Python Sets vs Lists

Question

In Python, which data structure is more efficient/speedy? Assuming that order is not important to me and I would be checking for duplicates anyway, is a Python set slower than a Python list?

Answer 1

It depends on what you are intending to do with it.

Sets are significantly faster when it comes to determining if an object is present in the set (as in x in s), but are slower than lists when it comes to iterating over their contents.

You can use the timeit module to see which is faster for your situation.