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Tkinter VS PySimpleGUI

Compare Tkinter VS PySimpleGUI and see what are their differences

Tkinter logo Tkinter

Tkinter is a Python wrapper for Tcl/Tk that offers classes to create various graphical user interfaces.

PySimpleGUI logo PySimpleGUI

A simple to use GUI that can create custom GUIs
  • Tkinter Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-28
  • PySimpleGUI Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18

Tkinter features and specs

  • Built-in Standard Library
    Tkinter comes bundled with Python, so there is no need for additional installations. This makes it highly accessible and quick to set up for projects.
  • Ease of Use
    Tkinter provides a simple syntax and an easy-to-understand system for building GUI applications, making it ideal for beginners who are just starting with programming.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Tkinter applications can run on multiple operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux without modification, which ensures broader audience reach.
  • Strong Community Support
    Being part of Python's standard library means that Tkinter benefits from Python's extensive community support, with plenty of tutorials and resources available online.
  • Object-Oriented Approach
    Tkinter supports an object-oriented programming model, which allows for structuring code in a manageable way, especially for larger applications.

Possible disadvantages of Tkinter

  • Limited Widget Set
    Compared to more modern GUI frameworks, Tkinter has a limited set of widgets and may not support advanced user interface features that newer applications might require.
  • Outdated Look and Feel
    The default Tkinter themes and styles may look outdated by modern standards, which might not be suitable for applications where a contemporary design is important.
  • Performance Limitations
    Tkinter may not perform well with applications requiring high-performance graphics or real-time updates, as it is not optimized for these tasks.
  • Learning Curve for Complex Applications
    While simple to use for basic applications, building more complex UI components can become challenging and might require a deeper understanding of the Tkinter framework.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Some advanced features like drag-and-drop, custom widgets, or native look and feel on different platforms might be either missing or require additional work to implement.

PySimpleGUI features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    PySimpleGUI is designed to be easy to use for beginners, with a simpler API compared to other GUI frameworks like Tkinter or PyQt. This reduces the learning curve for new users.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    The library runs on multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing developers to write code that works across different environments.
  • Simplified Codebase
    PySimpleGUI abstracts the complexity of GUI programming, allowing developers to create graphical interfaces with less code, which can improve readability and reduce development time.
  • Integration with Other Frameworks
    PySimpleGUI can work on top of tkinter, Qt, WxPython, and Remi, thus giving users the flexibility to switch between underlying frameworks with minimal code changes.
  • Community Support
    The project is open source with active community support and frequent updates, which helps in getting assistance and improvements consistently.

Possible disadvantages of PySimpleGUI

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While PySimpleGUI is excellent for simple applications, it may lack advanced features required for complex GUI applications compared to more comprehensive frameworks like PyQt.
  • Performance
    PySimpleGUI might not be as optimized for performance as lower-level GUI frameworks, which can be a drawback for applications with intensive graphical requirements.
  • Dependency on Underlying Libraries
    PySimpleGUI's functionality is dependent on the underlying GUI frameworks it wraps, such as Tkinter or Qt, which may limit its capability to innovate beyond what those frameworks offer.
  • Lack of Native Look and Feel
    The GUI created with PySimpleGUI might not always match the native look and feel of the underlying operating system, which can affect user experience.
  • Smaller Ecosystem
    Compared to more established GUI frameworks like PyQt or Tkinter, PySimpleGUI has a smaller ecosystem, which might limit the availability of third-party extensions or plugins.

Tkinter videos

Which is Better Kivy Or Tkinter? - Python Kivy GUI Tutorial #42

More videos:

  • Review - Python Programming 93 - Review of Tkinter
  • Tutorial - Tkinter Course - Create Graphic User Interfaces in Python Tutorial

PySimpleGUI videos

Real Python Podcast – Episode 17 – Linear Programming, PySimpleGUI, and More

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Tkinter and PySimpleGUI)
Developer Tools
68 68%
32% 32
Rapid Application Development
Development Tools
56 56%
44% 44
Development
66 66%
34% 34

User comments

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Reviews

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

Tkinter Reviews

25 Python Frameworks to Master
It’s a great option for creating simple and easy-to-use graphical user interfaces in Python and allows you to add a GUI to your already working scripts pretty easily. PySimpleGUI wraps the power of 4 different GUI libraries, PySide, Tkinter, wxPython, and Remi.
Source: kinsta.com
Which Python GUI library should you use? Comparing the Python GUI libraries available in 2023
Tkinter is a simple library with support for standard layouts and widgets, as well as more complex widgets such as tabbed views & progressbars. Tkinter is a pure GUI library, not a framework. There is no built-in support for GUIs driven from data sources, databases, or for displaying or manipulating multimedia or hardware. However, if you need to make something simple that...
10 Best Python Libraries for GUI
Another top Python library for GUI is Tkinter, which is an open-source Python Graphic User Interface library. It is well known for its simplicity and comes pre-installed in Python, meaning there is no work on your part. These features make it a great choice for beginners and intermediates, but it is not capable of carrying out larger-scale projects.
Source: www.unite.ai
Top 10 Python GUI Frameworks for Developers
Often referred to as the go-to GUI toolkit by a majority of Python developers, Tkinter was created to equip modern developers with a standard interface to the Tk GUI toolkit with its Python bindings. In Tkinter’s world, most of the visual elements that we’re familiar with are called widgets, and each of these widgets offers a different level of customizability.

PySimpleGUI Reviews

25 Python Frameworks to Master
It’s a great option for creating simple and easy-to-use graphical user interfaces in Python and allows you to add a GUI to your already working scripts pretty easily. PySimpleGUI wraps the power of 4 different GUI libraries, PySide, Tkinter, wxPython, and Remi.
Source: kinsta.com
Which Python GUI library should you use? Comparing the Python GUI libraries available in 2023
PySimpleGUI aims to simplify GUI application development for Python. It doesn't reinvent the wheel but provides a wrapper around other existing frameworks such as Tkinter, Qt (PySide 2), WxPython and Remi. By doing so, it not only lowers the barrier to creating a GUI but also allows you to easily migrate from one GUI framework to another by simply changing the import...
10 Best Python Libraries for GUI
PySimpleGUI was developed back in 2018 to make it easier for Python beginners to get started with GUI development. A lot of the other frameworks require more complicated work, but PySimpleGUI enables you to begin right away without worrying about the advanced intricacies of other libraries.
Source: www.unite.ai
Top 10 Python GUI Frameworks for Developers
Isn’t the name of this framework a dead giveaway of what it is meant to do? Getting back to the topic, those starting fresh with Python application development may find a lot of Python GUI frameworks daunting at first. Mike B. created PySimpleGUI in 2018 to make it easier for Python newbies to get into GUI development without spending too much time getting into the...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Tkinter seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 37 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.

Tkinter mentions (37)

  • Building a Lightweight OCR-Powered Receipt Parser
    Tkinter Documentation – Official Python Tkinter library documentation. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • The Adventures of Blink S2e7: A GUI Screen in Python
    For our hangman, I've elected to use Tkinter. It has a pre-built collection of little widgets that make dialog-based apps work, and I think it will be useful for Hangman, which doesn't require a great deal of animation and image management but does require us to have an easy-to-use interface for the user to make changes. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Ask HN: How popular is Tcl in 2024?
    >> So it's hard for me to recommend tk for GUI development. Tcl/Tk is widely used in lightweight legacy GUIs. Python distributions will typically include tkinter (https://docs.python.org/3/library/tkinter.html) which is just a Python wrapper for Tk. Git usually includes the gitk graphical utility which is written in Tcl/TK: - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • A brief interview with Tcl creator John Ousterhout
    Lots of people care about it, and it's alive and kicking in-industry and being developed (Tcl 9 is imminent[0]). I've had fun w Guile over the years (though actually never considered its "heaviness"); fun. I'm constantly amazed at the professional love for Python; its got it's network effect in full-effect: lots of people, lots of software - there's just no denying that. But for Joy of Development, Tcl (and C) is... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Essential Deep Learning Checklist: Best Practices Unveiled
    How to Accomplish: Create a simple interface (CLI or GUI) where users can input an image, and the script processes and displays the model's prediction. For a CLI, use argparse to handle input arguments. For a GUI, consider libraries like Tkinter or web-based interfaces using FastAPI or Flask. The script should perform necessary preprocessing, invoke the model prediction, and present the results clearly, such as... - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
View more

PySimpleGUI mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of PySimpleGUI yet. Tracking of PySimpleGUI recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Tkinter and PySimpleGUI, you can also consider the following products

PyQt - Riverbank | Software | PyQt | What is PyQt?

MD Python Designer - A drag and drop GUI Designer that uses a combination of Tkinter and its own code.

wxWidgets - wxWidgets: Cross-Platform GUI Library

Dear PyGui - Dear PyGui is a simple to use (but powerful) Python GUI framework. Dear PyGui provides a wrapping of Dear ImGui which simulates a traditional retained mode GUI (as opposed to Dear ImGui's immediate mode paradigm).

BeeWare - Write your apps in Python and release them on iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS, Linux, Web, and tvOS...

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 .