Stop Overthinking Django vs FastAPI — Watch This First

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:00]So, you're trying to learn Python web development, but now you're stuck between a Django and a FastAPI. I know you've watched a lot of videos on this, but somehow you're more confused. And don't worry, I've been there, and in the next couple of minutes, I'm going to make this decision super, super easy for you. All right, before I compare between a Django and FastAPI, I want to change the question.

[00:00:21]Most people ask me, "Which framework is better?"

[00:00:25]But you know what? This question itself is wrong. The right question is, "Which framework is right for where I am right now?" Because both Django and FastAPI are great. They just solve different problems. So, let me quickly explain more. Django is what we call a batteries-included framework. That means when you start a Django project, you already get user authentication, an admin panel, a database ORM, form handling, all out of the box. You don't have to manually write the code for all of these features. It's actually designed to build the complete applications fast. Now, the FastAPI, on the other hand, is a microframework.

[00:01:03]What do I mean by microframework? Is that it's lightweight, it's modern, and as the name says, it's really, really fast. It is built specifically for building APIs, and it's excellent if you're working with machine learning models or microservice architecture. So, think of it this way, Django is a fully equipped framework to build whole web application.

[00:01:25]Now, FastAPI is a minimalist framework.

[00:01:28]You get exactly what you need to build APIs, and you assemble everything yourself to make it a full application.

[00:01:34]All right, there can be three types of people. You just tell me which one sounds like you. So, person one, let's say you're fairly new to Python. Maybe you've done some tutorials, you understand the basics, and now you want to build something real, like like a web website or web application, portfolio project, or maybe you know, you're you're on a startup project, or maybe like a web app idea you've been thinking of. If this sounds like you, Django is your answer. It will teach you how the web works, how requests and responses work, how databases connect to your app, how users log into your app.

[00:02:12]This is the foundation. Now the person two, let's say you already know Python very well, you're working in data science or machine learning and you need to deploy your models as an API. Or if you're working on a kind of a large-scale project or maybe it's a microservice project. If that's you, FastAPI is probably the best fit for you. It is built for exactly that use case. Now person three, let's say you're switching careers into tech.

[00:02:39]You want to get a job as a back-end developer within the next three to six months.

[00:02:45]So you need a skill that employers are actually hiring for right now. So again, if that sounds like you, again Django is your answer. You can go and search Python back-end developer on LinkedIn or Indeed right now.

[00:02:57]You'll see Django and Django REST framework in the majority of those job descriptions.

[00:03:02]So honestly, most of my viewers fall into the person one and person three category. So Django is the clear starting point for them. No doubt, FastAPI is growing fast, but right now in 2026, if you look at actual Python back-end job postings, Django still dominates. Companies that have been running web applications for years, like startups, product companies, agencies, service-based companies, like they are built on Django.

[00:03:30]They need a developers who know Django.

[00:03:32]So FastAPI is more common in newer companies, like you know, ML-heavy teams or AI research companies and those large-scale companies that uses microservice architecture. FastAPI jobs also exist a lot, but they usually expect you to have the solid fundamentals. So if getting hired is the part of your goal, Django gives you more doors to knock on right now. To be frank, these two frameworks are not at all enemies. You don't have to pick one forever. In fact, the best path for most developers is learn Django first and then pick up FastAPI later. Because once you understand how web works and how HTTP requests and responses work, then it will be easy for you to pick up FastAPI.

[00:04:16]But if you try to start with FastAPI without that foundation knowledge, you'll get confused. Okay, now ask yourself if you think, "Okay, Django makes sense for me." then I have a free resource for you. Just go to techwithratan.com and you can learn Django for free. Just enroll to this course and learn the fundamentals of Django. And if you're looking to learn the advanced Django concepts, you can join my four-week live back-end developer program where I teach you exactly how to create the scalable APIs using Django REST framework.

[00:04:50]And also, I will teach you how to build the architecture and how to work with the authentication systems like JWT. And also, you'll be building the full e-commerce project and deploy it on the cloud server using Docker and CICD pipeline. So, this is kind of an industry standard deployment practice that nobody else is teaching you on the internet. So, if you're interested, you can join me on the live program. I'll leave a link in the description. And thanks a lot for watching and I'll see you in the next one.