RapidFuzz: Rapid fuzzy string matching in Python

3.14.3 · active · verified Sat Mar 28

RapidFuzz is a high-performance Python library for rapid fuzzy string matching, utilizing various string metrics. The current version is 3.14.3, released on March 28, 2026. It is actively maintained with regular updates to improve performance and functionality.

Warnings

breaking Starting from version 3.0.0, RapidFuzz no longer preprocesses strings by default (e.g., removing non-alphanumeric characters, trimming whitespaces, converting to lowercase). This change may affect similarity scores when comparing strings with different cases or punctuation. To enable preprocessing, use the 'processor' parameter with 'utils.default_process'.
Fix: Use the 'processor' parameter with 'utils.default_process' to enable preprocessing.
gotcha Ensure that the 'numpy' package is installed, as RapidFuzz relies on it for efficient numerical computations. If 'numpy' is not installed, you may encounter import errors or performance issues.
Fix: Install 'numpy' using 'pip install numpy'.

Install

pip install rapidfuzz Install RapidFuzz

Imports

fuzz
```
from rapidfuzz import fuzz
```
Direct import from the 'fuzz' module

Quickstart

A simple example demonstrating how to use RapidFuzz to compare two strings and calculate their similarity ratio.

from rapidfuzz import fuzz

# Compare two strings
string1 = 'hello world'
string2 = 'helo world'

# Calculate similarity ratio
similarity = fuzz.ratio(string1, string2)
print(f'Similarity: {similarity}%')

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