose Django if you need rapid development, data science capabilities, automatic admin panel, or are building scalable applications where Python expertise is available. Choose Laravel if you prioritize developer experience, elegant syntax, faster onboarding for teams new to frameworks, or are in a PHP-native environment with lower hosting costs.

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D
Django
7.7/10
Laravel
7.3/10
D

Choose Django if

Best pick

Data-heavy applications, AI/ML integration projects, rapid prototyping, enterprise apps, teams with Python expertise

Laravel

Choose Laravel if

Web applications, startups with limited budgets, teams prioritizing code readability, projects on PHP-native hosts

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Key Differences at a Glance

  • Primary Language:Python vs PHP
  • Built-in Admin Panel:Django wins(Yes, automatic (Django Admin) vs No, requires third-party package)
  • Learning Curve:Laravel wins(Easier (PHP more forgiving syntax) vs Moderate (Python fundamentals needed))
See all 7 differences

Key Facts & Figures

106 numeric metrics compared

MetricDjangoLaravelRatio
Average Request Latency(milliseconds)200-400ms
Concurrent Connections (single core)(connections)100-500
Time to First Working App(hours)1-2
Package Ecosystem Size(packages)500K packages500,000+
Memory Usage (Idle)(MB)80-120MB
Average Development Speed (MVP)(weeks)3 weeks1.5 weeks
Job Openings (Global, 2025)(positions)45,00038,000
Average Page Load Time(seconds)145ms95ms
Developer Satisfaction (2025 Survey)(percentage)82%89%
Average Request Response Time(milliseconds)65ms
Available Packages/Gems(packages)500,000+380,000+ packages
Time to Build Basic MVP(weeks)2-3 weeks
Job Market Postings (2025)(estimated count)28,000+
Learning Curve for Beginners(hours to proficiency)4-6 months120-160 hours
Throughput at Scale (Req/sec)(requests per second)2,500 req/sec
GitHub Stars(stars)79,400+ stars78,600+ stars
Throughput (Requests/Second)(req/s)~1,200 req/s
Startup Time(milliseconds)~300-500ms
Memory Usage (base)(MB)~50MB
Time to First API Endpoint(minutes)8-12 hours
Third-party Packages(packages)13,000+ packages
Core Framework Size(MB)~2,100 KB~50MB with dependencies
Request/Response Latency (simple GET)(ms)45-65 ms
Weekly Downloads (PyPI)(thousands)1,200 thousand
Minimal Project Setup Time(minutes)15-20
Stack Overflow Questions (all-time)3,800 thousand
Time to Production (months)(months)1.5-2
Throughput Capacity (requests/sec)(req/sec)~5,000
Lines of Code per Feature(LOC)100
Available Job Openings (US, 2026)(thousands)~45K
Memory Usage (baseline app)(MB)~150-200
Learning Curve (hours to 'Hello World')(hours)4-6
Cold Start Time(seconds)600ms
Base Framework Size(megabytes)11 MB
Requests/Second (Throughput)(req/s)~1,200 req/s
Learning Time to Proficiency(hours)50 hours
Community Size (GitHub Stars)(stars)79k stars77,500 stars
Development Speed (Median Project Timeline)(weeks)8-12 weeks
Median Response Latency(ms)25ms
Requests Per Second (Single Instance)(req/s)450 req/s
Time to Production (greenfield project)(days)2-3 days
Initial Learning Hours(hours)15-25 hours
Memory Usage (hello world app)(MB)120MB
Time to First API (minutes)(minutes)15-20
Request Throughput (req/sec, hello-world)(requests/second)1,200-1,800
GitHub Stars (2026)(stars)77,000+77,500 stars
Request Throughput(requests/second)~1,200 req/sec~900 req/sec
Time to Hello World(minutes)8-10 minutes4-6 minutes
Available Third-party Packages(packages)~430,000 (PyPI)~86,000 (Packagist)
Minimum Server RAM Required(MB)512 MB256 MB
Active Maintainers (2025)(count)~2,500 contributors~1,200 contributors
Market Share Among PHP Frameworks(%)65%65%
Packages Available(count)2,500+ verified packages2,500+ verified packages
Time to Build Hello World(minutes)~15 minutes~15 minutes
Installation Size(GB)~50 MB~50 MB
Time to Build CRUD App(hours)2-4 hours2-4 hours
Market Share Among PHP Developers(%)64% of PHP frameworks64% of PHP frameworks
Average Response Time (Benchmark)(ms)45-60 ms per request45-60 ms per request
Average Development Time (Basic Site)(weeks)4-12 weeks4-12 weeks
Global Market Share(%)~3%~3%
Reported Security Vulnerabilities (2024)(CVEs)23 core CVEs23 core CVEs
Available Plugins/Extensions(count)Composer packages (1M+)Composer packages (1M+)
Monthly Hosting Cost (Basic)(USD)$20-50$20-50
Maximum Concurrent Users (Optimized)(users)100,000+100,000+
Initial Setup Time(hours)8-12 minutes (Laravel installer + composer)8-12 minutes (Laravel installer + composer)
Cold Start Latency (Serverless)(milliseconds)800-1200ms (PHP cold starts)800-1200ms (PHP cold starts)
Average Page Build Time (SSG)(seconds)0.8-1.5s per page (Blade templating)0.8-1.5s per page (Blade templating)
Monthly NPM/Composer Downloads(millions)2.5M (Packagist)2.5M (Packagist)
Hosting Cost (Entry-Level Annual)(USD)$24-60/year (shared PHP hosting)$24-60/year (shared PHP hosting)
Ecosystem Package Count(millions of packages)280K (Packagist registry)280K (Packagist registry)
Learning Curve (Time to Productivity)(weeks)2-3 weeks2-3 weeks
Baseline Project Setup Time(days)1 day (php artisan new)1 day (php artisan new)
Requests Per Second (Benchmark)(req/s)3,2003,200
Long-Term Support (LTS) Duration(years of security updates)3 years (standard support)3 years (standard support)
Time to Deploy Basic CRUD App(days)12-16 days12-16 days
Minimum Monthly Hosting Cost(USD)$3/month$3/month
Average HTTP Response Time(milliseconds)22ms22ms
Available Packages/Extensions(count (thousands))45,000+ packages45,000+ packages
Active Job Openings (USA, 2025)(positions)~12,400~12,400
Official Documentation Pages(pages)~450 guides~450 guides
Typical Database Query Overhead(percent slower than raw SQL)6-10%6-10%
Average Requests Per Second(req/s)8,000 req/s8,000 req/s
GitHub Repository Stars(thousands)77,50077,500
Time to Build Basic CRUD App(minutes)18 minutes18 minutes
Median Developer Salary (US)(USD)$105,000$105,000
Learning Curve (Beginner to Productive)(weeks)2-3 weeks2-3 weeks
Learning Curve (Time to Basic Proficiency)(weeks)2-4 weeks2-4 weeks
Annual Job Postings(jobs)12,400+12,400+
Response Time Performance(% slower)20-30% slower under load20-30% slower under load
Documentation Pages(pages)2,800+ pages2,800+ pages
Average Page Load Time (no optimization)(milliseconds)850-1200 ms850-1200 ms
Job Postings (2025)(postings)215,000215,000
Latest Stable Release Year(year)2025 (v11)2025 (v11)
Learning Curve (for beginner developers)(hours)40-60 hours40-60 hours
Average Development Time(weeks)8 weeks8 weeks
Market Share(%)2%2%
Hosting Cost (Budget Option)(USD/month)10-3010-30
Requests Per Second (Throughput)(req/sec)14,000 req/sec14,000 req/sec
Average Time to Developer Proficiency(weeks)10 weeks10 weeks
Job Market Demand (2025)(job postings)12,400 postings12,400 postings
Memory Usage Per Request(MB)12 MB12 MB
New Project Market Share (2025)(percent)67% of new projects67% of new projects
Enterprise Legacy Adoption(percent)18% of legacy systems18% of legacy systems
Weekly NPM Downloads(downloads)~2.5M (Composer)~2.5M (Composer)
Average Setup Time(minutes)10-15 minutes10-15 minutes
Average Project Size (Starter)(MB)~35 MB (with dependencies)~35 MB (with dependencies)

Sourced from publicly available data ·

Key Differences

7 attributes compared head-to-head

D
4Django
Django leads2 ties
Laravel
1Laravel
  • Primary Language

    Django

    Python

    Laravel

    PHP

  • Built-in Admin Panel

    Django

    Yes, automatic (Django Admin)(winner)

    Laravel

    No, requires third-party package

  • Learning Curve

    Django

    Moderate (Python fundamentals needed)

    Laravel

    Easier (PHP more forgiving syntax)(winner)

  • Performance (requests/sec)

    Django

    ~1,200 req/sec (average)(winner)

    Laravel

    ~900 req/sec (average)

  • Data Science Integration

    Django

    Excellent (NumPy, Pandas, TensorFlow)(winner)

    Laravel

    Limited (Python ecosystem unavailable)

  • Built-in ORM

    Django

    Django ORM (powerful, batteries-included)

    Laravel

    Eloquent ORM (intuitive, elegant)

  • Community Size (2025)

    Django

    ~2.1M developers(winner)

    Laravel

    ~1.8M developers

Full Comparison

DDjango
Laravel
Average Request Latency(milliseconds)
200-400ms
Average Page Load Time(seconds)
145ms
95ms
Average Request Response Time(milliseconds)
65ms
Throughput at Scale (Req/sec)(requests per second)
2,500 req/sec
Throughput (Requests/Second)(req/s)
~1,200 req/s
Show 24 more attributes
Startup Time(milliseconds)
~300-500ms
Memory Usage (base)(MB)
~50MB
Core Framework Size(MB)
~2,100 KB
~50MB with dependencies
Request/Response Latency (simple GET)(ms)
45-65 ms
Throughput Capacity (requests/sec)(req/sec)
~5,000
Cold Start Time(seconds)
600ms
Requests/Second (Throughput)(req/s)
~1,200 req/s
Median Response Latency(ms)
25ms
Requests Per Second (Single Instance)(req/s)
450 req/s
Request Throughput (req/sec, hello-world)(requests/second)
1,200-1,800
Request Throughput(requests/second)
~1,200 req/sec
~900 req/sec
Average Response Time (Benchmark)(ms)
45-60 ms per request
Maximum Concurrent Users (Optimized)(users)
100,000+
Cold Start Latency (Serverless)(milliseconds)
800-1200ms (PHP cold starts)
Average Page Build Time (SSG)(seconds)
0.8-1.5s per page (Blade templating)
Requests Per Second (Benchmark)(req/s)
3,200
Average HTTP Response Time(milliseconds)
22ms
Typical Database Query Overhead(percent slower than raw SQL)
6-10%
Average Requests Per Second(req/s)
8,000 req/s
Response Time Performance(% slower)
20-30% slower under load
Average Page Load Time (no optimization)(milliseconds)
850-1200 ms
Requests Per Second (Throughput)(req/sec)
14,000 req/sec
Memory Usage Per Request(MB)
12 MB
Average Project Size (Starter)(MB)
~35 MB (with dependencies)
Concurrent Connections (single core)(connections)
100-500
Time to First Working App(hours)
1-2
Time to Build Basic MVP(weeks)
2-3 weeks
Minimal Project Setup Time(minutes)
15-20
Time to Production (months)(months)
1.5-2
Time to Production (greenfield project)(days)
2-3 days
Show 4 more attributes
Time to First API (minutes)(minutes)
15-20
Time to Build CRUD App(hours)
2-4 hours
Time to Deploy Basic CRUD App(days)
12-16 days
Time to Build Basic CRUD App(minutes)
18 minutes
Package Ecosystem Size(packages)
500K packages
500,000+
ML/AI Library Integration
Excellent (TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn)
Limited (minimal options)
Available Packages/Gems(packages)
500,000+
380,000+ packages
Third-party Packages(packages)
13,000+ packages
Available Third-party Packages(packages)
~430,000 (PyPI)
~86,000 (Packagist)
Show 4 more attributes
Packages Available(count)
2,500+ verified packages
Ecosystem Package Count(millions of packages)
280K (Packagist registry)
Developer Community Size(active developers)
6.2 million
Available Packages/Extensions(count (thousands))
45,000+ packages
Memory Usage (Idle)(MB)
80-120MB
Memory Usage (baseline app)(MB)
~150-200
Memory Usage (hello world app)(MB)
120MB
Admin Panel Included
Yes (auto-generated)
Built-in Admin Dashboard
Yes, auto-generated
Async Request Support
Partial (3.1+)
Built-in Database ORM
Django ORM (included)
Yes (Eloquent)
Admin Interface
Auto-generated from models
Show 7 more attributes
Built-in Admin Panel
Yes (Django Admin fully featured)
No, third-party required
Built-in Authentication
Yes, with Django-allauth extension
Yes, built-in (Laravel Auth)
Job Queue System(feature)
Native (Redis, database, sync)
Built-in Testing Framework(status)
Pest & PHPUnit
SEO-Ready Features
Basic (no SSG/SSR built-in)
Frontend Component Library Integration
Manual (Blade templating)
Built-in Real-Time Capabilities
Reverb WebSockets (built-in)
Average Development Speed (MVP)(weeks)
3 weeks
1.5 weeks
Job Openings (Global, 2025)(positions)
45,000
38,000
Available Job Openings (US, 2026)(thousands)
~45K
Job Postings (2025)(postings)
215,000
Async Support Level
Partial (optional, requires setup)
Full native (built-in queues)
Native Dependency Injection
No (requires external frameworks)
Reusable Components(components)
Framework-integrated
Developer Satisfaction (2025 Survey)(percentage)
82%
89%
Job Market Postings (2025)(estimated count)
28,000+
Learning Curve for Beginners(hours to proficiency)
4-6 months
120-160 hours
Minimum Coding Knowledge Required(skill level (1-10))
8/10 (Advanced PHP)
GitHub Stars(stars)
79,400+ stars
78,600+ stars
GitHub Stars (2026)(stars)
77,000+
77,500 stars
Time to First API Endpoint(minutes)
8-12 hours
Average Development Time (Basic Site)(weeks)
4-12 weeks
Latest Stable Release Year(year)
2025 (v11)
Average Development Time(weeks)
8 weeks
Weekly Downloads (PyPI)(thousands)
1,200 thousand
NPM Weekly Downloads(millions)
Not applicable (Python package)
Stack Overflow Questions (all-time)
3,800 thousand
Authentication Built-in
Yes (user model, permissions, groups)
Reported Security Vulnerabilities (2024)(CVEs)
23 core CVEs
Lines of Code per Feature(LOC)
100
Learning Curve (hours to 'Hello World')(hours)
4-6
Learning Curve (for beginner developers)(hours)
40-60 hours
Enterprise Adoption Rate(% of Fortune 500)
~15%
Market Share Among PHP Developers(%)
64% of PHP frameworks
Monthly NPM/Composer Downloads(millions)
2.5M (Packagist)
Market Share(%)
2%
New Project Market Share (2025)(percent)
67% of new projects
Show 1 more attribute
Enterprise Legacy Adoption(percent)
18% of legacy systems
Base Framework Size(megabytes)
11 MB
Built-in ORM
Yes (Django ORM with migrations)
Yes (Eloquent)
Admin Panel
Auto-generated included
Learning Time to Proficiency(hours)
50 hours
Community Size (GitHub Stars)(stars)
79k stars
77,500 stars
Market Share Among PHP Frameworks(%)
65%
Development Speed (Median Project Timeline)(weeks)
8-12 weeks
Time to Hello World(minutes)
8-10 minutes
4-6 minutes
Time to Build Hello World(minutes)
~15 minutes
Type Safety Support
PHPStan/Psalm (third-party tools)
Learning Curve (Time to Productivity)(weeks)
2-3 weeks
Show 3 more attributes
Baseline Project Setup Time(days)
1 day (php artisan new)
Learning Curve (Time to Basic Proficiency)(weeks)
2-4 weeks
Average Setup Time(minutes)
10-15 minutes
Initial Learning Hours(hours)
15-25 hours
Language
Python 3.8+
PHP 8.0+
Minimum Server RAM Required(MB)
512 MB
256 MB
Active Maintainers (2025)(count)
~2,500 contributors
~1,200 contributors
Minimum PHP Version Required(version)
PHP 8.1
Authentication Scaffolding(boolean)
Yes (with 2FA, API tokens)
Database Migration Support(boolean)
Yes (built-in with Artisan)
Installation Size(GB)
~50 MB
Required Developer Experience Level
Senior/Intermediate (5+ years PHP/OOP)
Global Market Share(%)
~3%
Available Plugins/Extensions(count)
Composer packages (1M+)
Monthly Hosting Cost (Basic)(USD)
$20-50
Hosting Cost (Entry-Level Annual)(USD)
$24-60/year (shared PHP hosting)
Hosting Cost (Budget Option)(USD/month)
10-30
Customization Without Code
Limited—requires PHP expertise
Initial Setup Time(hours)
8-12 minutes (Laravel installer + composer)
Long-Term Support (LTS) Duration(years of security updates)
3 years (standard support)
Minimum Monthly Hosting Cost(USD)
$3/month
Active Job Openings (USA, 2025)(positions)
~12,400
Official Documentation Pages(pages)
~450 guides
GitHub Repository Stars(thousands)
77,500
Median Developer Salary (US)(USD)
$105,000
Latest Stable Version Release(version)
Laravel 11.x
Learning Curve (Beginner to Productive)(weeks)
2-3 weeks
Average Time to Developer Proficiency(weeks)
10 weeks
Annual Job Postings(jobs)
12,400+
Enterprise Adoption(companies)
Emerging in enterprise
Built-in Features (Out-of-Box)(features)
ORM, Auth, Caching, Queue, Mail, Broadcasting
Documentation Pages(pages)
2,800+ pages
Best Use Case Complexity(complexity level)
Very Complex (SaaS, APIs, Enterprise)
Job Market Demand (2025)(job postings)
12,400 postings
Weekly NPM Downloads(downloads)
~2.5M (Composer)
Built-in Database Abstraction
Eloquent ORM (native)
Native Authentication System
Laravel Breeze included
Serverless Deployment Support
Limited (Vapor, custom solutions)
Minimum Node/PHP Version(version)
PHP 8.2+

Pros & Cons

10 pros·6 cons across both

D
Laravel
D

Django

+5-3

Pros

  • Automatic admin panel with 0 configuration required
  • Integrated ORM supports complex queries with minimal code
  • Seamless integration with Python ML/AI libraries (TensorFlow, scikit-learn, Pandas)
  • Superior security features (CSRF, SQL injection protection built-in)
  • Excellent documentation with 15+ years of community contributions

Cons

  • Steeper learning curve for developers without Python experience
  • Monolithic architecture can feel heavyweight for microservices projects
  • Slower initial setup compared to minimal frameworks
Laravel

Laravel

+5-3

Pros

  • More intuitive syntax with readable, expressive code
  • Faster learning curve for developers new to frameworks
  • Built-in Artisan CLI reduces boilerplate code by ~40%
  • Rich ecosystem with Laravel ecosystem packages (Forge, Vapor, Nova)
  • Lower hosting costs (shared hosting widely available)

Cons

  • No automatic admin panel; requires additional packages like Nova ($99-$499/year)
  • Limited integration with data science and AI libraries
  • Performance overhead due to PHP runtime (typically 20-30% slower than Django)

Frequently Asked Questions

5 questions

  1. Django typically outperforms Laravel by 25-35% in request throughput benchmarks (~1,200 req/sec vs ~900 req/sec). However, real-world performance depends heavily on database queries, caching strategies, and code optimization. For most applications, both are sufficiently fast; optimization matters more than framework choice.

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