---
title: "Explain the difference between deepcopy and copy."  
description: "Explain the difference between deepcopy and copy."  
author: "Anubhav Sharma"  
published: 2025-01-23  
updated: 2025-01-25  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/161112/explain-the-difference-between-deepcopy-and-copy  
category: "python"  
tags: ["python"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# Explain the difference between deepcopy and copy.

[Explain the difference](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/156125/can-you-explain-the-difference-between-organic-and-paid-results) between `deepcopy` and `copy`.

## Replies

### Reply by Khushi Singh

The [difference](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/157114/good-news-or-bad-news-and-the-difference-is) between `copy` and `deepcopy` lies in how they handle objects and their nested elements. A **shallow copy** (using `copy`) creates a new object but does not copy the objects contained within it. Instead, it only copies references to the nested objects, meaning changes made to mutable elements within the copied object will also affect the original. This is suitable for situations where the object has no nested elements or when you don't need to isolate the original from changes in the copy.

A **deep copy** (using `deepcopy`), on the other hand, creates a new object along with completely new copies of all the objects nested inside it. This ensures that changes made to the copied object, including any of its nested structures, have no impact on the original. Deep copies are useful when working with complex, deeply nested objects that require full independence from the original structure. However, they are more resource-intensive compared to shallow copies.


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Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/forum/161112/explain-the-difference-between-deepcopy-and-copy

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