Plain full-stack Python framework
Shares rank 25 of 63 web frameworks by recommenders
Free Python web framework that people see as a simpler, Django-like option fixing some of its rough edges. Critics find its benefits over Django unclear and its code complicated.
Free Python web framework that people see as a simpler, Django-like option fixing some of its rough edges. Critics find its benefits over Django unclear and its code complicated.
27 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 14
- approval share
- 48%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fixes Django's rough edges
“what I like is that this seems to be a slightly simplified version of Django with some frontend choices pre-made”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” “it's so cool to see so many of the rough edges in Django get fixed in a nice comprehensive solution”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Unclear benefits over Django
“Does not explain the benefits nor the feature-set of what your platform offers”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “Some Things Just Take Time” “Where is the advantage here? A surface for more potential bugs?”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” “I'm not sure why that is better than what's already out there”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” Complicated indirection and setup steps
“Because of indirection, you either have to go read all the basic classes, or read documentation three times over.”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” “That is perhaps the most egregiously complicated way to run "git clone" and a post-install script I've ever seen”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” “First time I've seen this pattern in the "getting started" guide for a project”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” Changes Django's API arbitrarily
“a fork of Django that just kind changed a bunch of stuff arbitrarily”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” “Why also completely change Django's API?”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” Looks vibe coded and sloppy
“Of course it's vibe coded, it's made for vibe coders.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents” “So a sloppified Django spit out by Claude?”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Plain – The full-stack Python framework designed for humans and agents”
Other web frameworks people recommend
The four most recommended other web frameworks, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby on Rails | 337 | 145 | 70% | 12 | 14 yrs38 owners | Approved |
| Django | 277 | 97 | 74% | 12 | 15 yrs38 owners | Approved |
| Next.js | 127 | 256 | 33% | 12 | 3 yrs6 owners | — |
| Phoenix Framework | 85 | 11 | 89% | 12 | 8 yrs7 owners | Approved |
| Plain full-stack Python frameworkThis page | 13 | 14 | 48% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
30 of the 33 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Plain promises no ads, no clickbait, no autorun videos.”
“I think it's doing pretty well.”
“it's a bunch of unsourced snippets of news, why should I trust this”
“designed for you, not advertisers”
“Of course it's vibe coded, it's made for vibe coders.”
“That is perhaps the most egregiously complicated way to run "git clone" and a post-install script I've ever seen”
“Django desperately need competition so this is a good thing.”
“Why also completely change Django's API?”
“The framework seems like an interesting project to keep an eye on.”
“I'm saying "Django, but different" isn't for agents. It makes agents work harder, in general.”
“what I like is that this seems to be a slightly simplified version of Django with some frontend choices pre-made”
“it looks very cool on your cv”
“Steal codebase of Django, and rename functions so thats hidden”
“If Plain picks one, that's genuinely useful.”
“Because of indirection, you either have to go read all the basic classes, or read documentation three times over.”
“Oh, I do like the format of the models.”
“I agree its very good job he is doing”
“First time I've seen this pattern in the "getting started" guide for a project”
“appears to have now been rebranded to jump on the agent hype-train”
“it's so cool to see so many of the rough edges in Django get fixed in a nice comprehensive solution”
“the top-level modules are structured much better and more obvious for AI to discover them”
“Same thoughts as soon as I saw the code in the readme”
“Where is the advantage here? A surface for more potential bugs?”
“Your new thing isn't in the training data, so you have to teach it how to use your thing.”
“I'm not sure why that is better than what's already out there”
“So a sloppified Django spit out by Claude?”
“a fork of Django that just kind changed a bunch of stuff arbitrarily”
“Does not explain the benefits nor the feature-set of what your platform offers”
“every invoicing tool I tried either required an account, had a paywall after 3 invoices”
“PlainApp has been great for me”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.