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Kivy VS Python

Compare Kivy VS Python and see what are their differences

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Kivy logo Kivy

Open source Python framework for rapid development of applications that make use of innovative user interfaces, such as multi-touch apps. Installation on WindowsInstallation on Windows. Installation; What are wheels .

Python logo Python

Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.
  • Kivy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-15
  • Python Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

Kivy features and specs

  • Cross-Platform
    Kivy allows you to write your application code once and run it on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, reducing development time and effort.
  • Open Source
    Kivy is an open-source framework, which means it is free to use and has a community-driven development model. This also allows developers to contribute to its improvement.
  • Rich User Interface
    Kivy provides a wide range of widgets and controls that can be customized to create highly interactive and attractive user interfaces.
  • Touch Support
    Kivy is designed with built-in support for multitouch events, making it a good choice for applications that require touch interactions.
  • Dynamic and Fast
    Thanks to its use of Cython, Kivy applications can achieve high performance and responsiveness.
  • Consistent Look and Feel
    Kivy apps maintain a consistent look and feel across all supported platforms, which can lead to a better user experience.

Possible disadvantages of Kivy

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Kivy can be challenging for beginners due to its custom language (Kv) and lack of extensive documentation.
  • Limited Community Support
    Compared to more established frameworks, Kivy has a smaller user community, which can make finding help and resources more difficult.
  • Lagging behind in Platform Integration
    Kivy may not offer the same level of integration with native platform features (such as navigation and notifications) as other frameworks like React Native or Flutter.
  • Debugging Complexity
    Debugging Kivy applications can be complex, especially when dealing with cross-platform issues, as the error messages are not always straightforward.
  • Performance Issues on Some Platforms
    Performance may not be consistent across all platforms, particularly on iOS devices where Kivy apps might suffer from performance degradation.
  • Limited Third-Party Libraries
    The ecosystem of third-party libraries and plugins is not as extensive as those available for other popular frameworks, which might limit functionality.

Python features and specs

  • Easy to Learn
    Python syntax is clear and readable, which makes it an excellent choice for beginners and allows for quick learning and prototyping.
  • Versatile
    Python can be used for web development, data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and more, making it a highly versatile programming language.
  • Large Standard Library
    Python comes with a comprehensive standard library that includes modules and packages for various tasks, reducing the need to write code from scratch.
  • Strong Community Support
    Python has a large and active community, which means a wealth of third-party packages, tutorials, and documentation is available for assistance.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Python is compatible with major operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing for easy development and deployment across different platforms.
  • Good for Rapid Development
    The high-level nature of Python allows for quick development cycles and fast iteration, which is ideal for startups and prototyping.

Possible disadvantages of Python

  • Performance Limitations
    Python is generally slower than compiled languages like C or Java because it is an interpreted language, which can be a drawback for performance-critical applications.
  • Global Interpreter Lock (GIL)
    The GIL in CPython, the most used Python interpreter, prevents multiple native threads from executing Python bytecodes at once, limiting multi-threading capabilities.
  • Memory Consumption
    Python can be more memory-intensive compared to some other languages, which might be a concern for applications with tight memory constraints.
  • Mobile Development
    Python is not a primary choice for mobile app development, where languages like Java, Swift, or Kotlin are more commonly used.
  • Runtime Errors
    Being a dynamically typed language, Python code can sometimes lead to runtime errors that would be caught at compile-time in statically typed languages.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies in Python projects can sometimes be complex and cumbersome, especially when dealing with conflicting versions of libraries.

Kivy videos

Kivy Intro - Mobile and Desktop App Dev w/ Python

More videos:

  • Review - Starting on a GUI: WXpython vs Kivy #MP55

Python videos

Creator of Python Programming Language, Guido van Rossum | Oxford Union

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Kivy and Python)
Game Development
100 100%
0% 0
Programming Language
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
OOP
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 Kivy and Python

Kivy Reviews

25 Python Frameworks to Master
Unlike PyQt, Kivy is free and open-source, isnโ€™t a wrapper around an external UI library, and is licensed under the MIT license, which means you can ship and monetize your Kivy apps.
Source: kinsta.com
Which Python GUI library should you use? Comparing the Python GUI libraries available in 2023
The look and feel of Kivy is extremely customizable, allowing it to be used as an alternative to libraries like Pygame (for making games with Python). The developers have also released a number of separate libraries for Kivy. Some provide Kivy with better integration and access to certain platform-specific features, or help package your application for distribution on...
10 Best Python Libraries for GUI
Kivy was written with a mix of Python and Cython, and it helps build some of the most intuitive user interfaces with multi-touch applications. These multi-touch applications help implement Natural User Interface (NUI), which is a type of interface where the user naturally learns about the various interactions while theyโ€™re usually invisible.
Source: www.unite.ai
Top 6 Python Framework for Game Development | by Ankur Kumar | unikaksha | Medium
Kivy is a Python game development framework for businesses. Itโ€™s an open-source Python library that lets programmers easily construct apps with unique user interfaces, such as multi-touch apps. Kivy assists in developing apps for Windows, Linux, and iOS devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Android devices such as phones and tablets.
Source: medium.com
Top 10 Python GUI Frameworks for Developers
With Kivy, interface designers can code once and deploy to multiple platforms, while the built-in support for OpenGL ES 2 allows them to use modern and powerful graphics and design techniques. The most common use of the Kivy GUI framework in the real-world can be seen in our Android and iOS applications. Other widespread implementations of the framework can be seen in the...

Python Reviews

Pine Script Alternatives: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Indicator Languages
Technical analysis in trading has come a long way, with various programming languages emerging to support traders in developing custom indicators. While Pine Script has been a popular choice for many, alternatives like Indie, ThinkScript, NinjaScript, MetaQuotes Language (MQL), and even general-purpose languages like Python and C++ are gaining traction. Letโ€™s explore these...
Source: medium.com
Top 5 Most Liked and Hated Programming Languages of 2022
No wonder Python is one of the easiest programming languages to work upon. This general-purpose programming language finds immense usage in the field of web development, machine learning applications, as well as cutting-edge technology in the software industry. The fact that Python is used by major tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc. is good enough proof as to...
Top 10 Rust Alternatives
This programming langue is typed statically and operates on a complied system. It works based on several computing languages Python, Ada, and Modula.
15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Python is the most widely used programming language for data science and machine learning and one of the most popular languages overall. The Python open source project's website describes it as "an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language with dynamic semantics," as well as built-in data structures and dynamic typing and binding capabilities. The site...
The 10 Best Programming Languages to Learn Today
Python's variety of applications make it a powerful and versatile language for different use cases. Python-based web development frameworks like Django and Flask are gaining popularity fast. It's also equipped with quality machine learning and data analysis tools like Scikit-learn and Pandas.
Source: ict.gov.ge

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Python should be more popular than Kivy. It has been mentiond 300 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.

Kivy mentions (48)

  • Ask HN: What Toolchains Are People Using for Desktop App Development in 2025?
    Because I mainly work with python, I am using Kivy (https://kivy.org/). Earlier I was HTMX, Jinja templates, Flask, Tailwind and little vanilla JS. It was too inelegant for my taste. I am considering moving to either Swift, or JS/Svelete. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Plain โ€“ a web framework for building products with Python
    There are some things available, and people are working on it. Coincidentally, one of those people is Russell Keith-Magee of Django fame, who founded the BeeWare project. https://beeware.org/ https://beeware.org/about/team/freakboy3742/ https://kivy.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • How to Develop a User Data Storage Registration Form Using Python.
    We will create this complete Python registration form using Kivy. We get started by installing Kivy, a powerful Python framework for building interactive applications. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Can I create a mobile and Web App using Python/Python Framework?
    For reference, YouTube runs on Python[1,2,3]: > 1. Python and Django: YouTubeโ€™s backend is predominantly written in Python, offering a balance of performance and readability. > 2. Google Cloud Platform... > 3. Java and C++: YouTube also utilizes Java and C++ for specific backend services, as they provide better performance for certain tasks. --- A long time ago, I looked into these Python frameworks: -... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Python GUI libraries? <3
    I suggest you use kivy which is suitable for the desktop but also has the advantage of being one of few options for creating Python based native(ish) mobile apps (for IoS and Android app stores). Source: over 2 years ago
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Python mentions (300)

  • Self-contained highly-portable Python distributions
    > When you download Python from http://python.org (on Linux or macOS), what you're actually downloading is an installer that builds Python from source on your machine. > The net effect is that on Linux and macOS, you can't "download a Python binary" from... anywhere. Other than the python-build-standalone project. Are you sure this is right about macOS? I just had a look inside the macOS installer from python.org... - Source: Hacker News / 21 days ago
  • How to Build a Dependency Map of a Legacy Codebase Using AI Tools
    137Foundry provides legacy modernization services that include dependency mapping as a foundational assessment phase. Prettier and ESLint are useful companion tools for enforcing code style consistency as the refactoring proceeds. Node.js and Python.org official documentation are authoritative references for understanding the import and module systems of those runtimes. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • How to Prepare a Legacy Codebase for AI-Assisted Refactoring
    For Python codebases, tools like Python's built-in ast module and import analysis scripts can generate call graphs. For JavaScript, ESLint and module analysis tools serve a similar purpose. GitHub advanced search can help you find all internal references to a specific function across a large repository. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Async Web Scraping in Python: asyncio + aiohttp + httpx (Complete 2026 Guide)
    Import asyncio Import aiohttp From bs4 import BeautifulSoup Async def scrape_and_parse(url: str, session: aiohttp.ClientSession) -> dict: async with session.get(url) as response: html = await response.text() # BeautifulSoup parsing happens after the await โ€” no issue soup = BeautifulSoup(html, "html.parser") return { "url": url, "title": soup.title.string if soup.title... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Don't Be Afraid of Git: A Beginner's Guide to Saving and Sharing
    **_Beginner mistake to avoid_** - Writing SQL only inside DBeaver - Always save SQL files in VS Code and commit them **Using PostgreSQL with Python** _**What Python does here**_ Python talks to PostgreSQL and says: - โ€œSave this dataโ€ - โ€œGet this dataโ€ - PostgreSQL listens. Python works. _**Step 1: Install Python **_ - Download from https://python.org - During install, check Add Python to PATH Screenshot... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Kivy and Python, you can also consider the following products

Blender - Blender is the open source, cross platform suite of tools for 3D creation.

JavaScript - Lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions

Unreal Engine - Unreal Engine 4 is a suite of integrated tools for game developers to design and build games, simulations, and visualizations.

Java - A concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, language specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

C++ - Has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing the facilities for low level memory manipulation