WinPython

WinPython is an open-source package for the Python programming language that has been tailored to meet and hopefully exceed the needs of scientists from around the world. The distribution is made available for both the active versions of Python and each comes with the essential integrated libraries.

The package is delivered as a portable solution for scientists as it does not require installation, enabling you or others to use it in on-the-fly situations. It contains all the tools and Python packages that you need to get started with development.

WinPython offers essential tools for scientific computing using the Python environment, such as NumPy, SciPy, Mathplotlib, guigwt and more. You can use them for tasks that imply processing and visualization data with either Spyder or Python.

WinPython also stands out in terms of flexibility. Since it doesn't require installation you can run multiple instances and work on them simultaneously no matter if they have different architectures.

This however proves to have a disadvantage because you cannot install update packages. Since there is no trace of it in the System Registry, the standard Python installers will not be able to find it. To resolve this issue and save you time, WinPython comes with WinPython Package Manager which helps you install and update Python packages.

WinPython, compared to Python (x,y) can be considered to have more manageable as it does not depend on an installation to function properly, it is simpler to maintain and consumes less system resources. On the other hand, it does offer considerably less packages to work with and there is no actual Windows integration.