Match to requirements: "For a content-heavy site with admin needs, Django saves weeks. For a high-throughput API service, FastAPI with async gives better performance with less overhead."
Django: batteries-included, ORM, admin, auth, templating — best for full-stack web apps and rapid prototyping. FastAPI: async-first, Pydantic validation, OpenAPI generation, minimal — best for APIs and microservices. Trade-offs: Django is heavier but more productive for traditional web apps; FastAPI is leaner and faster for pure API services. Strong candidates discuss the middleware and ecosystem of each, when Django REST Framework bridges the gap, and how async support in Django 4+ changes the calculus.
Tests practical framework knowledge. Candidates who only know one framework should still articulate its trade-offs. Those who dismiss either without understanding its strengths lack perspective.