Building the Same CRM: Rails 8 vs Django - Two Approaches to Rapid Development

Introduction

After demonstrating how to build a complete CRM in 2 hours with Rails 8, I—and others—wondered: "How would this compare to Django?" and "Would Python be better for this?"

Rather than declaring one framework superior, I wanted to understand the fundamental differences in approach. Both Django and Rails power successful startups and enterprises—they just optimize for different development priorities.

What we're comparing:

• Development philosophy differences
• Code structure and organization approaches
• Built-in features vs. explicit implementation
• Setup complexity and configuration styles
• Team productivity factors for rapid prototyping

The goal isn't to pick a "winner," but to understand when each framework's strengths align with your project needs.

Different setups

The setup experience reveals fundamental philosophical differences between the two ecosystems. Rails¹ embraces an "everything included" approach where rails new company_crm --database=postgresql --css=bootstrap creates a complete, opinionated project structure with database configuration, asset pipeline, testing framework, and styling integration ready to go—you can start building features immediately. Django² follows Python's³ explicit philosophy, requiring manual assembly of components: creating virtual environments (python -m venv), installing individual packages (pip install django psycopg2-binary django-crispy-forms), configuring settings.py with database connections and installed apps, setting up URL routing, and manually organizing static files and templates. While Rails optimizes for immediate productivity with sensible defaults, Django prioritizes transparency and flexibility, giving you explicit control over every component at the cost of initial setup time. Rails developers often joke about "convention over configuration," while Django developers appreciate knowing exactly what's happening in their application stack—both approaches have merit depending on whether you value speed-to-first-prototype or explicit understanding of your system's architecture.

The Challenge: Identical Feature Set

Our Rails CRM, built across four detailed tutorials, included:

• User authentication with registration, login, and password reset (Part 2)
• Company CRUD operations with industry categorization (Part 1)
• User-specific data isolation (each user sees only their companies)
• Professional Bootstrap styling with responsive design
• Interactive dashboard with charts and metrics (Part 2)
• Advanced filtering and pagination (Part 3)
• Production deployment with Docker (Part 4)

Let's examine how each framework approaches these requirements.

Part 1: Project Setup - Two Philosophies

Rails 8: Convention-Driven Setup

As shown in Part 1 of our tutorial:

rails new company_crm --database=postgresql --css=bootstrap
rails db:create
rails g scaffold Company name:string slug:string industry:references description:text

Rails provides by convention:

• Complete project structure with opinionated defaults
• Automatic database configuration
• Integrated asset pipeline and styling
• Generator-based rapid scaffolding
• Built-in testing framework setup

Django: Explicit Configuration Approach

# Virtual environment and dependencies
python -m venv crm_env
source crm_env/bin/activate
pip install django psycopg2-binary python-decouple django-crispy-forms
 
# Project creation
django-admin startproject company_crm
cd company_crm
python manage.py startapp companies

Django's explicit configuration in settings.py:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    'crispy_forms',
    'crispy_bootstrap5',
    'companies',
]
 
DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': config('DB_NAME', default='company_crm'),
        'USER': config('DB_USER', default='postgres'),
        'PASSWORD': config('DB_PASSWORD', default=''),
        'HOST': config('DB_HOST', default='localhost'),
        'PORT': config('DB_PORT', default='5432'),
    }
}

Philosophy comparison:

• Rails: "Convention over Configuration" - rapid start with opinionated defaults
• Django: "Explicit is Better than Implicit" - clear, configurable setup from the beginning

Part 2: Authentication - Built-in vs. Composed

Rails 8: Generator-Based Authentication

rails generate authentication
rails db:migrate

This single command creates a complete authentication system with user models, controllers, views, and email reset functionality.

Django: Leveraging Built-in Auth with Custom Views

Django includes robust authentication in django.contrib.auth, but requires composition:

# companies/views.py
from django.shortcuts import render, redirect
from django.contrib.auth.forms import UserCreationForm
from django.contrib.auth import login
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
 
def register(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = UserCreationForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            user = form.save()
            login(request, user)
            return redirect('company_list')
    else:
        form = UserCreationForm()
    return render(request, 'registration/register.html', {'form': form})
 
@login_required
def company_list(request):
    companies = Company.objects.filter(user=request.user)
    return render(request, 'companies/list.html', {'companies': companies})

Authentication approach comparison:

• Rails: Complete system generated instantly, opinionated structure
• Django: Flexible composition of built-in components, requires template creation

Implementation Analysis: Different Strengths

Development Speed Factors

Rails optimizes for initial velocity:

• Scaffolding generates working CRUD in seconds
• Convention eliminates configuration decisions
• Integrated toolchain reduces setup friction
• Generator-based workflow for common patterns

Django optimizes for sustainable development:

• Explicit code structure aids team collaboration
• Powerful admin interface for data management
• Flexible architecture adapts to changing requirements
• Strong integration with Python data ecosystem

Code Organization Patterns

Rails Example - Company Controller:

class CompaniesController < ApplicationController
  before_action :set_company, only: [:show, :edit, :update, :destroy]
 
  def index
    @companies = current_user.companies.page(params[:page])
  end
 
  def create
    @company = current_user.companies.build(company_params)
    if @company.save
      redirect_to @company, notice: 'Company created successfully.'
    else
      render :new
    end
  end
 
  private
 
  def company_params
    params.require(:company).permit(:name, :industry_id, :description)
  end
end

Django Example - Company Views:

from django.shortcuts import render, redirect, get_object_or_404
from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
from django.core.paginator import Paginator
from .models import Company
from .forms import CompanyForm
 
@login_required
def company_list(request):
    companies = Company.objects.filter(user=request.user)
    paginator = Paginator(companies, 25)
    page_companies = paginator.get_page(request.GET.get('page'))
    return render(request, 'companies/list.html', {'companies': page_companies})
 
@login_required
def company_create(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        form = CompanyForm(request.POST)
        if form.is_valid():
            company = form.save(commit=False)
            company.user = request.user
            company.save()
            return redirect('company_detail', pk=company.pk)
    else:
        form = CompanyForm()
    return render(request, 'companies/create.html', {'form': form})

Where Each Framework Excels

Rails strengths for rapid prototyping:

• Minimal setup friction
• Instant CRUD generation
• Convention-based development speed
• Integrated toolchain
• Strong community around rapid development patterns

Django strengths for sustainable development:

• Explicit, readable code structure
• Powerful admin interface for data management
• Excellent ORM with complex query capabilities
• Strong Python ecosystem integration
• Flexible architecture that adapts well to growth

Feature Implementation Comparison

Dashboard and Analytics

Rails approach (from Part 2):

# Controller
def index
  @chart_data = current_user.companies
                             .joins(:industry)
                             .group('industries.name')
                             .count
end
 
# View (with Chartkick gem)
<%= pie_chart @chart_data, donut: true %>

Django approach:

# View
from django.db.models import Count
 
def dashboard(request):
    chart_data = Company.objects.filter(user=request.user) \
                               .values('industry__name') \
                               .annotate(count=Count('id'))
    return render(request, 'dashboard.html', {'chart_data': chart_data})
 
# Template
<!-- Requires Chart.js integration -->
<canvas id="industryChart"></canvas>
<script>
  const chartData = {{ chart_data|safe }};
  // Chart.js setup code...
</script>

Analysis: Rails includes more batteries for common web app patterns, while Django provides flexible foundations for custom implementations.

Filtering and Search

Rails implementation (from Part 3):

# Custom filter class
class CompanyFilters
  def filter
    filter_industries
    filter_text_query
    scope
  end
 
  private
 
  def filter_text_query
    return unless params[:search].present?
    @scope = scope.where("LOWER(name) LIKE :query", query: "%#{params[:search].downcase}%")
  end
end

Django implementation:

# Using django-filter (recommended approach)
import django_filters
 
class CompanyFilter(django_filters.FilterSet):
    name = django_filters.CharFilter(lookup_expr='icontains')
    industry = django_filters.ModelChoiceFilter(queryset=Industry.objects.all())
 
    class Meta:
        model = Company
        fields = ['name', 'industry']
 
# View
def company_list(request):
    companies = Company.objects.filter(user=request.user)
    company_filter = CompanyFilter(request.GET, queryset=companies)
    return render(request, 'companies/list.html', {'filter': company_filter})

Analysis: Django's approach requires additional packages but provides more sophisticated filtering capabilities out of the box.

Real-World Development Considerations

Team Dynamics

Rails teams often experience:

• Faster onboarding due to conventions
• Shared understanding of project structure
• Rapid feature development cycles
• Less configuration debugging

Django teams often experience:

• More explicit code review discussions
• Easier debugging due to explicit flow
• Better long-term code maintainability
• Stronger integration with data science workflows

Project Evolution

Rails excels when:

• Building standard web applications
• Rapid iteration is essential
• Team values convention over configuration
• Time-to-market is critical

Django excels when:

• Data modeling complexity is high
• Admin interface usage is heavy
• Team has strong Python expertise
• Integration with scientific/data tools is needed

Performance and Scaling Considerations

Both frameworks scale well to millions of users, but with different optimization patterns:

Rails scaling patterns:

• Convention-based performance optimizations
• Strong caching patterns built into framework
• Hotwire for interactive features without JavaScript complexity
• ActiveRecord includes and counter caches

Django scaling patterns:

• Explicit query optimization opportunities
• Flexible caching backends
• Strong database query profiling tools
• Built-in database optimization features

The Deployment Story

Rails deployment (from Part 4):

• Built-in Docker integration with Rails 8
• Kamal for simple production deployment
• Convention-based environment configuration

Django deployment:

• Flexible deployment options (Gunicorn, uWSGI, etc.)
• Strong support across all major platforms
• Explicit configuration for production settings

Conclusion

The bottom line: Both Django and Rails excel at prototyping, but they optimize for different scenarios.

Choose Django when:

• Your MVP involves significant data processing or analysis
• You need Django's built-in admin interface for content management
• Your team has Python expertise or works extensively with data science tools
• Long-term maintainability and explicit code structure are top priorities

Choose Rails when:

• Speed to market is critical for validation
• Your team values developer happiness and quick iteration cycles
• You're building a typical web application or SaaS product
• You want maximum functionality with minimal configuration

For pure prototyping speed, Rails typically wins due to its conventions and generators. You can scaffold a complete CRUD interface in minutes, while Django requires more explicit setup.

For scaling and maintenance, both frameworks handle growth well, but Django's explicit approach often makes large codebases easier to navigate for new team members.

The real decision factors:

• Team expertise - Use what your team knows best
• Project timeline - Rails for fastest MVP, Django for more structured development
• Long-term vision - Consider your scaling plans and maintenance requirements

Ultimately, don't overthink it. Both frameworks power successful companies at massive scale. Pick the one that gets your MVP in front of users fastest, then iterate based on real feedback rather than theoretical concerns.

Ready to validate your next business concept rapidly, regardless of framework choice? Both Rails and Django can get you to market quickly when used correctly. Let's discuss which approach fits your specific needs and timeline.

Footnotes