Software Alternatives & Startups

FastAPI VS Kotlin

Compare FastAPI VS Kotlin and see what are their differences

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.

Rating
5.0 · 1 review
Pricing
Open source Free
Kotlin

Statically typed Programming Language targeting JVM and JavaScript

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, FastAPI should be more popular than Kotlin. It has been mentioned 319 times since March 2021.

social mentions
319 vs 85
Developer Tools popularity
93% vs 7%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 99

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

FastAPI
Kotlin
Website fastapi.tiangolo.com kotlinlang.org
Pricing
Open source Free
Open source
Company Startup from Colombia —
Listed in

About FastAPI and Kotlin

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

FastAPI
Kotlin

No description of FastAPI yet.

We recommend LibHunt Kotlin for discovery and comparisons of trending Kotlin projects.

Read more about Kotlin

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

FastAPI 7 features
Kotlin 7 features
  • High Performance
    Built on Starlette and Pydantic, FastAPI is one of the fastest frameworks for Python, providing high performance due to its asynchronous request handling.
  • Automatic Interactive API Documentation
    FastAPI automatically generates interactive API documentation via Swagger UI and ReDoc, which are very helpful for development and testing.
  • Type Checking and Validation
    With Pydantic models and Python type hints, FastAPI provides automatic data validation and type checking, reducing the chance of runtime errors.
  • Ease of Use
    Its syntax and design make it easy to learn for Python developers, offering a smooth development experience while reducing boilerplate code.
  • Asynchronous Support
    FastAPI supports asynchronous programming, allowing for better performance for I/O-bound operations, making it optimal for handling many simultaneous connections.
  • Extensive Documentation
    It has comprehensive and well-structured documentation, which is very useful for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    FastAPI has a growing community and ecosystem, with many plugins and integrations available to extend its functionality.

Possible disadvantages

  • Learning Curve for Asynchronous Programming
    Although FastAPI itself is easy to learn, grasping the concepts of asynchronous programming in Python can be challenging for beginners.
  • Complex Dependencies
    Using Pydantic for advanced validation can make the request models complex, requiring a deeper understanding of Pydantic and its functionalities.
  • Early Stage Libraries
    Some third-party libraries and extensions specifically tailored for FastAPI might still be in early stages of development and lack long-term stability.
  • Limited Real-World Examples
    Although the documentation is extensive, there might be limited real-world examples and case studies readily available compared to more mature frameworks.
  • Deployment Complexity
    Deploying FastAPI applications might be more complex in comparison to traditional synchronous frameworks, mainly due to the need for asynchronous server setups.
  • Interoperability
    Kotlin is fully interoperable with Java, which means developers can use both languages within the same project and have seamless communications between them.
  • Conciseness
    Kotlin reduces boilerplate code, making the codebase easier to read and maintain. It offers concise syntax and reduces the amount of code.
  • Null Safety
    Kotlin's type system is designed to eliminate null pointer exceptions by making all types non-nullable by default, thus enhancing reliability and reducing runtime crashes.
  • Coroutines
    Kotlin provides built-in support for coroutines, which makes writing asynchronous code more straightforward and readable compared to traditional approaches.
  • Modern Language Features
    Kotlin includes advanced features such as lambda expressions, extension functions, higher-order functions, and more, improving productivity and providing more expressive code constructs.
  • Full Tooling Support
    Kotlin is supported by major IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA, Android Studio, Eclipse, and others, with full tooling support including debugging, refactoring, and linting.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Kotlin has a growing and vibrant community with extensive resources, libraries, and frameworks that support a wide range of programming needs.

Possible disadvantages

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its modern features, Kotlin has a learning curve, especially for developers who are more familiar with Java or other programming languages.
  • Compilation Speed
    Kotlin's compilation speed is often slower compared to Java, which can impact the development workflow, especially in larger projects.
  • Runtime Performance
    While Kotlin performs comparably to Java in many cases, there can be minor performance hits in certain scenarios due to additional language features.
  • Fewer Resources Compared to Java
    Although growing, Kotlin's ecosystem of libraries and frameworks is still smaller compared to Java's well-established and extensive ecosystem.
  • Tooling Maturity
    While support in major IDEs is robust, some third-party tools and plugins may not fully support Kotlin, leading to potential integration issues.
  • Android Specific Challenges
    In the context of Android development, some legacy libraries and tools might not be fully compatible with Kotlin, necessitating additional workarounds.
  • Job Market
    While demand for Kotlin developers is growing, Java still dominates the job market, which may limit opportunities for Kotlin-focused roles in certain regions.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

FastAPI
Kotlin

Overall verdict

  • FastAPI is widely regarded as a good choice, especially for applications that require high performance, scalability, and modern Python features. It is suitable for both simple and complex projects, making it a versatile tool in the web development ecosystem.

Why this product is good

  • FastAPI is a modern, fast (high-performance), web framework for building APIs with Python 3.7+ based on standard Python type hints. It is built on top of Starlette for web framework capabilities and Pydantic for data validation and settings management. FastAPI is known for its excellent performance, automatic generation of interactive API documentation (with Swagger and Redoc), and support for asynchronous programming. Developers appreciate its ease of use, detailed documentation, and helpful error messages.

Recommended for

  • Developers building RESTful APIs
  • Teams looking for a high-performance ASGI-based web framework
  • Projects that require asynchronous programming capabilities
  • Applications needing automatic generation of interactive API documentation
  • Python developers who prefer utilizing type hints for code clarity and validation

Overall verdict

  • Kotlin is highly regarded as a modern, safe, and efficient language for a variety of development tasks, specifically for Android app development.

Why this product is good

  • Modern features
    Kotlin offers modern programming features such as null safety, extension functions, and a concise syntax which make it more expressive and safer compared to some older languages.
  • Tooling support
    Kotlin is supported by leading IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio, providing efficient tools and plugins for a better development experience.
  • Interoperability
    It is fully interoperable with Java, allowing developers to gradually transition or integrate it into existing Java codebases without difficulties.
  • Community and backing
    Kotlin is backed by JetBrains and Google, with a growing community and a wealth of resources, tutorials, and libraries available.

Recommended for

    {"android_development" => "Kotlin is the preferred language for Android app development, officially supported by Google.", "modern_java_programming" => "Kotlin is recommended for developers looking to modernize Java-based applications or start new projects with a more modern language.", "multi-platform_projects" => "It is well-suited for multi-platform projects, as it can target JVM, Android, JavaScript, and native platforms efficiently."}

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

FastAPI 3 videos + Add
Kotlin 3 videos + Add

FastAPI from the ground up

More videos

  • - 30 Days of Python - Day 14 - Web App with Flask, FastAPI, ngrok, and Invictify - Python TUTORIAL
  • - [PT] Python - API com FastAPI - Chat | twitch.tv/codeshow

10 reasons to try Kotlin for Android development

More videos

  • - What can Kotlin do for me? (GDD Europe '17)
  • - Java or Kotlin for Android Development – Which One Is Better?

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
FastAPI
Kotlin
93% 93%
7% 7%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
OOP
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using FastAPI and Kotlin. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Log in or Post with

Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

FastAPI 5.0 · 1 review
Kotlin no reviews yet
  • Rated 5/5 by Kurslog team
    SaaSHub review
    · Apr 2026

    When our backend team needs to build services for data parsing, aggregators, or high-load APIs, FastAPI is our absolute go-to choice. It completely lives up to its name-development speed is outstanding. The...

  • The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
    tms-outsource.com · Jan 2024

    FastAPI, as the name hints, is a swift mover. Built on Starlette, it’s all about speed and performance with Python. Crafting API masterpieces at the speed of light, now that’s something.

  • 25 Python Frameworks to Master
    kinsta.com · Oct 2023

    Since its release in 2018, it has rapidly gained popularity due to its great performance and simplicity. In fact, according to PyPi Stats, FastAPI has over 9 million monthly downloads, surpassing even full-stack...

View more

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

FastAPI 319 mentions
Kotlin 85 mentions
  • Turn a docs site into RAG-ready Markdown chunks in 5 minutes (no scraper code)
    Import os From apify_client import ApifyClient Client = ApifyClient(os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"]) Run = client.actor("blueberry_rainstorm/web-page-to-markdown").call(run_input={ "urls": [], # only the sitemap... - Source: dev.to / 1 day ago
  • How to deploy a FastAPI app on Ownkube
    FastAPI is fast to run locally with uvicorn app.main:app --reload, and the production version of that command is not much longer. Production adds three things: a process manager that restarts a crashed worker, config read from... - Source: dev.to / 13 days ago
  • Mémoire des Anciens: The Grimoire of Souls
    Backend: a FastAPI app, started with uvicorn main:app --port 8000. - Source: dev.to / 14 days ago

View more

  • Spring Boot Integration Tests Are Slow and Messy: Here's How to Fix Them
    @DataJpaTest @AutoConfigureTestDatabase(replace = AutoConfigureTestDatabase.Replace.NONE) @Import(TestcontainersConfiguration::class) Class BookmarkRepositoryTest @Autowired constructor( private val bookmarkRepository:... - Source: dev.to / 24 days ago
  • Building Modular Monoliths With Kotlin and Spring
    Modular monolith architecture allows you to split the application logic into isolated modules with their own business logic, while still being deployed as a single artifact. It combines the benefits of a modular design while maintaining... - Source: dev.to / 30 days ago
  • The JVM Speaks AI: Cobrainer's Journey with Kotlin, Koog and Exposed
    If you are considering AI development on the JVM, the ecosystem is ready. Have a look at Koog, Exposed, and Kotlin. We thank the JetBrains teams behind all three for their frequent releases and responsiveness. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago

View more

Alternatives to FastAPI and Kotlin

When comparing FastAPI and Kotlin, you can also consider the following products.