Laravel vs Django vs Node  – Making the Best Backend Choice

Laravel vs Django vs Node in a Nutshell

To make the first step towards understanding all 3 technologies, let’s draw a clear line between them. Both Laravel and Django are web frameworks. What’s more, they are pretty popular among developers  - see the picture below.

But what is Node.js exactly then, and why use it? First of all, Node.js isn’t a framework. It is a platform, or even more precisely, an environment that allows for running data-intensive apps. Such technologies are also compatible with different programming languages. 

Long story short, Laravel is a solution for PHP websites, Django is a tool for the ones written with Python, while Node.js, as the “.js” in the name suggests, is a platform for JavaScript web applications. Now, let’s review each of the technologies in more detail.

Laravel Overview

Laravel framework is one of the most popular tools for PHP development. It’s been a developers’ top choice for several years in a row when it comes to creating a backend part of a PHP-powered website. 

Top reasons the developers choose Laravel

• Popularity. Laravel is the most popular PHP framework. It has a great and supportive community, tons of understandable documentation, and multiple use cases. Having PHP at its heart is one more reason why the developers often bet on this framework when for example, it comes to comparing Laravel with Node.js. vs Django. 
• Speed and performance. Laravel is the fastest web framework. This is one more reason why this technology often wins in comparison with Node js vs Django. Despite Laravel being best-suited for large and complex projects, it still can promise robust performance and great operational speed. 
• Stability. Lastly, Laravel is more stable compared to Django vs Node.js. This is the reason why this framework is often chosen for enterprise projects that should withstand huge data loads without losing stability. 

So, Laravel is speedy, performant, and flexible, but let’s look closely at its pros and cons.

Pros

Below are the main pros of Laravel for web development.

• Model View Controller (MVC) architecture along with dependencies injection allows for making instant and trouble-free changes
• Laravel comes with clear and extensive documentation
• There is a great talent pool of Laravel developers
• Learning Laravel is relatively easy

Cons

Also, the technology has some cons the developers should keep in mind.

• While Laravel has a seamless learning curve, getting through its documentation takes a lot of time and effort since it is very extensive. And this is the logical prerequisite for the next con of Laravel.
• Some developers say it requires great expertise to tailor Laravel to the project’s necessities
• The framework also lacks additional tools the developers have to configure while making sure the website won’t be overloaded

Laravel Business Use Cases

In most cases,  Laravel becomes a good choice for eCommerce websites with heavy architecture since the framework allows for making a responsive and high-performing platform. For the same reason, it can be a worth-choosing tool for enterprise development. Plus, Laravel allows for creating websites at a faster pace, and that’s why it can also be an option for Minimum Viable Product creation at a reasonable cost. 

A-Team Global Case Studies

Our in-house developers are sure the technical possibilities of Laravel go beyond e-commerce and enterprise development. Plus, when used skillfully, the framework can be tailored to various projects from different industries. Below are some of our developments:

For one of our customers, we have created a web app that allows for managing the internal processes of a musical school. With the help of the website, the school can better schedule lessons, control attendance and performance, share the pupil’s success with parents and create an electronic diary for each pupil. The web app also streamlines the communication between schools and departments, plus facilitates accounting and payroll. This is an example of how Laravel can handle a website with complex architecture. 

As one more Laravel development use case, we have created an educational website that helps students of all ages master algebra and geometry in an engaging and gamified way. The platform comes with the option to combine several games within studying one topic. The games are also perfectly customizable depending on the knowledge level. 

Django Overview

Django is one of the most popular web frameworks created for Python. In contrast to Laravel, it uses Model-Template-View (MVT) architecture that enables the developers to work on website components in parallel, and then integrate them with each other. 

Top reasons why developers select Django for their projects

Indeed, some of the reasons to choose Django overlap with the ones of Laravel. Let’s discover the reasons why the developers choose the first when it comes to Django vs Laravel comparison. 

• Suitability for machine learning projects. Machine learning as the technology is on the rise - this is one of the top reasons why using Django makes sense. Being powered by Python, which is the easily understandable programming language for smart algorithms, Django allows for creating powerful and predictable ML solutions or integrations. 
• The opportunity to speed up the development process. Despite Django being monolithic, it still has a room for some flexibility even in large projects development. For example, the developers can create parallel modules, thereby speeding up the development process. 
• Safety-first approach. Creating large projects that have to handle large amounts of data is the top use case of Django. Comparing Node vs Django, the latter comes with better security features in-built. For example, Django has cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and SQL Injections which allows for handling sensitive data in a more secure way. 

Pros

Comparing Django vs Node js, the first comes with the following benefits for the developers and project owners.

• When tailored to the project’s specifics, Django can reduce the development time
• This framework is monolithic and secured
• Since Django is written in Python, it allows for creating secured artificial intelligence solutions with great scalability potential
• Django allows for quick API creation when there is no ready-made solution to integrate
• Django promises seamless work with databases

Cons

Nevertheless, this technology has its cons as well. 

• Django isn’t flexible
• It is difficult to learn and has no conventions
• Django is suitable for large projects only

Django Business Use Cases

Why use Django? Honestly, Django is very specific. As a rule, developers choose this framework to create artificial intelligence solutions, which will be scaled and integrated with hardware. In this case, the monolithic nature and prioritized security of Django becomes a strong benefit. 

Node.js Overview

As mentioned previously, the most important thing to know about Node.js is that it is neither a framework nor a library. This is a run-time environment, the core goal of which is to make the apps as fast and performant as possible. That’s why this technology is used by leading companies, and the performance they have achieved with its help is quite impressive. Below are just some of the examples:

• GoDaddy reduced its number of servers by 10 times after switching to Node.js
• eBay has chosen Node.js to successfully withstand more than 176 million users
• Uber withstands 2 million calls per second with Node.js

Top reasons why the developers consider Node.js for web development

Comparing Nodejs vs Django, the developers are usually driven by the following reasons to choose the first one. 

• Node.js is good for quick MVP development. Most developers agree that conceptualizing and prototyping becomes easier and more enjoyable with Node. This is especially true for the solutions with microservice architecture since Node.js allows for seamlessly integrating various APIs, showcasing its event-driving nature. 
• Advanced caching. This is another reason to choose Node.js for the apps that need to send a quick response to the users’ requests. With the help of its advanced cashing, Node.js eliminates the need to re-execute the code. 
• Intuitiveness. The developers like Node.js because there is no trouble with using it. Strong knowledge of JS will be enough to understand the way Node works. Most of them also proceed with Node after having tried this tool for the first time. 

Pros

Here are the features that make Node.js outstanding. 

• The event-based model implies the complete synchronization between client and server sides
• Microservice architecture for better speed and performance
• Flexibility and light weightiness paired with better productivity and effectiveness
• Less code and simplicity at great development speed

Cons

Still, this tool has its limitations and challenges. 

• Maintaining Node.js code can be challenging because of its Asynchronous Programming Model
• Some developers say that Node.js significantly lacks security features. According to their opinion, it is prone to DDOS attacks and NPM phishing. 
• Node.js will not withstand heavy computational tasks, in contrast to Django. 

Node.js Business Use Cases

Being event-driven and single-threaded, Node.js is the top choice for real-time apps, for example, instant chats and games. This tool is also good for creating Single Page Applications, which turn out to be pretty zappy and efficient. Node.js can also be a good solution for streaming apps since it makes data transfer easier. As one more use case, some developers consider Node.js for creating IoT (Internet of Things) apps, as such apps are data-intensive and driven by real-time traffic. 

A-Team Global Case Studies

We, at A-Team Global also appreciate the tech opportunities Node.js can promise. That’s why we have created an internal social media project for our customer. This is an employee-only network that allows the team members to communicate, exchange knowledge, share opinions and stay in touch with each other, avoiding communication delays. This is also the perfect example of how Node.js powers instant and event-driving apps. 

We have also used this technology to run an internal and dedicated blog that serves as a knowledge source for Node.js developers. 

Get in touch with us for top-notch Node.js development services! 

Django, Laravel, and Node Comparison Chart

Conclusion

The choice of the right framework for your future web app is essential. While there are a lot of tools to choose from, it is always better to take a restrained look at their in-built features and try to tailor them to the project specifics as carefully as possible. A-Team Global can help you with this task.