Django is one of the most powerful and popular Python web frameworks. It’s excellent for building full-stack web applications. But when it comes to building APIs—especially RESTful APIs—Django REST Framework (DRF) shines far brighter than plain Django views.

Let’s explore why DRF is preferred over plain Django views for API development.

1. Built-in Support for Serializing Data

Plain Django:

You must manually convert your data (e.g., model instances) to JSON using tools like json.dumps() or DjangoJSONEncoder.

from django.http import JsonResponse
from django.core.serializers import serialize

def get_posts(request):
    data = serialize('json', Post.objects.all())
    return JsonResponse(data, safe=False)

Cons: Verbose, fragile, lacks validation.

✅ DRF:

DRF provides Serializer and ModelSerializer to easily convert complex data to/from native Python datatypes and JSON.

class PostSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Post
        fields = '__all__'

Benefit: Cleaner code, built-in validation, and two-way serialization.

2. Class-Based Views & ViewSets

Plain Django:

You typically use function-based views or class-based views with manual logic for different HTTP methods.

@csrf_exempt
def post_detail(request, id):
    if request.method == 'GET':
        ...
    elif request.method == 'POST':
        ...

✅ DRF:

DRF’s APIView, GenericAPIView, and ViewSets provide organized, REST-compliant ways to handle HTTP methods.

class PostViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
    queryset = Post.objects.all()
    serializer_class = PostSerializer

Benefit: Less boilerplate, clear separation of concerns, auto-routing via routers.

3. Powerful Browsable API Interface

Plain Django:

Only returns raw JSON. Testing requires external tools like Postman or cURL.

✅ DRF:

Out of the box, DRF provides a Browsable API that:

• Lets you explore endpoints in the browser

• Supports authentication/login

• Submit forms for GET/POST/PUT/DELETE

Benefit: Saves tons of time during development and debugging.

4. Authentication & Permissions

Plain Django:

You must manually handle authentication logic in each view.

✅ DRF:

DRF supports multiple authentication schemes:

• Token Authentication

• Session Authentication

• JWT (via plugins)

And permissions like:

• IsAuthenticated

• IsAdminUser

• Custom permissions

Benefit: Reusable and declarative access control.

5. Pagination, Filtering & Ordering

Plain Django:

You write your own logic for pagination, filtering querysets, etc.

✅ DRF:

Built-in support for:

• Page number pagination

• Limit-offset pagination

• Cursor pagination

• Filtering via django-filter

• Search and ordering filters

Benefit: Plug-and-play tools that save significant time.

6. Throttling & Rate Limiting

Plain Django:

You have to implement rate limiting logic yourself.

✅ DRF:

DRF supports:

• User-based throttling

• Anonymous throttling

• Scoped throttling

Benefit: Protect your API from abuse with minimal effort.

7. Versioning Support

Plain Django:

You’d manage versioning manually in URLs.

✅ DRF:

DRF offers multiple versioning schemes:

• URLPathVersioning

• QueryParameterVersioning

• HeaderVersioning

Benefit: Clean, consistent API evolution strategy.

8. Validation Logic

Plain Django:

Validation needs to be custom-built or delegated to forms (which aren’t ideal for APIs).

✅ DRF:

Serializers support built-in and custom validation for fields, objects, and nested data.

def validate_title(self, value):
    if 'test' in value.lower():
        raise serializers.ValidationError("Title cannot contain 'test'")
    return value

9. Documentation Tools

Plain Django:

You need to manually document each endpoint.

✅ DRF:

With third-party packages like drf-yasg or drf-spectacular, you get:

• Automatic Swagger/OpenAPI documentation

• Beautiful and interactive API docs

✅ Summary Table

Final Thoughts

While plain Django can technically be used to build APIs, it lacks the expressiveness, modularity, and power that Django REST Framework provides out of the box. DRF dramatically reduces boilerplate and makes your APIs scalable, secure, and easy to maintain.

If you’re planning to build any serious or production-level API, DRF is not just recommended—it’s essential.