Compare Flask and Bottle

Flask is a Python web framework for building web applications. It is based on Werkzeug and Jinja 2. It is a minimalist, 'no batteries included' framework. Yet it can be scaled extensively and support complex applications and use cases by adding required functionality as needed. It follows the philosophy that if something needs to be initialized, it should be initialized by the developer.

Bottle is a fast, simple and lightweight WSGI micro web-framework for Python. It is distributed as a single file module and has no dependencies other than the Python Standard Library.

Let's see how Flask and Bottle compare on various factors and features and which to choose when.

Flask

Bottle

Overall

Type

Type
Python microframework for building web applications.
Type
Python microframework for building web applications.

Author

Release Date

Release Date
2010
Release Date
2009

License

License
MIT License

Website

Website
bottlepy.org
Adoption and Ease of Use

Popularity [?]

Popularity [?]
5 Stars
Used by 397,000 projects.
Popularity [?]
1.5 Stars
Used by 14,000 projects.

Used by

Used by
Netflix, Zillow, Lyft.
Used by
No data.

Jobs [?]

Jobs [?]
4.5 Stars
1067 job openings which list Flask as a requirement.
Jobs [?]
1 Star
74 job openings which list Bottle as a requirement.

Performance [?]

Performance [?]
5 Stars
Because it is minimal and doesn't have a lot of overhead, Flask is very performant. Extensions could impact performance negatively.
Performance [?]
5 Stars
Very fast. Extensions could impact performance adversely.

Flexibility

Flexibility
5 Stars
Very flexible and doesn't require users to use any particular project or code layout. (A structured approach is still recommended.)
Flexibility
5 Stars
Very flexible and extremely simple. Doesn't force anything on developers.

Ease of Learning

Ease of Learning
5 Stars
Flask is simple and its core features are not difficult to learn. There are also plenty of online resources available to aid in learning.
Ease of Learning
5 Stars
Straightforward and easy to learn. It has a good amount of tutorials online.
Database Support

RDBMS Support

RDBMS Support
Through Plugins or Extensions
Through Plugins or Extensions
Flask doesn't come with a built-in ORM framework. Developers can use one of many open source libraries or extensions. Such as Flask-SQLAlchemy, Flask-Pony, etc.
RDBMS Support
Through Plugins or Extensions
Through Plugins or Extensions
No built-in ORM framework. Leaves it up to developers to choose a library like SQLAlchemy or extensions such as Macaron.

NoSQL Support

NoSQL Support
NoSQL databases are supported through open source libraries or extensions. To use MongoDB with Flask, Flask-PyMong is a popular choice. CouchDB, Cassandra, and DynamoDB are also supported via libraries.
Verdict Flask is a great choice if you want to develop for a NoSQL database.
NoSQL Support
No built-in support but 3rd party Python libraries like PyMongo or Bottle-Mongo can be used to talk to NoSQL databases.
Web & Core Features

Admin Dashboard

Admin Dashboard
Through Plugins or Extensions
Through Plugins or Extensions
No built-in admin panel, but you can use the Flask-Admin extension. It supports a number of backends like SQLAlchemy, MongoEngine, Peewee etc.
Admin Dashboard
Through Plugins or Extensions
Through Plugins or Extensions
No built-in admin panel.

REST Support

REST Support
Supported via extensions such as Flask-RESTful, Flask-Classful, Flask-RESTPlus.
REST Support
No built-in support but can be implemented easily.

Security

Security
Despite being a minimalist Framework, Flask does an excellent job of addressing common security concerns like CSRF, XSS, JSON security and more out of the box. 3rd party extensions like Flask-Security can be used for common security measures. However, it requires that developers evaluate these extensions carefully for security risks and apply timely updates manually when vulnerabilities are discovered.
Security
No built-in protection. Bottle is a minimalist framework. Must be handled by developers themselves or by using 3rd party extensions.

Templating Library

Templating Library
Flask uses Jinja2 out of the box.
Templating Library
Fast and pythonic built-in template engine and support for mako, jinja2 and cheetah templating languages.

Web Forms

Web Forms
No built-in support but there is Flask-WTF extention. For SQLAlchemy support, that is, to create forms based on models, there is WTForms-Alchemy
Web Forms
No built-in support.

Authentication

Authentication
Only provides support for cookie-based sessions but there are extensions available for authentication, authorization and account management.
Authentication
Using a plugin such as Bottle-Cork

Testing

Testing
Built-in support using Python's unittest framework.
Testing
Using WebTest and Nose.

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