The Danger of Overusing "is" Instead of "==" in Python

If you've been working with Python for a while, you've probably used both is and == in your code. They look similar, they even read similarly. But underneath the hood, they do very different things. And using is when you meant to use == can lead to subtle, nasty bugs that are incredibly hard to track down. What's the Difference Between is and ==? == checks if two values are equal. is checks if two variables point to the same object in memory. Here’s a simple way to remember it:

May 20, 2025 - 18:50
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The Danger of Overusing "is" Instead of "==" in Python

The Danger of Overusing is Instead of == in Python

If you've been working with Python for a while, you've probably used both is and == in your code. They look similar, they even read similarly. But underneath the hood, they do very different things. And using is when you meant to use == can lead to subtle, nasty bugs that are incredibly hard to track down.

What's the Difference Between is and ==?

  • == checks if two values are equal.
  • is checks if two variables point to the same object in memory.

Here’s a simple way to remember it: