Django vs Ruby on Rails: Which Framework Should You Choose?

Hi there! So, you are looking to decide between using Django or Ruby on Rails for your next web project, right? Super! Both are great frameworks, but they shine differently in various aspects. Today I am going to walk you through a comparison of some of the very important aspects that could help you make your decision.

Let's get into it!

The Language Behind the Framework

First of all, Django is a Python-based framework and Rails is a Ruby-based one. It really makes a big difference since the language you are comfortable with will surely affect the decision.

Python is everywhere-data science, machine learning, automation-you name it! It is easy to learn and extremely readable. On the contrary, Ruby focuses more upon the creating of making code expressive and elegant. Ruby people love how it feels like poetry writing!.

My take: If you have already been working on Python, then Django is a no-brainer. But if you like well-structured code and want to enjoy Ruby's syntax in code, then the choice would be Rails.

The Philosophy Behind Them

Django's motto is Batteries Included. As the name would imply, it pretty much does everything to ship out of the box - admin panel, authentication, and others. Rails, as its mottos Convention over Configuration, makes all sorts of decisions for you, which can be very nice for speeding along development.

My take: Django is very flexible and lets you customize things, while Rails a bit more opinionated. Of course, if one prefers sticking to conventions and wants things up and running fast, Rails is awesome.

Learning Curve

If you do web development work, how steep is the learning curve? I guess Django is easier to learn because Python is a bit of an easy language. But then again, that also means there's so much in Django built into the back-end it can be almost overwhelming for someone who doesn't know what to do.

Rails can be flogging your ego to death because of Ruby - meta-programming is rather more difficult to use. However, once you get over the learning curve, Rails feels incredibly streamlined.

My take: For newcomers, Django is probably more straightforward if you already have some experience with Python.

Community & Ecosystem

Both projects boast great communities. I think, however, that Django itself benefits greatly from the overall Python ecosystem. Whether it's web development, data science, or even working in machine learning, Python has all of this covered.

Ruby also has a pretty nice community, but smaller and nichier. The Rails community is super passionate, but you might find fewer developers working with Ruby as compared to Python.

My take: Django's community is bigger, and there's a wider ecosystem of tools and libraries to work with.

Performance

Another area where people love to compare these two frameworks against each other is their performance. Mostly, Rails is still ahead in terms of speed and efficiency. However, the performance variation between Django and Rails will rarely be a deal-breaker in building the majority of web applications unless you are trying to create something really complex or large-scale.

My take: Rails may be faster at some point, but for 99.9% of all use cases, both frameworks are more than speedy enough.

Scaling

Now, if you're thinking long-term and you need to scale, then both Django and Rails are capable of handling it, but I've seen that Django really shines when scaling huge applications. Instagram and Pinterest are both built on Django and HUGE!

Rails scales well too, but is often deemed better suited for smaller- to mid-sized projects. For larger ones, you might have to spend a bit more time making sure that your Rails apps scale well.

My view: If you are going to build a gigantic platform, Django is probably better suited for scalability.

Security

While both frameworks take security seriously, I think Django is especially robust in that area. It includes inherent protections against SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).

And Rails has good security features, but I have heard that because of Ruby's dynamic nature, that might be just a little bit more vulnerable.

My take: Django wins here by a whisker. It boasts tighter security defaults; this is always a good thing!

Speed of Development

Want to get your app up and running in a flash? Rails is renowned for having fast development skills. The scaffolding feature of the framework allows you to set up the skeleton of your app in a jiffy.

Django is fast to develop with since it is a batteries-included kind of language. You get a lot of built-in tools like the admin panel, which might save you a lot of development time.

My take: Rails might give you the edge for speed in small projects, but Django's built-in features are really great when it is long-term complex development.

Flexibility

I personally love how much flexibility forms a heart of the application of Django. It is simply possible to replace components and integrate third-party tools without making a big fuss over it. It's never locked to one way of doing things.

With Rails, it makes life faster in the development sector because of the conventions, but you lose a little bit of flexibility. You are kind of made to play along with its rules, which would feel a little restrictive for some developers.

My take: If flexibility is the key, then Django allows you more freedom. Rails is great when it comes to convention-over-configuration and fast development, but it doesn't leave a lot of room for deviations.

Popularity

So, let's get real here. Django is pretty popular - with big companies and universities, for the most part - and dominates the world of data science and machine learning just because of Python's dominance.

Historically, Rails was the default choice for startups, but while it is still a go-to in certain niches, usage has dropped overall in recent years.

My two cents: Broadly speaking, Django is exponentially more adopted across industries, whereas Rails has become slightly more niche these days.

Which One to Choose?

Bottom line: it all depends on what you need for your project. Here's my quick advice:

Django for the following scenarios:
You need flexibility and scalability on a rather huge scale.
You are already a Python programmer.
Security features are critical for your application.
Something big or something highly complex that requires you to build an app like Instagram.

Select Ruby on Rails if:
You need to get the app out quickly, and market it fast.
You enjoy reading Ruby's syntax.
Your project is small to mid-sized or is a prototype.

At the end of the day, Django and Ruby on Rails are really good choices. It all boils down to finding the right tool for the job!