# Django and FastAPI at a Glance — Django / FastAPI

Source: https://www.skillbyai.com/en/django-fastapi/i-two

> Different philosophies.

## Full stack versus typed APIs

**Django** is a "batteries included" framework: ORM with migrations, admin site, authentication, forms, templates, sessions and strong security defaults, ideal for database-backed applications and admin-heavy products. **FastAPI** is a lightweight, **async-first** framework for APIs built on Starlette and **Pydantic**: request validation and serialisation from Python type hints, dependency injection, and automatic OpenAPI documentation. Both are mature and widely used; many teams use Django for the main application and FastAPI for specific high-concurrency services, or Django REST Framework or Django Ninja for APIs within Django.

## Batteries included or API first

Django and FastAPI are the two most popular choices for Python web backends, with different strengths.

![Three ideas: the two frameworks, choosing, project setup.](assets/figures/django-fastapi/section-1-map.svg) — Figure 1.1 — Django, FastAPI and choosing.

## Strengths compared

A starting guide, not a rule.

```text
need                                         Django            FastAPI
admin UI for staff out of the box            yes (admin)       no (add a library)
ORM + migrations built in                    yes               no (SQLAlchemy/SQLModel + Alembic)
authentication, sessions, forms, templates   built in          bring your own
typed request validation from type hints     with DRF/Ninja    built in (Pydantic)
automatic OpenAPI docs                       with add-ons      built in (/docs)
async I/O-heavy endpoints                    supported         native strength
```

## Choose by product, not hype

If you need an admin, users and a relational model quickly, Django saves weeks; for a focused, typed API service, FastAPI is lean.

**Quiz:** Which framework includes an admin site and ORM by default?

- [ ] Neither
- [ ] FastAPI
- [x] Django
- [ ] Both equally

*Answer:* Django. Batteries included.