When should I use ORM (encode/orm) instead of Gino?

Lightweight async ORM with a clean Django-inspired API for FastAPI and Starlette projects. Type-annotated models with async query support in a minimal, easy-to-configure package. Simple database-backed microservices that do not need the full power of SQLAlchemy

When should I use Gino instead of ORM (encode/orm)?

High-performance async PostgreSQL access built on SQLAlchemy Core and the asyncpg driver. Teams who want SQLAlchemy familiarity combined with full async/await support for PostgreSQL. Asyncio services where raw asyncpg performance is needed with a lightweight ORM layer

What are the main weaknesses of ORM (encode/orm)?

Very limited feature set compared to SQLAlchemy async or Tortoise ORM. Small community with few tutorials and limited long-term documentation. Largely superseded by SQLAlchemy async and Tortoise ORM for async Python projects

What are the main weaknesses of Gino?

PostgreSQL only — no support for MySQL, SQLite, or any other database. Limited active development; most teams have moved to SQLAlchemy's native async API. Less documentation and fewer production examples than mainstream ORMs

ORM (encode/orm) vs Gino: Key Differences for Python Data Engineering

ORMs for Python

ORM (encode/orm)

Lightweight Async ORM

★ 4.3

BSD-3-Clause

pip install orm

Gino

Async SQLAlchemy ORM

★ 4.4

BSD-3-Clause

pip install gino

Side-by-Side Comparison

ORM (encode/orm)

Gino

ORM (encode/orm)

Gino

Best For

✓Lightweight async ORM with a clean Django-inspired API for FastAPI and Starlette projects
✓Type-annotated models with async query support in a minimal, easy-to-configure package
✓Simple database-backed microservices that do not need the full power of SQLAlchemy

✓High-performance async PostgreSQL access built on SQLAlchemy Core and the asyncpg driver
✓Teams who want SQLAlchemy familiarity combined with full async/await support for PostgreSQL
✓Asyncio services where raw asyncpg performance is needed with a lightweight ORM layer

Best For

✓Lightweight async ORM with a clean Django-inspired API for FastAPI and Starlette projects
✓Type-annotated models with async query support in a minimal, easy-to-configure package
✓Simple database-backed microservices that do not need the full power of SQLAlchemy

✓High-performance async PostgreSQL access built on SQLAlchemy Core and the asyncpg driver
✓Teams who want SQLAlchemy familiarity combined with full async/await support for PostgreSQL
✓Asyncio services where raw asyncpg performance is needed with a lightweight ORM layer

Weaknesses

•Very limited feature set compared to SQLAlchemy async or Tortoise ORM
•Small community with few tutorials and limited long-term documentation
•Largely superseded by SQLAlchemy async and Tortoise ORM for async Python projects

•PostgreSQL only — no support for MySQL, SQLite, or any other database
•Limited active development; most teams have moved to SQLAlchemy's native async API
•Less documentation and fewer production examples than mainstream ORMs

Weaknesses

•Very limited feature set compared to SQLAlchemy async or Tortoise ORM
•Small community with few tutorials and limited long-term documentation
•Largely superseded by SQLAlchemy async and Tortoise ORM for async Python projects

•PostgreSQL only — no support for MySQL, SQLite, or any other database
•Limited active development; most teams have moved to SQLAlchemy's native async API
•Less documentation and fewer production examples than mainstream ORMs

License

BSD-3-Clause

License

BSD-3-Clause

Install

pip install orm

pip install gino

Install

pip install orm

pip install gino

Rating

★ 4.3

★ 4.4

Rating

★ 4.3

★ 4.4

Key Features

ORM (encode/orm)

1Async ORM built on SQLAlchemy Core for use with Starlette and FastAPI
2Supports PostgreSQL (asyncpg), MySQL (aiomysql), and SQLite (aiosqlite)
3Simple Model class with async `all()`, `get()`, `create()`, and `filter()` methods
4Integrates with Alembic for schema migrations
5Lightweight — minimal abstraction over raw SQL for predictable behavior

Gino

1Async ORM built on SQLAlchemy Core and asyncpg for PostgreSQL
2Lightweight — no session management, no identity map complexity
3Starlette and Aiohttp middleware for connection lifecycle management
4Supports PostgreSQL-specific types: JSONB, arrays, and enums
5SQLAlchemy Core expression language for advanced query building

How Python Data Engineers Use These Tools

ORM (encode/orm)

Python data engineers building async data APIs with FastAPI or Starlette use the `databases` (Encode ORM) library to perform non-blocking database operations. It replaces synchronous `psycopg2` calls with awaitable async queries, keeping the event loop unblocked during database I/O in high-concurrency ingestion endpoints.

Gino

Engineers use Gino in async Python services that need PostgreSQL access without the overhead of a full ORM. Because Gino is built on raw asyncpg, it delivers near-native query performance — making it a good fit for high-throughput data ingestion APIs where every millisecond of database latency matters.

More ORMs for Python Comparisons

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ORMs for Python

SQLAlchemy vs SQLObject

ORMs for Python

SQLAlchemy vs Tortoise ORM

ORMs for Python

Gino vs SQLAlchemy

Individual Tool Pages

View ORM (encode/orm) details →View Gino details →

Side-by-Side Comparison

ORM (encode/orm)

Gino

ORM (encode/orm)

Gino

Best For

✓Lightweight async ORM with a clean Django-inspired API for FastAPI and Starlette projects
✓Type-annotated models with async query support in a minimal, easy-to-configure package
✓Simple database-backed microservices that do not need the full power of SQLAlchemy

✓High-performance async PostgreSQL access built on SQLAlchemy Core and the asyncpg driver
✓Teams who want SQLAlchemy familiarity combined with full async/await support for PostgreSQL
✓Asyncio services where raw asyncpg performance is needed with a lightweight ORM layer

Best For

✓Lightweight async ORM with a clean Django-inspired API for FastAPI and Starlette projects
✓Type-annotated models with async query support in a minimal, easy-to-configure package
✓Simple database-backed microservices that do not need the full power of SQLAlchemy

✓High-performance async PostgreSQL access built on SQLAlchemy Core and the asyncpg driver
✓Teams who want SQLAlchemy familiarity combined with full async/await support for PostgreSQL
✓Asyncio services where raw asyncpg performance is needed with a lightweight ORM layer

Weaknesses

•Very limited feature set compared to SQLAlchemy async or Tortoise ORM
•Small community with few tutorials and limited long-term documentation
•Largely superseded by SQLAlchemy async and Tortoise ORM for async Python projects

•PostgreSQL only — no support for MySQL, SQLite, or any other database
•Limited active development; most teams have moved to SQLAlchemy's native async API
•Less documentation and fewer production examples than mainstream ORMs

Weaknesses

•Very limited feature set compared to SQLAlchemy async or Tortoise ORM
•Small community with few tutorials and limited long-term documentation
•Largely superseded by SQLAlchemy async and Tortoise ORM for async Python projects

•PostgreSQL only — no support for MySQL, SQLite, or any other database
•Limited active development; most teams have moved to SQLAlchemy's native async API
•Less documentation and fewer production examples than mainstream ORMs

License

BSD-3-Clause

License

BSD-3-Clause

Install

pip install orm

pip install gino

Install

pip install orm

pip install gino

Rating

★ 4.3

★ 4.4

Rating

★ 4.3

★ 4.4

Key Features

ORM (encode/orm)

1Async ORM built on SQLAlchemy Core for use with Starlette and FastAPI
2Supports PostgreSQL (asyncpg), MySQL (aiomysql), and SQLite (aiosqlite)
3Simple Model class with async `all()`, `get()`, `create()`, and `filter()` methods
4Integrates with Alembic for schema migrations
5Lightweight — minimal abstraction over raw SQL for predictable behavior

Gino

1Async ORM built on SQLAlchemy Core and asyncpg for PostgreSQL
2Lightweight — no session management, no identity map complexity
3Starlette and Aiohttp middleware for connection lifecycle management
4Supports PostgreSQL-specific types: JSONB, arrays, and enums
5SQLAlchemy Core expression language for advanced query building

How Python Data Engineers Use These Tools