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Actix VS Flask

Compare Actix VS Flask and see what are their differences

Actix logo Actix

Rust's powerful actor system and most fun web framework

Flask logo Flask

a microframework for Python based on Werkzeug, Jinja 2 and good intentions.
  • Actix Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-11
  • Flask Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24

Actix features and specs

  • High Performance
    Actix is built on top of Rust's Tokio framework, which provides asynchronous runtime with low overhead. This makes Actix extremely fast and suitable for high-performance applications, including web servers.
  • Strong Type Safety
    Being a Rust framework, Actix benefits from Rust's strong type system, which helps catch bugs at compile time, reducing runtime errors and improving overall application reliability.
  • Rich Ecosystem
    Actix comes with a variety of features for building web applications, including support for WebSockets, middleware, routing, and more. This makes it versatile and capable of handling various web development needs.
  • Concurrency and Asynchronous Support
    Actix leverages Rust's async/await syntax and its actor model to handle concurrency efficiently, making it ideal for I/O-bound applications that need to handle many simultaneous connections.
  • Community and Documentation
    Actix has an active community and a growing ecosystem. There is good documentation available to get started, and the community provides support through forums and GitHub.

Possible disadvantages of Actix

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Rust itself has a steep learning curve due to its unique ownership model and strong type system. Combined with Actix's specific model, it may be challenging for new users to get up to speed.
  • Complexity
    Actix's actor model introduces additional complexity that might not be necessary for all use cases. For simple applications, the added abstraction can be overwhelming.
  • Rapid Evolution
    Rust and its libraries, including Actix, evolve rapidly. This can lead to frequent updates and potential breaking changes, requiring developers to keep up-to-date with the latest versions.
  • Limited Resources Compared to Established Frameworks
    Actix, while growing, still has fewer resources, tutorials, and third-party integrations compared to more established frameworks like Node.js or Django, which can increase development time in certain cases.
  • Historical Security Concerns
    Actix has had security concerns in the past due to unsafe Rust code use, though these issues have been addressed. However, this history might still concern some developers when considering the framework.

Flask features and specs

  • Simplicity
    Flask is a micro-framework, meaning it is lightweight, easy to understand, and simple to use. It requires minimal setup to get a web application up and running.
  • Flexibility
    Flask provides flexibility and control over the application's architecture, allowing developers to choose the components they need and avoid unnecessary bloat.
  • Extensibility
    Flask supports various extensions to add capabilities like database integration, form validation, and authentication without compromising its core simplicity.
  • Documentation
    Flask has comprehensive and well-organized documentation, making it easier for developers to learn and implement features effectively.
  • Community
    Flask has a large and active community, providing ample resources like tutorials, code snippets, and third-party libraries that can help speed up development.
  • Testing
    Flask is designed to be unit tested easily, allowing developers to test their applications and ensure reliability.

Possible disadvantages of Flask

  • Scalability
    Flask may not be as scalable as some other frameworks for very large applications due to its minimalist design and lack of built-in features.
  • Boilerplate Code
    Since Flask requires you to integrate and configure many components manually, codebases in Flask can sometimes contain a lot of boilerplate code.
  • Opinionated Architecture
    While Flask provides flexibility, it also means there are fewer conventions. Developers must make more architectural decisions, which can be challenging for large team collaboration.
  • Limited Tools
    Compared to more comprehensive frameworks, Flask offers fewer built-in tools and features, which may necessitate additional plugins or custom implementations.
  • Learning Curve for Complex Applications
    While Flask is easy to learn for simple applications, it can become complex to manage as the application grows, requiring a good understanding of design patterns and software architecture.

Actix videos

The Downfall of Actix Web

More videos:

Flask videos

Built To Last A Life Time - Ragproper Modern Glass Flask Review

More videos:

  • Review - The Hip Flask Guide - Gentleman's Gazette
  • Review - 10 Best Flasks 2019

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Actix and Flask)
Web Frameworks
18 18%
82% 82
Developer Tools
11 11%
89% 89
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
Python Web Framework
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Actix and Flask

Actix Reviews

We have no reviews of Actix yet.
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Flask Reviews

The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
Flask is the micro that’s got your back without trying to run the show. It comes with the essentials but trusts you to pick your tools — no baggage attached, truly Pythonic at heart.
Top 9 best Frameworks for web development
The best frameworks for web development include React, Angular, Vue.js, Django, Spring, Laravel, Ruby on Rails, Flask and Express.js. Each of these frameworks has its own advantages and distinctive features, so it is important to choose the framework that best suits the needs of your project.
Source: www.kiwop.com
25 Python Frameworks to Master
You’ll also have access to some extension packages like Flask-RESTful, which adds support for building powerful REST APIs, and Flask-SQLAlchemy, a convenient way to use SQLAlchemy in your flask app.
Source: kinsta.com
3 Web Frameworks to Use With Python
Flask is a micro web framework for building web applications with Python. Here is the official web page of Flask.
Top 10 Phoenix Framework Alternatives
Flask is a micro-framework, i.e., it does not bundle tools and libraries and instead uses third party libraries to deliver functionalities.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Actix should be more popular than Flask. It has been mentiond 82 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Actix mentions (82)

  • Rusty Backends
    To find answers, we wanted to get our hands dirty with three popular Rust web frameworks including rocket, axum, and actix, and get a feeling for their performance, features, and most importantly the developer experience. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • A recap about the Zentrox development
    So, what framework do I use? Zentrox uses the actix_web framework which is a great library. My DevExp. With this tool was nice. It has good documentation and powerful tools. It was easy to implement for me as I was previously using Express.JS and Flask (Python). Actix also has other helper libraries for files, cookies, sessions,... Which I use in my project as well. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Understanding AML/KYC: a light primer for engineers
    APIs are often the key to enabling interoperability between AML/KYC solutions and other systems. Design APIs following RESTful principles—using libraries like ExpressJs (JavaScript), Flask (Python), or Actix Web (Rust)—ensuring they are stateless and support the JSON/XML formats expected by most systems. Use Swagger to generate detailed documentation for RESTful APIs to facilitate integration and ensure your APIs... - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Empowering Web Privacy with Rust: Building a Decentralized Identity Management System
    Actix Web Documentation: Detailed documentation on using Actix-web, including examples and best practices for building web applications with Rust. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Building a REST API for Math Operations (+, *, /) with Rust, Actix, and Rhai🦀
    Are you ready to embark on another journey in Rust? Today, we'll explore how to create a REST API that performs basic mathematical operations: addition, multiplication, and division. We'll use Actix, a powerful web framework for Rust, together with Rhai, a lightweight scripting language, to achieve our goal. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
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Flask mentions (42)

  • PSET 9 Finance - What is "disable response caching" and the function they ask to notice
    "After configuring Flask, notice how this file disables caching of responses (provided you’re in debugging mode, which you are by default in your code50 codespace), lest you make a change to some file but your browser not notice. ". Source: about 2 years ago
  • How to Send an Email in Python
    Flask, which offers a simple interface for email sending— Flask Mail. (Check here how to send emails with Flask). - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Plotting Bookmarks with Flask, Matplotlib, and OAuth 2.0
    Lang="en"> Plot Bookmarks!{% block title %}{% endblock %} rel="stylesheet" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.2.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" /> class="container"> Plot Bookmarks by Date {% block containercontent %}{% endblock %} /> class="footer"> class="text-muted"> >This is a... - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • Determining what version of Flask is installed
    What's the easiest way to determine which version of Flask is installed? Source: about 3 years ago
  • What is the point of uWSGI?
    I'm looking at the WSGI specification and I'm trying to figure out how servers like uWSGI fit into the picture. I understand the point of the WSGI spec is to separate web servers like nginx from web applications like something you'd write using Flask. What I don't understand is what uWSGI is for. Why can't nginx directly call my Flask application? Can't flask speak WSGI directly to it? Why does uWSGI need to get... Source: about 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Actix and Flask, you can also consider the following products

Rocket - Web Framework for Rust

Django - The Web framework for perfectionists with deadlines

Sycamore - A reactive library for creating web apps in Rust and WebAssembly

Ruby on Rails - Ruby on Rails is an open source full-stack web application framework for the Ruby programming...

FastAPI - FastAPI is an Open Source, modern, fast (high-performance), web framework for building APIs with Python 3.6+ based on standard Python type hints.

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans