Django is a popular Python-based web framework. It is batteries included which dramatically speeds up web development but also comes with a bit of a learning curve for newcomers. Whether you are new to web development or already experienced, here is an up-to-date list of the best Django books.

Note that new versions of Django come out every 9 months or so. The latest version, Django 5.1, was released in August 2024 and Django 5.2 is scheduled for April 2025. This rapid release schedule makes it very difficult–if not impossible–for book authors to keep up with. The books on this list have all been updated in the last few years and are good resources.

Full Disclosure: I’m the author of 3 of these books but also a fan of all the ones listed here.

If you’d like a list of all current Django books in print, please see DjangoBook.com.

Books

Django for Beginners

A project-based introduction to Django now in its fifth edition and focused on Django 5+. It covers building 6 websites from scratch including a Blog and Newspaper. Topics include deployment, testing, environment variables, customizing a site, custom user models, emails, permissions, authorizations, and more.

Boost Your Django DX

Another excellent book from Adam Johnson containing a multitude of tools and techniques to boost a Django Developer’s Experience, or DX. There are 12 chapters covering every piece of the extended Django toolchain.

Django for APIs

Django is often used as a backend API to power mobile apps or websites using a dedicated JavaScript front-end like React, Vue, or Angular. This book is a hands-on guide to building modern APIs with Django and Django REST Framework.

The book covers building 3 Django APIs from scratch, testing, user authentication (basic, sessions, tokens), permissions, documentation, viewsets and routers.

Django for Professionals

There is a large gap between simple “toy apps” built while learning Django and what it takes to create a production-ready website that can handle thousands or millions of years. This book shows you how to take that next step.

Topics covered include Docker, PostgreSQL, advanced user registration, comprehensive tests, advanced security and performance, search, and file/image uploads.

Speed Up Your Django Tests

Adam Johnson is a member of the Django Technical Board and an expert on security and testing. He has many Django and Python tutorials available on his personal blog that are worth a look. This book is for intermediate/advanced Django developers but is absolutely loaded with wisdom and tips on Django’s test framework and pytest.

Understand Django

Twenty chapters on discrete topics in Django from Matt Layman. You can read the content online for free as well.

Django 5 By Example

This is a lengthy book that covers building out four projects and tackles topics including Redis, Celery, async, and more. It assumes some previous Django experience.

Two Scoops of Django

Although a few years old this book’s advance is still timeless. It is not a tutorial but rather has chapters dedicated to specific areas of Django including models, views, templates, forms, project structure, queries, admin, and so on.

Courses

The following are online-only book length courses that are also recommended.

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