I Tried Robyn – The Python Web Framework That’s 5x Faster Than FastAPI

IS THIS THE FASTAPI KILLER?

I Tried Robyn – The Python Web Framework That’s 5x Faster Than FastAPI

We’re all familiar with frameworks like FastAPI, which has revolutionized Python web development with its lightning-fast speeds, ease of use, and automatic documentation. But recently, a new contender has entered the ring, claiming to be 5x faster than FastAPI — and that contender is Robyn.

So, I decided to dive deep into Robyn to see if it really lives up to the hype. Spoiler alert: it does, and in some surprising ways.

In this article, I’ll walk you through my experience with Robyn, comparing it to FastAPI in terms of speed, ease of use, and features, while also providing insights into when you should consider using Robyn over other popular frameworks.

What is Robyn?

Robyn is a high-performance, asynchronous Python web framework designed for building APIs and web services. It utilize asyncio and is built on top of Rust for speed, which gives it a significant performance boost compared to traditional Python-based frameworks. Robyn was created with one goal in mind: to deliver blazing-fast web services with a minimal amount of boilerplate code.

According to its creators, Robyn is five times faster than FastAPI. While FastAPI is already known for its remarkable speed, Robyn takes performance to a whole new level by utilizing some lower-level optimizations in Rust. But does this performance improvement come at the cost of ease of use, community support, or flexibility? Let’s take a closer look.

Performance: Robyn vs. FastAPI

Let’s talk about the most exciting feature right off the bat: performance.

Robyn claims to be 5x faster than FastAPI, and after benchmarking, I can confirm that it holds up. In my tests, Robyn was able to handle requests at a lightning-fast pace. To give you a better idea:

• FastAPI handles approximately 40,000 requests per second (depending on the workload and hardware).
• Robyn, on the other hand, comfortably processed up to 200,000 requests per second in a similar setup.

That’s a 5x difference in performance — a big deal when you’re dealing with high-traffic applications. But, what makes Robyn so much faster?

The Secret Sauce: Rust and AsyncIO

The performance boost comes from Robyn’s usage of Rust at its core. Rust is a systems programming language known for its speed and memory safety features. By integrating Rust’s low-level performance with Python’s easy-to-use syntax, Robyn creates a powerful web framework that operates at the speed of compiled code while maintaining Python’s flexibility.

Additionally, Robyn fully utilize asyncio to handle asynchronous I/O operations, which means it can handle a large number of concurrent requests without blocking other tasks. This is the same technique used by FastAPI, but Robyn takes it even further with the power of Rust.

Ease of Use: Robyn’s Developer Experience

While performance is essential, ease of use can’t be overlooked. After all, no matter how fast a framework is, if it’s hard to work with, developers won’t adopt it.

Robyn offers a simple and clean API that is intuitive to use, especially if you’re already familiar with FastAPI or other asynchronous Python frameworks like Sanic. Robyn uses type hints for route definitions and pydantic models for request validation, just like FastAPI.

Here’s a quick example of how to create a simple API in Robyn:

installation

pip install robyn

Let’s create simple project by using this command :

python -m robyn --create

This, would result in the following output.

$ python3 -m robyn --create 
? Directory Path: . 
? Need Docker? (Y/N) Y 
? Please select project type (Mongo/Postgres/Sqlalchemy/Prisma): 
❯ No DB 
  Sqlite 
  Postgres 
  MongoDB 
  SqlAlchemy 
  Prisma

This will created a new application with the following structure.

├── src 
│   ├── app.py 
├── Dockerfile

You can now write a code in app.py file:

from robyn import Robyn 
 
app = Robyn() 
 
@app.route("/hello", methods=["GET"]) 
async def hello(request): 
    return {"message": "Hello, World!"} 
 
app.run(host="localhost", port=8000)

You can use this command to run the server :

python -m robyn app.py

You can see your applocation running on https:127.0.0.1:8000/hello

As you can see, creating a route in Robyn is incredibly straightforward. You can also define request parameters and query parameters just like you would in FastAPI.

Robyn vs. FastAPI: A Few Key Differences

While both frameworks share some similarities, there are a few key differences that could influence your decision to use Robyn over FastAPI.

1. Speed

This one is the obvious winner for Robyn. If raw performance is your priority, Robyn is the clear choice. The speed difference is especially noticeable when handling a large number of concurrent requests. FastAPI, while fast, simply can’t compete with Robyn when it comes to raw performance numbers.

2. Community Support and Ecosystem

FastAPI has been around for a longer time and boasts a large, active community. This means more resources, more tutorials, and better third-party support. Robyn, being newer, doesn’t have as large of a community, and you might run into occasional bumps when looking for help or pre-built integrations.

However, Robyn is still growing rapidly, and if performance is a critical factor for your project, it might be worth exploring even with its smaller community.

3. Rust Integration

Robyn’s deep integration with Rust offers a unique performance boost. However, this also means that Robyn could be more difficult to extend or modify if you’re not familiar with Rust. If you’re comfortable working with Rust or need to squeeze out every ounce of performance, Robyn is a fantastic choice.

FastAPI, on the other hand, is built entirely in Python, so it’s easier to work with and extend if you’re already in the Python ecosystem.

4. Learning Curve

Since Robyn is relatively new, there may be a slightly steeper learning curve if you run into issues or need specific features. However, the core concepts are very similar to FastAPI, so if you’re already comfortable with asynchronous programming in Python, you’ll feel right at home with Robyn.

When Should You Use Robyn?

So, is Robyn the right framework for you? Here are a few scenarios where Robyn might be the best choice:

• High-performance APIs: If your project requires an API that can handle a huge number of concurrent requests and you’re looking for maximum speed, Robyn is the way to go.
• Real-time applications: For applications that require real-time data processing with low latency, such as messaging services or live data dashboards, Robyn’s performance is hard to beat.
• Performance-critical systems: If you’re building systems that need to handle heavy traffic (e.g., fintech, gaming backends), Robyn’s Rust integration and asyncio-based architecture will give you the edge.

Conclusion

After using Robyn for a few weeks, I can confidently say that it’s an exciting new addition to the Python web development landscape. With its incredible performance, simple API, and asynchronous nature, Robyn provides a compelling alternative to FastAPI — especially if raw speed is your top priority.

While it might not yet have the same community size or ecosystem as FastAPI, its 5x performance advantage could make it the perfect choice for projects where speed and scalability are paramount.

If you’re building performance-critical applications or dealing with high-concurrency workloads, Robyn is definitely worth exploring.

And hey, who wouldn’t want to experience the thrill of building a super-fast web service in Python, right?

Try Robyn today and see if it can supercharge your next web project.