Python’s Instance, Class, and Static Methods Demystified
Watch Now This tutorial has a related video course created by the Real Python team. Watch it together with the written tutorial to deepen your understanding: OOP Method Types in Python: @classmethod vs @staticmethod vs Instance Methods
Instance, class, and static methods each serve a distinct role in Python, and knowing when to use one over another is key to writing clean, maintainable code. Instance methods operate on individual objects using self, while class methods use cls to access class-level data. Static methods, on the other hand, provide organizational structure without relying on class or instance state.