Node.js vs Python - Which Backend Development is Best?

Backend is the most important part of your app because it gives it the functionality it needs. In other words, you could say that the backend gives your applications wings.

Backend development is most often done with Node.js and Python. Both can give your application wings and send it through the roof.

Both are good in their own ways, so it’s hard to decide which one to use for your next project. Don’t be afraid!

This article will help you make a smart choice because it compares these two back-end technologies in detail.

Let’s start by putting these two technologies side by side.

A Way to Compare

Speed
Syntax
Scalability
Extensibility
Universality
Libraries
Curve of learning
Community\sArchitecture
Best Suitable apps

1. Node.js vs Python: Speed

Node.js

It responds quickly and loads quickly. Some things make Node.js’s performance stand out. Let’s talk about the big ones:

The V8 engine is used to read JavaScript code in Node.js ( wherein Google invests heavily).
Since it runs the code outside of the web browser, it works better and is more efficient.
Node.js’s event-driven, non-blocking architecture lets it handle multiple requests at once, which speeds up code execution even more.
In Node.js, caching is turned on for a single module. This makes the app more responsive by reducing the time it takes to load.

Python

It is a language that is translated. So, unlike Java, which is a compiled language, Python applications are usually slower. As there is only one flow, and requests in Python take a long time to process, this is the case. So, Python isn’t good for apps that need to be fast and work well.

2. Node.js vs Python : Syntax

For flexible smartphone app development, you need syntax that is easy for people to understand.

Node.js

When talking about Node.js, its syntax is a lot like javascript in a browser. If you already know how to use JavaScript, you won’t have any trouble writing code with Node.js.

Python

The syntax is one of the most important parts of Python. The syntax is easier to understand and doesn’t use curly brackets. So it’s easy to understand and fix this code. The Python code is so easy to understand that even new programmers or people who have never worked with computers before can understand it.

3. Node.js vs Python: How Well They Scale

Scalability means that an app can quickly adapt to changes.

Node.js

Node.js web development is easy to scale both up and down and side to side. To make it bigger on the side, you need to add more nodes to the system. If you want to grow it up or down, add more resources to the nodes. In Node.js, you don’t have to build a huge unified core. Instead, you can build a set of small services or modules that run their own processes and talk to each other using a small system. So, it is easy to add any microservice or module to Node.js. In terms of type, Node.js gives you more options, like JavaScript or TypeScript. It shows that Node.js can be used on a large scale.

Python

Multithreading must be turned on for any programme to grow. Python, on the other hand, has multithreading, but it isn’t “real multithreading.” Python uses a feature called the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL), which only lets one thread run at a time.

4. Node.js vs Python: Can They Be Extended?

Extensibility means that the technology can have more features and functions added to it.

Node.js

Node.js is easy to extend, integrate, and customise with the help of different tools. The following are some of the tools:

With the help of built-in APIs, it can be used to make HTTP and DNS servers.
Jasmin is a useful tool for unit testing.
Log.io is used to keep an eye on projects and find problems.
You can use Migrat, PM2, and Webpack to handle processes, move data, and bundle modules.
It can also be added to with frameworks like Meteor, Express, and many others.
Even though Node.js is very easy to add to, the only problem is that these tools aren’t monitored well, which hurts performance.

Python

There are a lot of tools and frameworks for developing in Python. Let’s talk about a few of them:

Loopback.js is used to make dynamic end-to-end REST APIs without having to write any code.
Use Hapi.js to build web services.
To make web apps, you can use DerrbyJS.
Test automation is done with the help of a robot framework.
Flask, Pyramid, Web2Py, and CherryPy are some other powerful Python web development frameworks.

6. Node.js vs Python: Is It Used Everywhere?

Universality means that an app can work on any operating system for a mobile device ( Android and iOS).

Node.js

With Node.js, it’s easy to make web apps, desktop and hybrid mobile apps, cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, and more. However, Node.js is mostly used to build applications’ backends. For front-end development, you can use JavaScript. Both the front end and the back end use the same programming language this way. Cross-stage means that a single desktop app written in Node.js can run on Linux, Windows, and Mac. Node.js is so flexible that only one team of developers needs to do everything. This cuts down on product costs.

Python

Python is a full-stack language, so it can be used to build both front-end and back-end applications. Python is cross-platform, just like Node.js. This means that code written on Linux can be run on Mac. Python is good for making web and desktop apps, but it isn’t as good for mobile computing. But Python is becoming more and more popular as an IoT and AI solution.

7. Libraries for Node.js and Python

Libraries are groups of modules that work together to do different things. By using these features to write codes, developers can make the process of coding easier.

Node.js

NPM, which stands for Node Package Manager, takes care of the libraries and packages for Node.js. NPM is a library source that has a lot of information. It is fast, well-documented, and easy to learn. With more than a million libraries, NPM is the largest ecosystem for all open-source libraries. It is free to use, and more than a thousand developers work on it regularly. So, in Node.js, you can quickly import code packages that can be used in a variety of situations.

Python

“Pip Installs Python” says that Pip is in charge of Python’s libraries and packages. This Pip moves quickly, works well, and is easy to use. Depending on your needs, it has 220,000 packages for things like data analytics, computing, image processing, and more.

Conclusion

We hope that this article will help you decide whether to use Node.js or Python for your project. If you can’t figure out if the technology you’re using will meet the basic functional needs of the project or not, don’t use it. Talk to our development team. We’ll look at what your project needs and suggest the best tech stack.