wxPython VS Kivy

Compare wxPython VS Kivy and see what are their differences

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wxPython

wxPython is a GUI toolkit for the Python programming language.

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 .

Landing page //
2021-10-18

Landing page //
2023-09-15

wxPython

Website: wxpython.org
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Kivy

Website: kivy.org
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wxPython features and specs

Cross-platform Compatibility
wxPython is built on the wxWidgets C++ library, which supports multiple platforms, allowing developers to create applications that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux with minimal changes to the codebase.
Native Look and Feel
Applications built with wxPython use native UI elements provided by the operating system, resulting in a more consistent and authentic look and feel across different platforms.
Rich Set of Widgets
wxPython offers a wide range of widgets and controls, enabling developers to build complex and feature-rich GUIs with various functionalities and levels of customization.
Strong Community Support
wxPython has been around for a long time and has accumulated a robust community. This support provides ample resources, tutorials, and examples that can assist developers in utilizing the library effectively.
Continuing Development
wxPython continues to be actively developed and maintained, ensuring that it receives regular updates, bug fixes, and improvements to keep it viable for modern applications.

Possible disadvantages of wxPython

Steeper Learning Curve
For beginners, wxPython can be more challenging to learn compared to other Python GUI libraries because of its comprehensive and sometimes complex API.
Larger Application Size
Applications built with wxPython tend to have larger file sizes compared to those made with some other GUI libraries, potentially impacting distribution and storage demands.
Limited Mobile Support
While wxPython excels in desktop application development, it offers limited support for mobile platforms, making it less suitable for developers looking to target mobile devices.
Dependency Overhead
wxPython introduces additional dependencies that need to be managed, which can be cumbersome for developers aiming for lightweight applications or those trying to reduce build complexity.
Platform-specific Bugs
Due to its reliance on native components, wxPython applications might encounter platform-specific bugs or inconsistencies that require platform-specific workarounds or additional testing.

Kivy features and specs

Cross-Platform
Kivy allows you to write your application code once and run it on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, reducing development time and effort.
Open Source
Kivy is an open-source framework, which means it is free to use and has a community-driven development model. This also allows developers to contribute to its improvement.
Rich User Interface
Kivy provides a wide range of widgets and controls that can be customized to create highly interactive and attractive user interfaces.
Touch Support
Kivy is designed with built-in support for multitouch events, making it a good choice for applications that require touch interactions.
Dynamic and Fast
Thanks to its use of Cython, Kivy applications can achieve high performance and responsiveness.
Consistent Look and Feel
Kivy apps maintain a consistent look and feel across all supported platforms, which can lead to a better user experience.

Possible disadvantages of Kivy

Steep Learning Curve
Kivy can be challenging for beginners due to its custom language (Kv) and lack of extensive documentation.
Limited Community Support
Compared to more established frameworks, Kivy has a smaller user community, which can make finding help and resources more difficult.
Lagging behind in Platform Integration
Kivy may not offer the same level of integration with native platform features (such as navigation and notifications) as other frameworks like React Native or Flutter.
Debugging Complexity
Debugging Kivy applications can be complex, especially when dealing with cross-platform issues, as the error messages are not always straightforward.
Performance Issues on Some Platforms
Performance may not be consistent across all platforms, particularly on iOS devices where Kivy apps might suffer from performance degradation.
Limited Third-Party Libraries
The ecosystem of third-party libraries and plugins is not as extensive as those available for other popular frameworks, which might limit functionality.

wxPython videos

+ Add

Python Top 3 GUI Frameworks In 2019 (PyQt5, wxPython, TKinter)

Kivy videos

+ Add

Kivy Intro - Mobile and Desktop App Dev w/ Python

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to wxPython and Kivy)

wxPython

Kivy

Rapid Application Development

28 28%

Rapid Application Development

72% 72

Developer Tools

19 19%

Developer Tools

81% 81

Development Tools

100 100%

Development Tools

0% 0

Game Engine

0 0%

Game Engine

100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using wxPython and Kivy. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

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

wxPython Reviews

Which Python GUI library should you use? Comparing the Python GUI libraries available in 2023

WxPython is under active development and is also currently being reimplemented from scratch under the name 'WxPython Phoenix'. The team behind WxWidgets is also responsible for WxPython, which was initially released in 1998.

Source: www.pythonguis.com

10 Best Python Libraries for GUI

Nearing the end of our list is Wax, which is the wrapper for wxPython. Offering the same functionality as wxPython, Wax stands out thanks to it being far more user-friendly. Wax is also implemented as an extension module for Python, and it supports the development of cross-platform applications.

Source: www.unite.ai

Top 10 Python GUI Frameworks for Developers

wxPython is essentially a Python extension module that acts as a wrapper for the wxWidgets API. wxPython allows Python developers to create native user interfaces that add zero additional overhead to the application. The cross-platform capabilities of wxPython allow deployment to platforms like Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Unix-based systems with little to no modifications.

Source: towardsdatascience.com

Kivy Reviews

25 Python Frameworks to Master

Unlike PyQt, Kivy is free and open-source, isn’t a wrapper around an external UI library, and is licensed under the MIT license, which means you can ship and monetize your Kivy apps.

Source: kinsta.com

Which Python GUI library should you use? Comparing the Python GUI libraries available in 2023

The look and feel of Kivy is extremely customizable, allowing it to be used as an alternative to libraries like Pygame (for making games with Python). The developers have also released a number of separate libraries for Kivy. Some provide Kivy with better integration and access to certain platform-specific features, or help package your application for distribution on...

Source: www.pythonguis.com

10 Best Python Libraries for GUI

Kivy was written with a mix of Python and Cython, and it helps build some of the most intuitive user interfaces with multi-touch applications. These multi-touch applications help implement Natural User Interface (NUI), which is a type of interface where the user naturally learns about the various interactions while they’re usually invisible.

Source: www.unite.ai

Top 6 Python Framework for Game Development | by Ankur Kumar | unikaksha | Medium

Kivy is a Python game development framework for businesses. It’s an open-source Python library that lets programmers easily construct apps with unique user interfaces, such as multi-touch apps. Kivy assists in developing apps for Windows, Linux, and iOS devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Android devices such as phones and tablets.

Source: medium.com

Top 10 Python GUI Frameworks for Developers

With Kivy, interface designers can code once and deploy to multiple platforms, while the built-in support for OpenGL ES 2 allows them to use modern and powerful graphics and design techniques. The most common use of the Kivy GUI framework in the real-world can be seen in our Android and iOS applications. Other widespread implementations of the framework can be seen in the...

Source: towardsdatascience.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Kivy seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 47 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.

wxPython mentions (0)

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

Kivy mentions (47)

Plain – a web framework for building products with Python
There are some things available, and people are working on it. Coincidentally, one of those people is Russell Keith-Magee of Django fame, who founded the BeeWare project. https://beeware.org/ https://beeware.org/about/team/freakboy3742/ https://kivy.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
How to Develop a User Data Storage Registration Form Using Python.
We will create this complete Python registration form using Kivy. We get started by installing Kivy, a powerful Python framework for building interactive applications. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
Ask HN: Can I create a mobile and Web App using Python/Python Framework?
For reference, YouTube runs on Python[1,2,3]: > 1. Python and Django: YouTube’s backend is predominantly written in Python, offering a balance of performance and readability. > 2. Google Cloud Platform... > 3. Java and C++: YouTube also utilizes Java and C++ for specific backend services, as they provide better performance for certain tasks. --- A long time ago, I looked into these Python frameworks: -... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
Python GUI libraries? <3
I suggest you use kivy which is suitable for the desktop but also has the advantage of being one of few options for creating Python based native(ish) mobile apps (for IoS and Android app stores). Source: over 1 year ago
Ask HN: Best framework to build a GUI app in Python for windows and macOS?
I think the best one right now for python is "beeware": https://beeware.org/ You also have Kivy which is prety good: https://kivy.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing wxPython and Kivy, you can also consider the following products

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

Blender - Blender is the open source, cross platform suite of tools for 3D creation.

Qt - Powerful, flexible and easy to use, Qt will help you not only meet your tight deadline, but also reduce the maintainable code by an astonishing percentage.

Unity - The multiplatform game creation tools for everyone.

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

Unreal Engine - Unreal Engine 4 is a suite of integrated tools for game developers to design and build games, simulations, and visualizations.