Go is compiled and python is interpreted which makes go much faster when running than python. The go compilation is fast as well and it will download the dependencies for you when needed. A benefit of the compilation (static checking) is that the code is extensively checked before execution and only logical errors are left. With python, a program will crash or generate bogus result at runtime and it might not be trivial to find the cause. For instance, when you make a typo in a field name, python will create a new field with that name without telling you. The program will then not run as expected and might generate bogus result or result in a crash. The crash, or an exception, will signal that there is a problem, but the real cause might be difficult to locate if there are many lines of code. Go code is a bit more verbose than python to help the checking at compilation. Python has a long evolution history that changed the language, packaging etc. which is not always coherent or consistent/compatible. Go ensures backward compatibility and changes are slow, coherent, and minimal. Python has multiple GUI libraries while Go has only a very limited set of choices. Python has thus incredibly powerful GUI tools like Jupiter and nice graphics libraries. In summary, for system administration where you only need small scripts that are easy to verify manually and debug, python is trump. For longer and more complex tasks, or when you need bug free code fast, Go is your best friend. When you need an app with GUI, prefer python, but this is changing with go packages like Fyne and GIO. The best would be for you to know both and use the most appropriate language for the various use cases. Answer from chmikes on reddit.com
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/golang › go vs. python: what's the difference, and is go a good choice for system administration?
r/golang on Reddit: Go vs. Python: What's the difference, and is Go a good choice for system administration?
September 23, 2023 -

I'm interested in learning Go. I'm wondering what the difference is between Go and Python, and what are the advantages of Go over Python. I'm also wondering if I can implement data structures and automate jobs of linux with Go.

And what are some best resources for learning go
Thanks in advance for your help!

Top answer
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Go is compiled and python is interpreted which makes go much faster when running than python. The go compilation is fast as well and it will download the dependencies for you when needed. A benefit of the compilation (static checking) is that the code is extensively checked before execution and only logical errors are left. With python, a program will crash or generate bogus result at runtime and it might not be trivial to find the cause. For instance, when you make a typo in a field name, python will create a new field with that name without telling you. The program will then not run as expected and might generate bogus result or result in a crash. The crash, or an exception, will signal that there is a problem, but the real cause might be difficult to locate if there are many lines of code. Go code is a bit more verbose than python to help the checking at compilation. Python has a long evolution history that changed the language, packaging etc. which is not always coherent or consistent/compatible. Go ensures backward compatibility and changes are slow, coherent, and minimal. Python has multiple GUI libraries while Go has only a very limited set of choices. Python has thus incredibly powerful GUI tools like Jupiter and nice graphics libraries. In summary, for system administration where you only need small scripts that are easy to verify manually and debug, python is trump. For longer and more complex tasks, or when you need bug free code fast, Go is your best friend. When you need an app with GUI, prefer python, but this is changing with go packages like Fyne and GIO. The best would be for you to know both and use the most appropriate language for the various use cases.
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Here is my (rightfully) salty take: If you only need to build up a quick script, then Python is the way to go. Anything more serious, only use Go. Recently I had an opportunity to remember why I quit Python in the first place. The language is a mess. Python libraries are an even bigger mess. The pain of not knowing what will break is just painful. And when it does break, it's more painful to fix. For me at least, writing apps using python, even while doing it as a part of a course, was like shooting myself in the face. I don't know how Python developers sleep peacefully at night. It's an absolute mess. I would do everything in Go if possible. I may have to write more verbose code, but it isn't as painful as the app blowing up on my own face in an unexpected time. I would rather write if err != nil {} any day of the week than deal with Python code.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/devops › go or python?
r/devops on Reddit: Go or Python?
June 25, 2018 -

Hi guys, I'm very good in bash (15 years and counting...), I used to do little C, especially with sockets, when I was a lot younger (10 years ago).

Now I'd like to learn a programming language: python or go? Possible outsider: node.js.

I'd go with python because is very flexible, lots of libs, and not that difficult. But go is really trending now, and is faster. IMHO it can replace python and/or java for how is going faster.

However, I can't learn both. I want to focus on one, because I don't have time for more.

Any advice?

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Quora
quora.com › Which-is-better-for-DevOps-Golang-or-Python-scripts
Which is better for DevOps, Golang or Python scripts? - Quora
Answer (1 of 4): I love golang. But for short scripts with constantly changing interfaces. I would not even think of Go doing this. Python. All the way.
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DEV Community
dev.to › taikedz › shell-scripting-vs-go-practical-notes-form-a-reimplementation-project-1b18
Shell/Python vs Go - practical thoughts form a reimplementation project - DEV Community
July 9, 2025 - It feels to me that Go is a credible alternative to both shell scripting and python given the requirements. However, I would still say that, with fluency, one would go faster with shell scripts for simple items (the build and install scripts are still shell), and faster in python for "throw it together" operations.
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CBT Nuggets
cbtnuggets.com › blog › technology › programming › go-vs-python-which-language-should-you-use-for-your-next-project
Go vs Python: Which Language Should You Use for Your Next Project?
The rule of thumb is this: If you ... and simple and to serve as a general-purpose programming language. Python is incredible at building simple scripts ......
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Roadmap
roadmap.sh › golang › vs-python
Go vs Python: Pro advice on picking the right language
Python: Libraries like asyncio, aiohttp, and Twisted allow you to write asynchronous servers, but you’ll often trade off some performance and complexity in the event loop. Go: For longer-lived scripts or those that need to run on systems without a language runtime, Go is perfect.
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InterviewBit
interviewbit.com › compare › golang vs python: full difference explained
Golang vs Python: Full Difference Explained - InterviewBit
August 16, 2023 - Golang is the language that comes ... memory management. But, if you want to generate scripts and tools that run effectively while promoting readability across teams, Python can be your best option....
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EDUCBA
educba.com › home › software development › software development tutorials › top differences tutorial › python vs go
Python vs Go | Best 6 Useful Comaprisons To Learn
June 12, 2023 - Below are the key differences between Python vs Go: Python, a scripting language, must be interpreted, whereas Go is faster most of the time since it does not have to consider anything at runtime.
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Quora
quora.com › Googles-Go-language-vs-Python-which-would-you-prefer-to-use-and-why
Google's Go language vs Python, which would you prefer to use and why? - Quora
Answer (1 of 23): I will go with Go all the time. I can write Go as fast as I can write Python, in that case I don’t see why I would choose Python and leave Go. Static typed is a big one for me, when you are writing hundreds of lines then dynamic typing is fine, write a thousand things starts ...
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Uvik
uvik.net › blog › go-vs-python
Go vs Python in 2026: Performance, Use Cases & Which ...
January 10, 2026 - If the specifics of the project are omitted, in terms of performance Golang is surely faster than Python language. This makes sense since the language was built specifically for speedily server script deployment and parallelism in construction.
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Oxylabs
oxylabs.io › blog › go-vs-python
Go vs Python: The Differences in 2026
Within it, a program counts to 1 billion; Go’s script finishes it in less than a second, while Python takes entire minutes because it lacks the concept of natively typed variables. Python has to recognize the type of variables each time, meaning no static typing. Be advised, though, that this is true for the reference implementation of Python, which is CPython.
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Hacker News
news.ycombinator.com › item
Why We Switched from Python to Go (2021) | Hacker News
June 7, 2022 - Now, the points they've made are valid, Go concurrency beats the pants off python, and with gofmt, there is less of a debate about style · Te bit about finding a team is pure horse cock. As they point out there are a bunch of C++/C programmers about. There are even more python programmers too.
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Medium
medium.com › @midnightfiresale › python-vs-go-in-2023-fcaf9d511750
Python vs Go in 2023 | Medium
August 18, 2023 - Python’s extensive standard library and dynamic nature provide a wide range of tools for scripting tasks. Go’s simplicity, cross-compilation, and efficient execution make it suitable for system administration tasks that require standalone executables.
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Medium
medium.com › @eleanor.watson › choosing-between-go-and-python-when-to-use-each-programming-language-2c22bc834edd
Choosing Between Go and Python: When to Use Each Programming Language | by Eleanor Watson | Medium
May 6, 2024 - 3. Scripting and Automation: Python’s simplicity and readability make it well-suited for writing scripts and automating repetitive tasks. Whether you’re writing system administration scripts, data processing pipelines, or test automation scripts, Python’s concise syntax and extensive standard library make it a great choice. Ultimately, the choice between Go and Python depends on the specific requirements and constraints of your project.
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Bitfield Consulting
bitfieldconsulting.com › posts › go-vs-python
Go vs Python: choosing the right language for the job — Bitfield Consulting
October 5, 2020 - By contrast, Go is rather strict. It’s statically typed, which means the compiler insists on verifying beforehand that every value you pass to a function, say, is exactly the type it’s supposed to be. This can make the programming experience feel a bit like doing a lot of paperwork, just to get a simple proof of concept running. For super-fast prototype development, experimentation, and solving one-off problems with a quick script, Python is ideal.
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KodeKloud
kodekloud.com › programming › python
Should I learn Python or Golang or Bash? - Python - KodeKloud - DevOps Learning Community
March 20, 2024 - Hi Kodekloud fam, As a beginner in the DevOps field, which programming scripting should I learn between Bash, Python and Golang? When I choose programming learning path --followed by choosing I know nothing, the path puts Golang course first versus Python. Why is that ?
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Guru99
guru99.com › home › python › go vs. python: what’s the difference?
Go Vs. Python: What’s the Difference?
August 12, 2024 - Go has garbage collection, which itself does the memory management and allows the deferred execution of functions. Python is a high-level object-oriented programming language. It has built-in data structures, combined with dynamic binding and typing, which makes it an ideal choice for rapid application development.
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DOIT
doit.software › home › blog › go vs python in 2025: which one to choose?
Go vs Python: Overview, Benefits, Challenges [2025]
October 29, 2025 - Go vs Python performance: Golang wins. ... What Golang is good for is delivering fast and frequent deployment of server-side scripts. This is due to its high-performance concurrency and parallelism.
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Medium
medium.com › nerd-for-tech › python-vs-go-28a636313a1e
Python VS Go. Before we start let me give a… | by ADITH SREEJEY | Nerd For Tech | Medium
May 14, 2021 - Go’s syntax is also considerably less friendly to beginners but it’s not as unforgiving as something like C or C++. So for readability of code, I’m going to go with Go. So as you guys see, Go definitely has the upper hand in most cases and trumps Python as a programming language in my opinion.
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Monterail
monterail.com › blog › go
Go vs. Python: Key Differences Explained | Monterail
May 14, 2024 - If your project involves machine learning, artificial intelligence, or developing web applications where quickly generating admin dashboards will be necessary, Python may be the way to go. In the words of our Python Developer, Michał Żołądkiewicz: If the project uses machine learning, more often than not, it will need to draw on some external libraries, such as SciKit and TensorFlow, both of which are available for Python. Because those libraries are written in C++, when using them in Python scripts, we’re using C++ in the background.