Frontend Frameworks

lxml

Fast and easy HTML/XML library for Python

Status
Generally available
Last checked
Checked · Oct 12, 2026
License
Open source
Pricing
Free tier · from $0
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What it is

lxml is a powerful library for processing XML and HTML in the Python language. It combines the speed of C libraries with the ease-of-use of Python, making it an essential tool for web scraping and data extraction tasks.

lxml stands out for its combination of speed and ease-of-use, making it the go-to library for XML/HTML parsing in Python.

When it fits — and when it doesn’t

A good fit for

  • Developers who need to parse or generate complex XML/HTML documents efficiently

  • Projects requiring high-performance data extraction from web pages using Python

Look elsewhere if

  • Applications that require real-time processing of large volumes of HTML/XML data without local processing capabilities

  • Scenarios where a full Python environment is not available or feasible to use

Known weaknesses

Each one links to the public issue, changelog or docs page it came from, where we have one.

  1. 01

    Limited error messages can complicate debugging

    lxml's error messages are often not descriptive enough to pinpoint the exact cause of parsing issues in XML/HTML documents.

  2. 02

    Performance hit when working with very large files

    Memory usage can become a bottleneck when processing extremely large XML or HTML files, leading to slower performance and potential out-of-memory errors.

  3. 03

    Dependence on C libraries can cause installation issues

    Installation requires compilation of C extensions which may fail due to missing dependencies or incompatible versions on certain systems.

What it does well

  • High performance parsing and serialization of XML/HTML documents

  • Support for XPath expressions to query elements in the document tree

  • Easy-to-use API for creating, modifying, and querying XML/HTML structures

Pricing

Free tier
YesOpen source — free to use
Paid from
$0
Model
Flat rate
Enterprise plan
No

Pricing not independently confirmed — check the vendor’s page.

Performance benchmarks

How Fast Is It?

Set up lxml

Setup steps, common gotchas and what to check after 30 days.

Open the setup guide →