Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PythonAnywhere VS Spacemacs

Compare PythonAnywhere VS Spacemacs and see what are their differences

PythonAnywhere logo PythonAnywhere

Host, run, and code Python in the cloud: PythonAnywhere

Spacemacs logo Spacemacs

Community-driven Emacs distribution that meshes Emacs and Vim features.
  • PythonAnywhere Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30
  • Spacemacs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-04-26

PythonAnywhere features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    PythonAnywhere provides a user-friendly interface with pre-configured settings, which makes it simple for beginners to deploy and manage Python applications without the need to manage server infrastructure.
  • Integrated Development Environment
    It includes an in-browser code editor and Python console, making it convenient to edit and run code on the go without needing to install any software locally.
  • Affordable Pricing
    Offers various pricing tiers, including a free tier, which is very attractive for small projects, prototypes, and learning purposes.
  • Scalability
    Offers options to scale applications as needed, making it suitable for growing projects that may require additional resources over time.
  • Built-in Python Libraries
    Comes pre-installed with many common Python libraries and frameworks, saving users the time and effort of setting up dependencies.
  • Built-in MySQL Support
    Provides built-in support for MySQL databases, making it straightforward to set up and manage databases for your applications.
  • Automated Backups
    Includes automated backup features to help secure your data and provide peace of mind.

Possible disadvantages of PythonAnywhere

  • Limited Customization
    The pre-configured environment limits customization options, which may be a drawback for more advanced users who require specific configurations or installations.
  • Free Tier Limitations
    The free tier has significant limitations, including restricted CPU time and storage space, which can hinder more demanding applications.
  • Performance
    Shared plans might experience slower performance during peak times due to the shared nature of the infrastructure.
  • Lack of Root Access
    Users do not have root access to the underlying system, which can be a limitation for deploying certain types of applications or custom services.
  • Support Limitations
    While it offers community support and documentation, the level of professional support might not meet the needs of all users, especially those on lower-tier plans.
  • Limited Language Support
    Primarily focused on Python, which may not suit all projects, especially those requiring multi-language support.
  • Resource Constraints
    Lower-tier plans have stringent resource limits (CPU, RAM, storage), which can be restrictive for resource-intensive applications.

Spacemacs features and specs

  • Customizability
    Spacemacs is highly customizable, leveraging the power of Emacs and Vim. Users can tailor their development environment to exactly fit their workflow.
  • Community-driven
    Spacemacs benefits from a strong, active community. Users have access to a wealth of shared configurations, extensions, and advice.
  • Hybrid Model
    Combines the best features of Emacs and Vim, allowing users to switch easily between editing styles and take advantage of both systemsโ€™ strengths.
  • Ease of Setup
    Spacemacs provides an easy-to-use distribution of Emacs, simplifying the initial setup process and making it more accessible for newcomers.
  • Rich Documentation
    Spacemacs comes with extensive documentation, both official and user-generated, which makes it easier to learn and troubleshoot issues.

Possible disadvantages of Spacemacs

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Despite simplifying Emacs, Spacemacs can still be daunting for beginners, requiring time and effort to master.
  • Performance
    Spacemacs can be slow to start up and may lag with heavy configurations or large files, impacting overall performance.
  • Complexity
    The combination of Emacs and Vim features can add layers of complexity, potentially overwhelming users who may prefer a more straightforward tool.
  • Dependency on Emacs
    Users are still reliant on Emacs and its ecosystem, which might be a downside for those looking to avoid the intricacies of Emacs altogether.
  • Resource Intensive
    Compared to other editors, Spacemacs can be more resource-intensive, consuming more memory and CPU power.

Analysis of PythonAnywhere

Overall verdict

  • Overall, PythonAnywhere is considered a good option for those seeking a reliable, straightforward, and affordable way to host Python applications. While it might not cater to the needs of very large scale or highly customizable environments, it is well-suited for personal projects, small to medium-sized applications, and educational purposes.

Why this product is good

  • PythonAnywhere is a popular choice for hosting Python applications because it offers a convenient and user-friendly platform for both beginners and experienced developers. Its cloud-based service allows for easy deployment and execution of Python scripts without the need to manage physical servers. The platform supports web development frameworks like Flask and Django, provides a variety of integrations and is equipped with a web-based interactive console, which makes it highly accessible for many users.

Recommended for

    PythonAnywhere is especially recommended for Python developers (beginners and intermediates), educators, students, and hobbyists who are looking for an easy and quick way to deploy and host their Python applications or who need an online python environment for coding practice.

Analysis of Spacemacs

Overall verdict

  • Spacemacs is considered a strong editor choice for those comfortable with both Emacs and Vim. It excels particularly for users who appreciate the extensive possibilities for customization and the efficiency of a mnemonic keybinding system. However, mastering Spacemacs can require an initial learning curve.

Why this product is good

  • Spacemacs combines the extensibility and customization of Emacs with the efficiency and ergonomics of Vim, making it appealing to users from both editor families. It offers a rich set of features out of the box and has a large community contributing to its continual improvement. The unique spacemacs configuration layer system simplifies the customization of Emacs, which can traditionally be complex.<br>Most notably, Spacemacs provides a robust and versatile platform for developers who work with multiple programming languages and requires tools that can handle various aspects of software development in a fluid manner.

Recommended for

  • Developers with prior experience in Emacs or Vim.
  • Users who are interested in a highly customizable and extendable editor.
  • Programmers looking for an editor that supports multiple languages and dev tools in one platform.
  • People interested in the power of both Vim's modal editing and Emacs' feature-rich ecosystem.

PythonAnywhere videos

Python Anywhere with pythonanywhere - Simplified Python VPS hosting

More videos:

  • Review - Deploy Python Flask App on Pythonanywhere.com
  • Review - PythonAnywhere in one minute

Spacemacs videos

Spacemacs For Noobs

More videos:

  • Review - Can VSCode be a reasonable Spacemacs alternative? (VSpaceCode)
  • Review - EmacsCast 4 - Spacemacs vs Doom vs Emacs

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PythonAnywhere and Spacemacs)
Text Editors
46 46%
54% 54
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0
IDE
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Hosting
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

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

PythonAnywhere Reviews

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Spacemacs Reviews

Top 8 Sublime Text Alternatives You Can Use in 2019
Spacemacs uses the space bar as a default leader key, which is where the program gets its name from. The syntax highlighting feature on Spacemacs is enabled by default for all major programming languages, and it is configurable manually through configuration files as well as via internal commands. For all its positives, the program can be quite a bit glitchy at times. From...
Source: beebom.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, PythonAnywhere should be more popular than Spacemacs. It has been mentiond 55 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.

PythonAnywhere mentions (55)

  • [Offer] I need someone to set up a webhook in my WordPress site and a Python server with listener + bot
    The website is already built. Each comment will have a reddit post URL, and the bot should leave a comment on that URL. We can use pythonanywhere.com for this to make it easiest. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Flask and web hosting
    If you are learning, use pythonanywhere.com as they specialize in python, and make setup easy. Only $5 a month. Start with a barebones flask app, get it to run, then follow a tutorial. Actually better to build the app locally, easier to test with IDE like Pycharm. Then upload to the net. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Redirecting client to my server via a external server
    Hello, I have a Minecraft server running on a Rpi with Paper. It works great and I use it to play with some of my friends. However, the server's public IP address often changes, meaning that I have to give my friends the new IP address daily. Being a programmer, I feel this could be automated. I don't want to buy a domain, so I want to try and setup a system where the server sends Its IP to my PythonAnywhere... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Question Gallery WebApp Django or Flask?
    Hosting wise, I would reccomend pythonanywhere.com, combined with either https://imagekit.io or https://cloudinary.com. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Cheap Heroku alternative for PHP MySQL app
    So what is the best alternative? I have one Plotly Dash app on pythonanywhere.com where I spend 6 bucks a month so I don't want to spend anymore than 5 dollars per month on the PHP + MySQL. Source: over 3 years ago
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Spacemacs mentions (6)

  • Our teacher only allows us to use VIM
    Show them spacemacs.org, github.com/doomemacs/doomemacs or at least spacevim.org. Source: about 4 years ago
  • Creating Haskell notebooks with org-mode
    Your Emacs will need some packages: org, org-babel and haskell-mode. If you use spacemacs it is enough to add these layers in your .spacemacs:. - Source: dev.to / almost 5 years ago
  • Vim Users! Share your Clever Configs and Plugin Setups (or learn something new)๐Ÿ”ฅ
    Try https://spacemacs.org magit + org-mode are the big selling points. Magit especially for programming. Source: about 5 years ago
  • Emacs' org-mode gets citation support
    Aside from editing on mobile devices, I think Emacs isn't as hard to pick up as it once was. It's certainly not easy but tools like Spacemacs or Doom make it much simpler to get started and really limit the need to create and edit a complicated little library of your Elisp code. http://spacemacs.org https://github.com/hlissner/doom-emacs. - Source: Hacker News / about 5 years ago
  • A guide to create tmux like Custom Layouts in Spacemacs
    Coming from a vim world with tmux, I had really missed the multiple split window layout in Spacemacs. But after knowing how to define custom layouts this seemed to be an easy exercise for me. - Source: dev.to / about 5 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing PythonAnywhere and Spacemacs, you can also consider the following products

Heroku - Agile deployment platform for Ruby, Node.js, Clojure, Java, Python, and Scala. Setup takes only minutes and deploys are instant through git. Leave tedious server maintenance to Heroku and focus on your code.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Google App Engine - A powerful platform to build web and mobile apps that scale automatically.

Vim - Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

DigitalOcean - Simplifying cloud hosting. Deploy an SSD cloud server in 55 seconds.

GNU Emacs - GNU Emacs is an extensible, customizable text editorโ€”and more.