Has Python replaced MATLAB?

No, Python has not replaced MATLAB. In the TIOBE index for March 2026, Python led all languages with a 21.25% rating, while MATLAB held 15th place with 1.29%, a rank it has kept without dropping out of the top 20 in years.

Where does the idea that Python replaced MATLAB come from?

Python's scientific stack grew fast. Libraries like NumPy, pandas and scikit-learn turned it into a serious tool for data analysis and machine learning, and because Python is free and open-source, universities had an easy case to swap it into introductory courses. A paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education documented this shift, tracking student outcomes after a first-year engineering program moved from MATLAB to Python.

Job boards reinforced the impression. General software and data roles rarely ask for MATLAB, so anyone scanning listings for Python versus MATLAB comes away thinking MATLAB is fading everywhere, not just in the roles where Python was never the incumbent.

What does the market data actually show?

The PYPL index for April 2026, which tracks how often language tutorials are searched, tells a similar story: Python at 36.21% of global searches, MATLAB at 1.51% and still ranked 13th, ahead of Ruby, Dart and Kotlin.

MATLAB's share is small next to Python's, but it hasn't collapsed. Embedded Coder and Simulink's verification tools are pre-qualified by TÜV SÜD for ISO 26262, the automotive functional safety standard covering ASIL A through D, and MathWorks offers a DO Qualification Kit for DO-178C and DO-331 aerospace software certification. Swapping out a certified toolchain in a regulated engineering workflow is a slower, costlier decision than moving a data science script from MATLAB to Python.

What does this mean for hiring MATLAB developers?

Teams building control systems for automotive or aerospace, or doing signal processing and power systems work, still write job postings that name MATLAB and Simulink specifically. The toolbox and its certification history are part of how those projects get approved, so a candidate who is strong in Python but has never touched Simulink is a different hire than a MATLAB engineer, even if that same candidate would fit well on a general data science team.

Published at: August 2, 2026