requests vs httpx vs aiohttp: Which Python HTTP Library Should You Use?

Why the HTTP Library You Choose Matters

Almost every Python bot or automation script makes HTTP requests — calling APIs, scraping websites, sending webhooks. The library you choose affects your bot's performance, readability, and ability to scale. The three leading options are requests, httpx, and aiohttp, and each has a different sweet spot.

Quick Comparison

Feature	requests	httpx	aiohttp
Sync support	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No
Async support	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
HTTP/2	❌ No	✅ Yes	❌ No
Ease of use	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Performance (async)	N/A	High	Very High
Ecosystem maturity	Very mature	Mature	Mature

requests — The Reliable Classic

requests is the most downloaded Python package for a reason. Its API is beautifully simple and almost reads like plain English:

import requests

response = requests.get("https://api.github.com/repos/python/cpython")
data = response.json()
print(data["stargazers_count"])

Best for:

• Simple scripts and one-off automation tasks
• Beginner projects where clarity matters more than speed
• Synchronous workflows where async overhead isn't worth it

Limitations: No async support. If you need to make hundreds of requests concurrently, requests will block — each request waits for the previous one to complete.

httpx — The Modern All-Rounder

httpx was designed as a drop-in requests replacement with added superpowers. Its synchronous API is nearly identical to requests, but it also supports async/await:

import httpx
import asyncio

async def fetch_all(urls):
    async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
        tasks = [client.get(url) for url in urls]
        return await asyncio.gather(*tasks)

urls = ["https://httpbin.org/get"] * 10
results = asyncio.run(fetch_all(urls))

Best for:

• Projects that need both sync and async in the same codebase
• APIs that use HTTP/2 (better multiplexing)
• Bots that need concurrent requests without full async complexity

aiohttp — The Async Powerhouse

aiohttp is built from the ground up for asynchronous Python. It's the go-to choice for high-throughput bots that need to handle many requests simultaneously:

import aiohttp
import asyncio

async def fetch(session, url):
    async with session.get(url) as response:
        return await response.json()

async def main():
    async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
        result = await fetch(session, "https://httpbin.org/get")
        print(result)

asyncio.run(main())

Best for:

• High-performance web scrapers making thousands of requests
• Discord bots and Telegram bots (both use async internally)
• Any project already deeply committed to asyncio

Which One Should You Pick?

1. Just getting started? Use requests. It's forgiving, well-documented, and you'll find answers to any question instantly.
2. Building a serious bot or scraper? Use httpx if you want flexibility, or aiohttp if maximum async performance is the priority.
3. Working with an async framework like FastAPI, discord.py, or Starlette? Use aiohttp or httpx async — mixing sync requests into an async app causes blocking issues.

Install Commands

pip install requests
pip install httpx
pip install aiohttp

All three are actively maintained and production-ready. The "best" choice is entirely context-dependent — match the library to your project's concurrency model and you won't go wrong.