Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Scikit-learn VS Keras

Compare Scikit-learn VS Keras and see what are their differences

Scikit-learn logo Scikit-learn

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

Keras logo Keras

Keras is a minimalist, modular neural networks library, written in Python and capable of running on top of either TensorFlow or Theano.
  • Scikit-learn Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-05-06
  • Keras Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-16

Scikit-learn features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Scikit-learn provides a high-level interface for common machine learning algorithms, making it easy for beginners and professionals to implement complex models with minimal coding.
  • Extensive Documentation and Community Support
    The library has comprehensive documentation and a large, active community. This makes it easy to find tutorials, examples, and solutions to common problems.
  • Integration with Other Libraries
    Scikit-learn integrates well with other scientific computing libraries such as NumPy, SciPy, and pandas, allowing for seamless data manipulation and analysis.
  • Variety of Algorithms
    It offers a wide array of machine learning algorithms for tasks such as classification, regression, clustering, and dimensionality reduction.
  • Performance
    Designed with performance in mind, many of the algorithms are optimized and some even support multicore processing.

Possible disadvantages of Scikit-learn

  • Limited Deep Learning Support
    Scikit-learn is primarily focused on traditional machine learning algorithms and does not offer support for deep learning models, unlike libraries like TensorFlow or PyTorch.
  • Not Ideal for Large-Scale Data
    While Scikit-learn performs well for moderate-sized datasets, it may not be the best choice for extremely large datasets or big data applications.
  • Lack of Online Learning Algorithms
    The library has limited support for online learning algorithms, which are useful for scenarios where data arrives in a stream and model needs to be updated incrementally.
  • Less Flexibility in Customization
    It can be less flexible compared to lower-level libraries when highly customized or specific implementations are needed.
  • Dependency Overhead
    Scikit-learn relies on several other Python libraries like NumPy and SciPy, which might require users to manage multiple dependencies.

Keras features and specs

  • User-Friendly
    Keras provides a simple and intuitive interface, making it easy for beginners to start building and training models without needing extensive experience in deep learning.
  • Modularity
    Keras follows a modular design, allowing users to easily plug in different neural network components, such as layers, activation functions, and optimizers, to create complex models.
  • Pre-trained Models
    Keras includes a wide range of pre-trained models and offers easy integration with transfer learning techniques, reducing the time required to achieve good results on new tasks.
  • Integration with TensorFlow
    As part of TensorFlow’s ecosystem, Keras provides deep integration with TensorFlow functionalities, enabling users to leverage TensorFlow's powerful features and performance optimizations.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Keras has comprehensive and well-organized documentation, along with numerous tutorials and code examples, making it easier for developers to learn and use the framework.
  • Community Support
    Keras benefits from a large and active community, which provides support through forums, GitHub, and specialized user groups, facilitating the resolution of issues and sharing of best practices.

Possible disadvantages of Keras

  • Performance Limitations
    Due to its high-level abstraction, Keras may incur performance overheads, making it less suitable for scenarios requiring extremely fast execution and low-level optimizations.
  • Limited Low-Level Control
    The simplicity and abstraction of Keras can be a downside for advanced users who need fine-grained control over model components and custom operations, which may require them to resort to lower-level frameworks.
  • Scalability Issues
    In some complex applications and large-scale deployments, Keras might face scalability challenges, where more specialized or low-level frameworks could handle such tasks more efficiently.
  • Dependency on TensorFlow
    While the integration with TensorFlow is generally an advantage, it also means that the performance and features of Keras are closely tied to the development and updates of TensorFlow.
  • Lagging Behind Latest Research
    Keras, being a user-friendly high-level API, might not always incorporate the latest cutting-edge research advancements in deep learning as quickly as more research-oriented frameworks.

Scikit-learn videos

Learning Scikit-Learn (AI Adventures)

More videos:

  • Review - Python Machine Learning Review | Learn python for machine learning. Learn Scikit-learn.

Keras videos

3. Deep Learning Tutorial (Tensorflow2.0, Keras & Python) - Movie Review Classification

More videos:

  • Review - Movie Review Classifier in Keras | Deep Learning | Binary Classifier
  • Review - EKOR KERAS!! Review and Bike Check DARTMOOR HORNET 2018 // MTB Indonesia

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Scikit-learn and Keras)
Data Science And Machine Learning
Data Science Tools
83 83%
17% 17
Python Tools
100 100%
0% 0
OCR
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Scikit-learn and Keras. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Scikit-learn and Keras

Scikit-learn Reviews

15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Scikit-learn is an open source machine learning library for Python that's built on the SciPy and NumPy scientific computing libraries, plus Matplotlib for plotting data. It supports both supervised and unsupervised machine learning and includes numerous algorithms and models, called estimators in scikit-learn parlance. Additionally, it provides functionality for model...

Keras Reviews

10 Python Libraries for Computer Vision
TensorFlow and Keras are widely used libraries for machine learning, but they also offer excellent support for computer vision tasks. TensorFlow provides pre-trained models like Inception and ResNet for image classification, while Keras simplifies the process of building, training, and evaluating deep learning models.
Source: clouddevs.com
25 Python Frameworks to Master
Keras is a high-level deep-learning framework capable of running on top of TensorFlow, Theano, and CNTK. It was developed by François Chollet in 2015 and is designed to provide a simple and user-friendly interface for building and training deep learning models.
Source: kinsta.com
15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Keras is a programming interface that enables data scientists to more easily access and use the TensorFlow machine learning platform. It's an open source deep learning API and framework written in Python that runs on top of TensorFlow and is now integrated into that platform. Keras previously supported multiple back ends but was tied exclusively to TensorFlow starting with...

Social recommendations and mentions

Keras might be a bit more popular than Scikit-learn. We know about 35 links to it since March 2021 and only 31 links to Scikit-learn. 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.

Scikit-learn mentions (31)

  • Must-Know 2025 Developer’s Roadmap and Key Programming Trends
    Python’s Growth in Data Work and AI: Python continues to lead because of its easy-to-read style and the huge number of libraries available for tasks from data work to artificial intelligence. Tools like TensorFlow and PyTorch make it a must-have. Whether you’re experienced or just starting, Python’s clear style makes it a good choice for diving into machine learning. Actionable Tip: If you’re new to Python,... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • 🚀 Launching a High-Performance DistilBERT-Based Sentiment Analysis Model for Steam Reviews 🎮🤖
    Scikit-learn (optional): Useful for additional training or evaluation tasks. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Essential Deep Learning Checklist: Best Practices Unveiled
    How to Accomplish: Utilize data splitting tools in libraries like Scikit-learn to partition your dataset. Make sure the split mirrors the real-world distribution of your data to avoid biased evaluations. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • How to Build a Logistic Regression Model: A Spam-filter Tutorial
    Online Courses: Coursera: "Machine Learning" by Andrew Ng EdX: "Introduction to Machine Learning" by MIT Tutorials: Scikit-learn documentation: https://scikit-learn.org/ Kaggle Learn: https://www.kaggle.com/learn Books: "Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras & TensorFlow" by Aurélien Géron "The Elements of Statistical Learning" by Trevor Hastie, Robert Tibshirani, and Jerome Friedman By... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Link Prediction With node2vec in Physics Collaboration Network
    Firstly, we need a connection to Memgraph so we can get edges, split them into two parts (train set and test set). For edge splitting, we will use scikit-learn. In order to make a connection towards Memgraph, we will use gqlalchemy. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
View more

Keras mentions (35)

  • Top Programming Languages for AI Development in 2025
    The unchallenged leader in AI development is still Python. And Keras, and robust community support. - Source: dev.to / 3 days ago
  • Top 8 OpenSource Tools for AI Startups
    If you need simplicity, Keras is a great high-level API built on top of TensorFlow. It lets you quickly prototype neural networks without worrying about low-level implementations. Keras is perfect for getting those first models up and running—an essential part of the startup hustle. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Top 5 Production-Ready Open Source AI Libraries for Engineering Teams
    At its heart is TensorFlow Core, which provides low-level APIs for building custom models and performing computations using tensors (multi-dimensional arrays). It has a high-level API, Keras, which simplifies the process of building machine learning models. It also has a large community, where you can share ideas, contribute, and get help if you are stuck. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Using Google Magika to build an AI-powered file type detector
    The core model architecture for Magika was implemented using Keras, a popular open source deep learning framework that enables Google researchers to experiment quickly with new models. - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • My Favorite DevTools to Build AI/ML Applications!
    As a beginner, I was looking for something simple and flexible for developing deep learning models and that is when I found Keras. Many AI/ML professionals appreciate Keras for its simplicity and efficiency in prototyping and developing deep learning models, making it a preferred choice, especially for beginners and for projects requiring rapid development. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Scikit-learn and Keras, you can also consider the following products

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

TensorFlow - TensorFlow is an open-source machine learning framework designed and published by Google. It tracks data flow graphs over time. Nodes in the data flow graphs represent machine learning algorithms. Read more about TensorFlow.

OpenCV - OpenCV is the world's biggest computer vision library

PyTorch - Open source deep learning platform that provides a seamless path from research prototyping to...

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

TFlearn - TFlearn is a modular and transparent deep learning library built on top of Tensorflow.