Differences between virtualenv and venv

Since the venv module is essentially a simpler version of virtualenv, they are mostly the same, but some things are different. Also, since virtualenv is a package that is distributed separately from Python, it does have some advantages.

The following are the advantages of venv over virtualenv:

venv is distributed with Python 3.3 and above, so no separate install is needed

venv is simple and straightforward with no features besides the bare necessities

Advantages of virtualenv over venv:

virtualenv is distributed outside of Python, so it can be updated separately.

virtualenv works on old Python versions, but Python 2.6 or a higher version is recommended. However, Python 2.5 support is possible with older versions (1.9.x or lower).

It supports convenient wrappers, such as virtualenvwrapper (http://virtualenvwrapper.readthedocs.org/)

In short, if venv is enough for you, use it. If you are using an old Python version or want some extra convenience, such as virtualenvwrapper, use virtualenv instead. Both projects essentially do the same thing, and efforts have been made to easily switch between them. The biggest and most significant difference between the two is the wide variety of Python versions that virtualenv supports.