Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Python VS OpenCV

Compare Python VS OpenCV and see what are their differences

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Python logo Python

Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.

OpenCV logo OpenCV

OpenCV is the world's biggest computer vision library
  • Python Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

  • OpenCV Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-29

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.

OpenCV features and specs

  • Comprehensive Library
    OpenCV offers a wide range of tools for various aspects of computer vision, including image processing, machine learning, and video analysis.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    OpenCV is designed to run on multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS, which makes it versatile for development across different environments.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, OpenCV is freely available for use and allows developers to inspect, modify, and enhance the code according to their needs.
  • Large Community Support
    A large community of developers and researchers actively contributes to OpenCV, providing extensive support, tutorials, forums, and continuously updated documentation.
  • Real-Time Performance
    OpenCV is highly optimized for real-time applications, making it suitable for performance-critical tasks in various industries such as robotics and interactive installations.
  • Extensive Integration
    OpenCV can easily be integrated with other libraries and frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, and OpenCL, enhancing its capabilities in deep learning and GPU acceleration.
  • Rich Collection of examples
    OpenCV provides a large number of example codes and sample applications, which can significantly reduce the learning curve for beginners.

Possible disadvantages of OpenCV

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to the vast array of functionalities and the complexity of some of its advanced features, beginners may find it challenging to learn and use effectively.
  • Documentation Gaps
    While the documentation is extensive, it can sometimes be incomplete or outdated, requiring users to rely on community forums or external sources for solutions.
  • Resource Intensive
    Some functions and algorithms in OpenCV can be quite resource-intensive, requiring significant processing power and memory, which can be a limitation for low-end devices.
  • Limited High-Level Abstractions
    OpenCV provides a wealth of low-level functions, but it may lack higher-level abstractions and frameworks, necessitating more hands-on coding and algorithm development.
  • Dependency Management
    Setting up and managing dependencies can be cumbersome, especially when integrating OpenCV with other libraries or on certain operating systems.
  • Backward Compatibility Issues
    With frequent updates and new versions, backward compatibility can sometimes be problematic, potentially breaking existing code when updating.

Python videos

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

OpenCV videos

AI Courses by OpenCV.org

More videos:

  • Review - Practical Python and OpenCV

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Python and OpenCV)
Programming Language
100 100%
0% 0
Data Science And Machine Learning
OOP
100 100%
0% 0
Data Science Tools
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 Python and OpenCV

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. Let’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

OpenCV Reviews

7 Best Computer Vision Development Libraries in 2024
From the widespread adoption of OpenCV with its extensive algorithmic support to TensorFlow's role in machine learning-driven applications, these libraries play a vital role in real-world applications such as object detection, facial recognition, and image segmentation.
10 Python Libraries for Computer Vision
OpenCV is the go-to library for computer vision tasks. It boasts a vast collection of algorithms and functions that facilitate tasks such as image and video processing, feature extraction, object detection, and more. Its simple interface, extensive documentation, and compatibility with various platforms make it a preferred choice for both beginners and experts in the field.
Source: clouddevs.com
Top 8 Alternatives to OpenCV for Computer Vision and Image Processing
OpenCV is an open-source computer vision and machine learning software library that was first released in 2000. It was initially developed by Intel, and now it is maintained by the OpenCV Foundation. OpenCV provides a set of tools and software development kits (SDKs) that help developers create computer vision applications. It is written in C++, but it supports several...
Source: www.uubyte.com
Top 8 Image-Processing Python Libraries Used in Machine Learning
These are some of the most basic operations that can be performed with the OpenCV on an image. Apart from this, OpenCV can perform operations such as Image Segmentation, Face Detection, Object Detection, 3-D reconstruction, feature extraction as well.
Source: neptune.ai
5 Ultimate Python Libraries for Image Processing
Pillow is an image processing library for Python derived from the PIL or the Python Imaging Library. Although it is not as powerful and fast as openCV it can be used for simple image manipulation works like cropping, resizing, rotating and greyscaling the image. Another benefit is that it can be used without NumPy and Matplotlib.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Python should be more popular than OpenCV. It has been mentiond 288 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.

Python mentions (288)

  • A Beginner's Guide to Auto-Instrumenting a Flask App with OpenTelemetry and SigNoz
    If Python is not installed, download it from python.org or use your system's package manager (e.g., sudo apt install python3 on Ubuntu). - Source: dev.to / 27 days ago
  • Scraping Infinite Scroll Pages with a 'Load More' Button: A Step-by-Step Guide
    Python Installed: Download and install the latest Python version from python.org, including pip during setup. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Get Started with Python
    First, you'll need to install Python if you don't have it already. Go to the official Python website python.org, download the latest version, and follow the instructions. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Unlocking DuckDB from Anywhere - A Guide to Remote Access with Apache Arrow and Flight RPC (gRPC)
    Python: We’ll use Python for it’s simplicity and accessibility. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Python Packaging is Great Now: `uv` is all you need
    Bootstrapping was an often neglected problem. Should we tell people to install Python from https://python.org? The Anaconda distribution? How do we stop folks from using their system package manager and risk breaking everything? - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
View more

OpenCV mentions (59)

  • Top Programming Languages for AI Development in 2025
    Ideal For: Computer vision, NLP, deep learning, and machine learning. - Source: dev.to / 6 days ago
  • Why 2024 Was the Best Year for Visual AI (So Far)
    Almost everyone has heard of libraries like OpenCV, Pytorch, and Torchvision. But there have been incredible leaps and bounds in other libraries to help support new tasks that have helped push research even further. It would be impossible to thank each and every project and the thousands of contributors who have helped make the entire community better. MedSAM2 has been helping bring the awesomeness of SAM2 to the... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • 20 Open Source Tools I Recommend to Build, Share, and Run AI Projects
    OpenCV is an open-source computer vision and machine learning software library that allows users to perform various ML tasks, from processing images and videos to identifying objects, faces, or handwriting. Besides object detection, this platform can also be used for complex computer vision tasks like Geometry-based monocular or stereo computer vision. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • F1 FollowLine + HSV filter + PID Controller
    This library is used for image and video processing, offering functions for tasks like object detection, filtering, and transformations in computer vision. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Built in Days, Acquired for $20K: The NuloApp Story
    First of all, OpenCV, an open-source computer vision library, was used as the main editing tool. This is how NuloApp is able to get the correct aspect ratio for smartphone content, and do other cool things like centering the video on the speaker so that they aren't out of frame when the aspect ratio is changed. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

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

Pandas - Pandas is an open source library providing high-performance, easy-to-use data structures and data analysis tools for the Python.

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language

Scikit-learn - scikit-learn (formerly scikits.learn) is an open source machine learning library for the Python programming language.

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

NumPy - NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing with Python