Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

pipenv VS Python Poetry

Compare pipenv VS Python Poetry and see what are their differences

pipenv logo pipenv

Python Development Workflow for Humans. Contribute to pypa/pipenv development by creating an account on GitHub.

Python Poetry logo Python Poetry

Python packaging and dependency manager.
  • pipenv Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-26
  • Python Poetry Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-11-12

pipenv features and specs

  • Integrated Workflow
    Pipenv combines the functionalities of pip and virtualenv, providing a seamless environment for package installation and management, making the development workflow more efficient and organized.
  • Automatic Virtual Environment Management
    Automatically creates and manages a virtual environment for projects, ensuring that dependencies are maintained separately and do not interfere with the system Python or other projects.
  • Lock File Generation
    Generates a Pipfile.lock to ensure deterministic builds, making sure that installations are consistent across different environments or deployments.
  • User-Friendly Package Installation
    Simplifies package installation with a straightforward and intuitive interface. Pipenv handles both direct package specification and environment management in a unified manner.
  • Environment Consistency
    By using the Pipfile and Pipfile.lock, Pipenv ensures that all developers working on a project have a consistent set of dependencies, reducing 'it works on my machine' issues.
  • Dependency Resolution
    Pipenv uses an advanced dependency resolver, helping to avoid dependency conflicts that can occur with complex package requirements.

Possible disadvantages of pipenv

  • Performance Overhead
    The dependency resolution process can sometimes be slow, which might be noticeable in larger projects or when installing multiple packages at once.
  • Limited Flexibility
    Pipenv abstracts away some of pip and virtualenv’s flexibility, which might limit advanced configurations or setups required by more complex projects.
  • Complexity for Simple Projects
    May add unnecessary complexity for simple or small projects where virtualenv and pip would suffice without additional layers.
  • Slower Updates
    Pipenv may lag behind updates compared to pip and virtualenv due to its additional integration layer, meaning it might not always provide immediate support for the latest Python packaging developments.
  • Learning Curve
    Requires initial learning and adjustment for developers who are accustomed to using pip and virtualenv separately, potentially slowing down onboarding for new team members.

Python Poetry features and specs

  • Dependency Management
    Python Poetry provides a robust system for managing project dependencies, making it easy to specify, install, and update packages.
  • Simplified Configuration
    It uses a clear and concise `pyproject.toml` file for configuration, which simplifies the setup process compared to other tools.
  • Environment Isolation
    Automatically manages virtual environments, ensuring that dependencies are isolated and do not interfere with each other.
  • Consistent Builds
    Poetry can lock dependencies to exact versions, ensuring consistent and repeatable builds across different environments.
  • Publishing Tools
    Includes built-in tools for publishing packages to PyPI, making the distribution process straightforward and streamlined.

Possible disadvantages of Python Poetry

  • Learning Curve
    Requires users to learn new commands and techniques, which can be a barrier for those familiar with other tools like pip and virtualenv.
  • Performance
    Dependency resolution and installation processes can sometimes be slower compared to tools like pip, especially for large projects.
  • Compatibility
    May have compatibility issues with certain packages or tools that expect a different environment or dependency management system.
  • Community Support
    While growing, the community and ecosystem around Poetry are not as large or mature as those around more established tools.
  • Limited IDE Integration
    Integration with some Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) might not be as seamless as for more widely used tools, potentially impacting productivity.

pipenv videos

Pipenv Crash Course

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to use Pipenv to Manage Python Dependencies (Tutorial)
  • Review - venv, pyenv, pypi, pip, pipenv, pyWTF?

Python Poetry videos

My Poetry is BAD

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to pipenv and Python Poetry)
Front End Package Manager
Kids
10 10%
90% 90
Package Manager
23 23%
77% 77
Developer Tools
16 16%
84% 84

User comments

Share your experience with using pipenv and Python Poetry. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Python Poetry seems to be a lot more popular than pipenv. While we know about 162 links to Python Poetry, we've tracked only 6 mentions of pipenv. 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.

pipenv mentions (6)

  • Generate pip requirements.txt file based on imports of any project
    https://github.com/pypa/pipenv Pipenv was last updated 10 hours ago. Looks like it's still an active project to me. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Adding Virtual Environments to Git Repo
    Pipenv solves this by having both kinds of requirement files: Pipfile lists package names and known constraints on which versions can be used, while Pipfile.lock gives specific package versions with hashes. Theoretically the Pipfile (and its lockfile) format were supposed to be a standard that many different tools could use, but I haven't seen it get adopted much outside of pipenv itself, so I'm not sure if it's... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Top 10 Python security best practices
    Alternatively, you can look into Pipenv, which has a lot more tools to develop secure applications with. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Why and how to use conda?
    I’m partial to pipenv but it does depend on pyenv (which works on Windows albeit via WSL, no?). Source: about 3 years ago
  • How to make a Python package in 2021
    I think I went through the same progression — thinking pipenv was the official solution before deciding it isn’t. To add to the confusion, I just realized that pipenv [1] is currently owned by the Python Packaging Authority (PyPA) which also owns the official pip [2] and virtualenv [3]. [1]: https://github.com/pypa/pipenv [2]: https://github.com/pypa/pip [3]: https://github.com/pypa/virtualenv. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago
View more

Python Poetry mentions (162)

  • Say Hello to UV: A Fast Python Package & Project Manager Written in Rust
    If you’ve been managing Python projects long enough, you’ve probably dealt with a mess of tools: pip, pip-tools, poetry, virtualenv, conda, maybe even pdm. - Source: dev.to / 15 days ago
  • ⚡️PipZap: Zapping the mess out of the Python dependencies
    First, there was pip. Combined with a requirements.txt, it seemed like a great idea – a straightforward method to declare dependencies explicitly. Luckily, we quickly realized this method tends to spiral into chaos, particularly when developers use "tricks" like pip freeze to lock dependencies rigidly. Fortunately, the Python ecosystem has evolved, introducing modern solutions like Poetry and now uv, offering... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • How to write an AsyncIO Telegram bot in Python
    Anyway, enough reminiscing about the past, this is not intended to be the ultimate guide on asynchronous programming, but a more pragmatic quick-start guide I wish I had back then. Assuming we are in a properly managed project (either through tools like poetry or uv), let’s start with a new module telegram.py for our telegram bot. Remember to add python-telegram-bot dependency to the project. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Managing Python Deps with Poetry
    Managing dependencies in Python projects can often become cumbersome, especially as projects grow in complexity. Poetry is a modern dependency management and packaging tool that simplifies this process, offering a streamlined way to create, manage, and distribute Python projects. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Why You Should Rethink Your Python Toolbox in 2025
    Learn more about poetry here . It’s a great tool. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

Conda - Binary package manager with support for environments.

pip - The PyPA recommended tool for installing Python packages.

envd - Machine learning development environment for data science and AI/ML engineering teams.

pre-commit by Yelp - A framework for managing and maintaining multi-language pre-commit hooks

Python Package Index - A repository of software for the Python programming language

Homebrew - The missing package manager for macOS