Django vs Laravel

Django and Laravel are two of the most popular tools for building web applications.

Django is the go-to framework for Python developers, known for its “batteries-included” philosophy. It comes with everything you need out of the box, like an admin panel, authentication, and a powerful ORM, making it easy to build apps quickly.

Laravel is the leading PHP framework, loved for its clean, elegant syntax and rich ecosystem. It offers expressive code, built-in development tools, and a wide range of official packages to speed up development.

In this comparison, we’ll break down their key differences to help you pick the proper framework for your next project.

What is Django

Django was built to handle the fast-paced demands of newsrooms, where speed and reliability matter more than flexibility. It follows a “batteries included” philosophy, giving you everything you need to build powerful web applications without relying on extra tools.

One of Django’s biggest strengths is its convention-driven design. It makes many architectural decisions for you, so you can focus on building your app instead of setting up boilerplate code. Features like the automatic admin interface, built-in authentication, and model-driven approach save you time while keeping your project secure and scalable.

Django uses the MVT (Model-View-Template) architecture, which is similar to MVC but treats templates as the presentation layer while views handle the business logic. This clear separation between data, logic, and presentation makes it easier for you to organize and scale your projects.

What is Laravel

Laravel brought a fresh sense of elegance and simplicity to PHP, a language often criticized for being inconsistent. Created by Taylor Otwell, Laravel is designed to make common web development tasks easier and more enjoyable while still giving you the flexibility to handle complex projects.

At its core, Laravel focuses on expressive, readable code that makes your intentions clear. It offers clean, intuitive APIs for everything from database queries to background jobs, so your code feels natural to write and maintain.

Laravel follows the MVC architecture, keeping your application organized with dedicated controllers, clear routing, and Blade templates for your views. This structure gives you full control over your app’s flow while still benefiting from Laravel’s conventions.

Core framework comparison

Choosing between Django and Laravel will shape your entire development journey, from the first setup steps to maintaining your app over time.

Setting up Django vs Laravel

Getting started with Django and Laravel feels very different because of the languages they use and the way each framework is designed.

Django keeps things simple. If you already have Python installed, you can spin up a new project in just a few commands:

pip install django
django-admin startproject myproject
cd myproject
python manage.py runserver

When you open http://127.0.0.1:8000, you see Django’s rocket-themed welcome page. From there, creating an app is just as quick:

python manage.py startapp myapp

With Django’s “batteries included” approach, you receive a working app structure, database setup, authentication, and an admin dashboard with minimal extra configuration.

Django emphasizes convention over configuration, making the project layout predictable, and the development server automatically reloads your code when changes are made. However, Django warns against using this server in production; it’s only for development.

Laravel offers a more customizable starting point and leans heavily on PHP’s Composer ecosystem:

composer create-project laravel/laravel myproject
cd myproject
php artisan serve

You’ll see Laravel’s welcome page at http://127.0.0.1:8000. Laravel encourages you to configure your app right away through its .env file and gives you Artisan, a powerful CLI tool for generating controllers, models, and other components:

php artisan make:controller HelloController

Setting up Laravel is a bit more complicated because it's designed to support a flexible and scalable app right from the start. Laravel 12.x also includes starter kits for rapidly building authentication and frontend frameworks, and tools like Laravel Herd for a smooth local development experience.

Database and ORM comparison

Django and Laravel both provide powerful Object-Relational Mappers (ORMs) to simplify working with databases, but their approaches feel very different.

Django ORM Django treats your model classes as the single source of truth for your database schema. You define your models in Python, and Django automatically creates migrations for you:

from django.db import models

class Post(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200)
    content = models.TextField()
    created_at = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True)

Run python manage.py makemigrations and python manage.py migrate, and Django updates your database structure to match your models. This model-first workflow keeps your code and database tightly aligned, making it easy to iterate quickly.

Laravel Eloquent ORM Laravel uses a migration-first approach. You create migration files to define database tables, then map them to model classes:

// Migration
Schema::create('posts', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->string('title');
    $table->text('content');
    $table->timestamps();
});

// Model
class Post extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['title', 'content'];
}

Migrations are version-controlled PHP files, so your database structure evolves in a predictable, team-friendly way. Laravel’s Eloquent ORM is fluent and expressive, making it easy to work with relationships, query building, and scopes.

Routing and controller structure

Django and Laravel both let you define clear paths for incoming requests, but their styles differ.

Django routing and views Django uses URL patterns defined in urls.py and ties them directly to views—Python functions or classes that handle requests:

# urls.py
from django.urls import path
from . import views

urlpatterns = [
    path("", views.index, name="index"),
]

# views.py
from django.http import HttpResponse

def index(request):
    return HttpResponse("Hello, world!")

Django’s routing is straightforward and keeps things close to Python functions. For more structure, you can use class-based views (CBVs), which add reusable, generic behaviors.

Laravel routing and controllers Laravel takes a more traditional MVC approach. Routes are defined in routes/web.php and usually point to controller methods:

// routes/web.php
use App\Http\Controllers\PostController;

Route::get('/', [PostController::class, 'index']);

// app/Http/Controllers/PostController.php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function index() {
        return "Hello, world!";
    }
}

With Laravel, you get explicit routing and separate controllers for improved clarity. The routing system includes built-in support for middleware, route grouping, parameter binding, and resource controllers, making it easier to organize large-scale apps.

Templating and frontend integration

Django and Laravel both include a templating engine to render dynamic content, but they target different levels of complexity and flexibility.

Django templates Django’s templating system is intentionally simple. Templates are written in plain HTML with template tags for variables, loops, and filters:

<!-- templates/home.html -->
<h1>Welcome, {{ user.username }}!</h1>
<ul>
  {% for post in posts %}
    <li>{{ post.title }}</li>
  {% endfor %}
</ul>

Django templates emphasize security (auto-escaping HTML by default) and clarity. They’re great for traditional server-rendered apps, but they don’t include advanced frontend tooling—Django expects you to bring your own JavaScript framework if needed.

Laravel Blade templates Blade is Laravel’s powerful templating engine. It combines PHP’s flexibility with expressive syntax and reusable components:

<!-- resources/views/home.blade.php -->
<h1>Welcome, {{ $user->name }}!</h1>
<ul>
  @foreach ($posts as $post)
    <li>{{ $post->title }}</li>
  @endforeach
</ul>

Blade supports template inheritance, components, and directives, making it easier to create reusable layouts. Laravel also integrates tightly with frontend tools like Vite, and offers official starter kits with React, Vue, and Inertia.js for building modern SPAs or hybrid apps.

Authentication and security

Once you've set up your routes and templates, the next exciting step in your web app journey is securing user access. Both Django and Laravel place a strong emphasis on security, although they each take their own unique paths to achieve it, highlighting their distinct design philosophies and making your choice even more interesting.

Django Django ships with a fully integrated authentication system. Out of the box, you get a complete solution for user accounts, sessions, permissions, and password management.

A fully functional login view in Django can be added with a single URL pattern:

# urls.py
from django.contrib.auth import views as auth_views
from django.urls import path

urlpatterns = [
    path('login/', auth_views.LoginView.as_view(), name='login'),
]

Django handles sessions, password validation, CSRF protection, and even includes a default login template. Security features like CSRF protection, XSS prevention, and password hashing are turned on by default. Setting up authentication is almost effortless because it’s baked directly into the framework.

Laravel Laravel favors a flexible, package-based approach. Instead of including everything in the core, it provides official starter kits like Breeze or Jetstream that set up login, registration, and password reset processes for you.

Laravel’s Breeze starter kit generates a controller where login is explicitly coded:

// app/Http/Controllers/Auth/LoginController.php
public function store(Request $request)
{
    $credentials = $request->validate([
        'email' => ['required', 'email'],
        'password' => ['required'],
    ]);

    if (Auth::attempt($credentials)) {
        $request->session()->regenerate();
        return redirect()->intended('dashboard');
    }

    return back()->withErrors([
        'email' => 'The provided credentials do not match our records.',
    ]);
}

With Laravel, you get precise control over validation, sessions, and redirects from the beginning. For APIs, Laravel Sanctum offers token-based authentication, and Passport provides full OAuth2 support. This flexibility makes Laravel highly adaptable, but it also requires more initial setup compared to Django’s defaults.

Background jobs and queues

As your app grows, some tasks, such as sending emails, processing images, or handling notifications, are better handled in the background to keep your app fast and responsive. Django and Laravel both provide powerful ways to manage these jobs, but their approaches are quite different.

Django Django does not include a built-in task queue. Instead, it integrates closely with Celery, a popular Python library for distributed task processing. Celery works with brokers like Redis or RabbitMQ and is highly flexible:

# tasks.py
from celery import shared_task

@shared_task
def send_welcome_email(user_id):
    # Logic for sending an email
    print(f"Email sent to user {user_id}")

Celery provides scheduling, retries, and distributed workers, making it an excellent choice for large-scale systems. However, it requires extra setup, which adds complexity for smaller apps.

Laravel Laravel includes a queue system built directly into the framework. You can create jobs with a simple command, dispatch them easily, and choose from drivers like Redis, SQS, or a database:

// app/Jobs/SendWelcomeEmail.php
class SendWelcomeEmail implements ShouldQueue
{
    public function handle()
    {
        // Logic for sending an email
        logger("Email sent to user");
    }
}

// Dispatching the job
SendWelcomeEmail::dispatch($user);

Laravel’s queue system also offers Horizon, a first-party dashboard for monitoring and managing jobs, which makes scaling background processing straightforward.

Testing and developer experience

Testing is a critical part of any web project, and both Django and Laravel make it easier to write and run tests. However, their testing tools and overall developer experience feel different.

Django Django includes a built-in testing framework based on Python’s unittest module. You can write tests directly in your apps and run them with a single command:

# tests.py
from django.test import TestCase
from .models import Post

class PostModelTest(TestCase):
    def test_string_representation(self):
        post = Post(title="Sample Post")
        self.assertEqual(str(post), "Sample Post")

Django’s test runner supports fixtures, client simulation, and database rollbacks by default. Its strong integration with Python’s ecosystem also gives you access to additional testing libraries like pytest for more flexibility.

Laravel Laravel comes with PHPUnit preconfigured and also supports Pest, a modern testing framework with a simpler syntax. Creating tests is straightforward:

// tests/Feature/PostTest.php
public function test_post_page_loads()
{
    $response = $this->get('/posts');
    $response->assertStatus(200);
}

Laravel provides built-in helpers for simulating requests, seeding data, and testing authentication. Its developer experience is further enhanced by tools like Laravel Telescope for debugging, Tinker for REPL-like testing, and extensive official documentation.

Both frameworks make automated testing a first-class citizen, so this decision often comes down to whether you prefer the Python or PHP ecosystem.

Real-time features and live updates

Modern applications often need features like chat, notifications, or dashboards that update instantly. Both Django and Laravel can deliver real-time functionality, but they use different tools to get there.

Django Django provides Channels, an official extension that adds support for WebSockets and long-running connections:

# consumers.py
from channels.generic.websocket import AsyncWebsocketConsumer
import json

class ChatConsumer(AsyncWebsocketConsumer):
    async def connect(self):
        await self.accept()
        await self.send(text_data=json.dumps({
            'message': 'Hello from Django Channels!'
        }))

With Channels, Django can handle HTTP and WebSocket traffic on the same project. It integrates with Redis for horizontal scaling and makes it easier to build chat apps, live notifications, and streaming dashboards.

Laravel Laravel includes built-in broadcasting for real-time events. Combined with tools like Laravel Echo and Pusher or a self-hosted WebSocket server, you can create interactive apps quickly:

// Event
class MessageSent implements ShouldBroadcast
{
    public function broadcastOn()
    {
        return ['chat-channel'];
    }
}

// Frontend (JavaScript with Laravel Echo)
Echo.channel('chat-channel')
    .listen('MessageSent', (e) => {
        console.log(e);
    });

For even faster setup, Laravel Reverb provides a fully managed WebSocket server that integrates seamlessly with the Laravel ecosystem.

Final thoughts

This article compared Django and Laravel, two of the most popular frameworks for building web applications. You now have a clear idea of what each framework offers and when to choose one over the other.

Django is a strong choice if you want a convention-driven framework that works out of the box, with built-in authentication, an admin panel, and Python’s powerful ecosystem at your disposal.

Laravel is better suited if you want expressive syntax, deep customization, and a rich ecosystem of first-party tools for real-time apps, queues, and serverless deployments.

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