# PyPy 57 Hacker News commenters recommended PyPy and 34 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 13 months. **Verdict:** A Python interpreter with a JIT compiler that people recommend for much faster pure-Python code, while noting it trails CPython in version support and library compatibility. ## Why people recommend it - Much faster pure-Python code (9 comments): "Just changing the implementation of Python drops the runtime from ~16.5s to ~3.5s in my computer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45852414)) "Pypy does provide faster pure Python. Its a compatible implementation with JIT." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50260441)) "PyPy is really great in general speeding up Python by magnitudes of order." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47294765)) - Mature project, long track record (4 comments): "We have been using PyPy on core system component on production for like 10 years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295998)) "have you tried PyPy? It's existed since 2007 and definitely improved over time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46671487)) "PyPy has existed for over half of Python's lifetime now." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45926930)) - Proves faster Python is achievable (5 comments): "believing cpython folks benefit from seeing the pypy community prove Things Can Be Better" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47317688)) "PyPy is a fantastic achievement and deserves far more support than it gets." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295211)) "Faster Python is right there and has been there for years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49772539)) - Implemented in RPython, not C (2 comments): "I really like PyPy’s approach of using a Python dialect (RPython) as the implementation language, instead of C." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47294877)) "I still think it is the sanest way to implement Python." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47802837)) ## What people warn about - C-extension and library incompatibility (5 comments): "it mostly works but because of some weird problem some library is broken and then they give up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46568577)) "cpyext is slow and incomplete and will waste your debugging time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47296282)) "their API for C based extensions differs enough that you cannot take a random shared library and load them into either." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50270551)) - Slow startup and warmup (3 comments): "PyPy wasn't great for me because its startup time interfered with the main usecase I wanted it for" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50270555)) "PyPy's problem with slow startup is, in principle, easily fixable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50272635)) "the warmup cost and compatibility tax are enough to keep most teams on the interpreter their deps target first" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47418776)) - Lags behind CPython releases (5 comments): "The only reason the past couple major versions were released was due to a few small companies or individuals directly implementing the updates themselves." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50263233)) "9 months since the last major release definitely feels like a short time in which to declare time-of-death on an open source project" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47295457)) "it's several versions behind in support and, while it's not dead, it looks like it might be settling down for a rest." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48132740)) - Speedups limited to some code (5 comments): "it is still only a medium -fast language runtime, and it comes with a lot of costs and tradeoffs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50273524)) "PyPy is a toy for getting great numbers in benchmarks and demos, is incompatible in a zillion critical ways" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47297196)) "is incompatible in a zillion critical ways, and is basically useless for large-scale development" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47297873)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Pyodide](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pyodide.md): 31 recommend - [MicroPython](https://hackerapproved.com/p/micropython.md): 25 recommend - [Monty by Pydantic](https://hackerapproved.com/p/monty.md): 15 recommend - [CircuitPython](https://hackerapproved.com/p/circuitpython.md): 12 recommend - [GraalPy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/graalpy.md): 7 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "PyPy", https://hackerapproved.com/p/pypy/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).