Django vs Laravel for Solo Developers

If you want a Python-based framework with one of the best admin panels in any ecosystem, go with Django. If you want a PHP framework with an unmatched first-party tooling ecosystem and easy deployment, go with Laravel.

What is Django?

Django is a batteries-included Python web framework that ships with an ORM, admin panel, authentication, and everything you need to build a production web app. It has been around since 2005, powers sites like Instagram and Disqus, and has one of the largest web framework communities. For solo developers, the admin panel and migration system are huge time-savers.

What is Laravel?

Laravel is the leading PHP framework, known for its elegant syntax and rich ecosystem of first-party tools. Eloquent ORM, Blade templates, built-in auth scaffolding, queues, task scheduling, and official tools like Forge, Vapor, and Nova make it a complete development platform. Taylor Otwell and the team consistently ship polished, integrated tooling.

Feature Comparison

When to Pick Django

Choose Django if you already know Python or if your project involves data processing, ML integration, or anything that benefits from the Python ecosystem. Django's auto-generated admin panel is free and arguably better than Laravel Nova, which costs $199 per project.

Django is the better choice when you want to stay in one language for both your web app and any data science, automation, or scripting tasks. The Python ecosystem for scientific computing, data analysis, and machine learning is unmatched. If your product touches any of those areas, Django keeps everything in one language.

The Django REST Framework is also excellent for building APIs alongside your traditional web app. You get serialization, viewsets, permissions, and browsable API documentation with minimal setup.

When to Pick Laravel

Choose Laravel if you want the smoothest deployment experience. Forge provisions servers, handles SSL, manages databases, and deploys your code for $12 per month. For solo developers who do not want to learn Docker, Nginx configs, or CI/CD pipelines, Forge is a legitimate competitive advantage.

Laravel also shines with its first-party ecosystem. Cashier for subscriptions, Socialite for OAuth, Horizon for queue monitoring, Telescope for debugging. These are official, maintained tools that integrate perfectly. Django has community packages for all of these, but quality and maintenance vary.

If you are already in the PHP ecosystem or want Livewire for building interactive UIs without a JavaScript framework, Laravel keeps everything familiar.

Solo Developer Verdict

Both are excellent choices and you genuinely cannot go wrong with either. Django wins on the free admin panel and Python ecosystem access. Laravel wins on deployment tooling and first-party packages.

My recommendation: pick based on the language you prefer writing every day. If Python feels natural, choose Django. If PHP is your language, choose Laravel. Both frameworks are mature, well-documented, and optimized for developer productivity. The language preference matters more than any feature difference.