In the United States, PHP adoption continues to spread among businesses on different scales: at the time of writing, this language is used to power more than 14 million websites and counting.
Before they start working on a PHP web app, it’s common for developers to wonder which framework will help them achieve the best results. Choosing from the various options on the market can seem daunting, which is why we have written the following guide comparing two of the top options — Laravel and Symfony. These frameworks stand out from the rest, and with good reason. Find out how they measure up side by side in our detailed Laravel vs Symfony comparison guide.
Laravel vs Symfony Overview
To start, we have created an at-a-glance comparison table for Laravel and Symfony:
| Points of Comparison | Laravel | Symfony |
|---|---|---|
| General Performance | Symfony components are used in the Laravel framework. Its loading time is 60 milliseconds on average, so if your project has a more restrictive timeline, Laravel is ideal. | Symfony takes longer to load at 250 milliseconds. This framework also demands that you commit more developmental effort and time to it than Laravel. |
| Standard Templating Engine | With Laravel, one of the most effective default template engines is utilized: Blade. It enables developers to use plain PHP code. You can make an app without extra expense when you use this template engine. | The Twig template engine is used in Symfony, which lets developers working with PHP make more templates that are friendly to web designers, as they’re so concise. This is a popular solution, and businesses use it to provide high-quality PHP development. |
| Scaling and Modularity | Laravel’s architecture differs from alternative PHP frameworks, as it operates on an MVC based design. | Symfony operates on a packaged modular architecture, comprised of numerous components that can be reused. |
| Database Support | Object Relational Mapping (ORM) is used for database support and data access in Laravel and Symfony. Laravel utilizes Eloquent and database migrations manually. Manipulating data is simple thanks to the object relational mapping. Only three languages are used with Laravel: MySQL, SQLite and SQLServer, and PostgreSQL. | In Symfony, doctrine is used to make repository functions for both database support and data access. As a result, database migrations and data manipulation are automated and easy. You can choose various options such as MySQL, SAP Sybase SQL, Drizzle, and Oracle. |
| Ease of Use | As Laravel’s learning curve is pretty simple, developers can get used to this framework in a number of methods, such as video support, quality documentation, and tutorials. | The learning curve is steeper with Symfony, and there’s not as much community support or helpful tutorials either. |
| Performance Speed | Laravel’s performance can be expanded in a simple way. Developers can work quickly with little coding effort. | Symfony is slower than Laravel when working on complicated projects. It promotes both top performance and adaptability. |
| Quality of Security | Laravel’s security system may be difficult to configure, but it’s definitely powerful. It provides support for multiple authentication processes. | Symfony’s security system is fairly easy, with basic features proving to be effective in most situations. |
| Dependency Injection | With Laravel, there’s no need to make a dependency configuration. This framework includes excellent auto-detection. | Autowire, a feature included in Symfony, provides comparable functionality. Compared to Laravel, Symfony is more complicated. |
| Scaffolding Tool | There is no scaffolding tool integrated into this framework, though you can incorporate multiple tools with it. | Symfony is supplied with a scaffolding tool known as SensioGeneratorBundle. This offers directions for backends based on CRUD and scaffolding bundles alike. |
Now that we’ve shown you the general differences between Laravel and Symfony, let’s take a closer look at each framework.
Laravel Explained
Laravel is the most widely used PHP framework. It’s an open-source, MVC-based framework enabling teams to develop scalable web applications. Developers can correct errors in their web apps more quickly with Laravel, and countless developers depend on Laravel development tools to work faster.
What are Laravel’s Most Important Features?
Here you have core top Laravel features:
- Fast Authentication – Laravel allows for fast, simple authentication, which is one of the key factors in any web application. Laravel incorporates a native authentication system: developers only need to set up models and controllers to ensure their app runs smoothly.
- High-Quality Object Relational Mapping – The built-in ORM allows developers to use a simple PHP syntax to query the database table — they don’t have to write SQL code. Laravel provides easy integration between database tables and Laravel developers.
- Impressive Support for MVC Architecture – Developers can make MVC-based applications with Laravel, as it operates on MVC architecture. Laravel delivers quicker development and multiple model views. Also, there is zero code duplication to worry about, as Laravel keeps business logic code separate from presentation logic code.
- In-Built Artisan Command-Line Interface – One of Laravel’s most amazing features is the in-built command-line tool named Artisan. This can handle all repetitive programming tasks, and command lines may be utilized for the skeleton code, data structure, and data migration. Laravel makes it simple to manage databases, and it allows developers to build their own commands.
- Effective Security for Applications – In all web development projects, security for applications is crucial. Developers must follow various methods to secure applications while working on them, and Laravel utilizes the Bcrypt Hashing Algorithm to implement intact, effective security.
- Original Templating Engine – One reason why Laravel is so popular is its built-in lightweight templates. But it also includes a number of widgets that use robust structures for integrating CSS and JS code. Laravel templates are made especially to build simple and composite layouts that allow for simpler web development.
- Outstanding Unit Tests – When discussing unit testing, Laravel comes out on top. This developer-friendly PHP framework empowers users to perform multiple tests to pinpoint issues fast. You can also save both time and money using it, while it also contributes to website performance evaluations.
- Efficient Automatic Pagination – The in-built pagination is one of the most popular features of Laravel, as it decreases the amount of time required to write code.
How Do You Know When Laravel is Right for Your Project?
Are you new to the world of web development? Then Laravel could be the framework for you.
It’s easy to pick up and provides newcomers with more helpful tutorials. It also offers other advantages over competing frameworks, such as allowing for quick development of web projects, which makes it a great choice if you have a smaller project lined up.
If you need to make a web app more quickly and on a limited budget, Laravel is the right framework to choose.
Symfony Explained
The open-source framework Symfony operates on an MVC structure and is a popular choice for developers working on scalable web apps. It incorporates components that can be reused as well as decoupled PHP libraries that enable you to undertake everyday tasks without the need to create comprehensive PHP code. Symfony is a good match for complicated projects, thanks to its code reusability.
What are Symfony’s Most Important Features?
Here are 10 critical Symfony features:
- Faster Development with Structured MVC – As Symfony operates on MVC, it’s perfect for web development apps that are scalable and systematic. It separates presentation and business layers from one another, so it can make the development process faster. You can introduce new features without needing to invest additional effort and time.
- Effective Profiler – Web developers can find application maintenance daunting, but Symfony includes a profiler designed to monitor app behavior, which may make maintenance easier. The profiler presents a comprehensive panel on screen, and you can expand it to view the full details about numerous activities, including logging and routing.
- Significant Reliability – When compared to alternative frameworks, Symfony is considered the most reliable, which is why most web developers use it for building high-performance applications.
- High-Quality Documentation – The biggest problem with so many PHP frameworks is incomplete documentation, but Symfony’s is better than that provided with most other frameworks. It’s well-presented and developer-friendly.
- Strong Dependency Manager – To manage its reusable components, Symfony utilizes the Composer tool. This is a great tool for dependency management, and it allows developers to install a number of Symfony components as well as external packages. Libraries can also be declared easily.
- Impressive Extensibility – Bundles can be reused by developers with Symfony, and it’s not necessary to adjust the framework as only the bundle may be configured to suit the needs of your unique project.
- Simple Development – With Symfony, there is no need for developers to stress over minor functionalities. It’s suitable for projects on all scales as its architecture is bundle based.
- Effective Debugging – Symfony is equipped with an extensible, effective debugging toolbar that makes the process simpler. It makes sure that each new code line is tested, so that applications will be reliably stable.
- Huge Customizability – Symfony is packed with customizable features which developers can pick to suit their specific project. It runs on advanced OOPS service architecture and is incredibly scalable.
- Big Community and High-Quality Support – Symfony is extensively tested and updated regularly. The community around the Symfony website is used by more than 2,000 contributors building fresh components and offering helpful support.
How Do You Know When Symfony is Right for Your Project?
If you need to work efficiently, Symfony is the best option. It’s scalable and well-structured, so Symfony is used to create projects that are complicated and on a big scale. Perhaps the main reason why developers may pick Symfony instead of alternative PHP frameworks is the outstanding community support.
As Symfony is ideal for developing enterprise-grade, long-term, highly complicated web apps, it’s not particularly suited to projects on a smaller scale. Avoid using it if you’re working on a tight budget: Symfony requires significant financial outlays to create high-quality business sites.
Breaking Down the Essentials of Laravel Vs Symfony
In the following section, we will do an in-depth breakdown of both frameworks:
Performance
The Laravel site loads in 60 milliseconds, so it runs faster than Symfony.
A Symfony site loads in 250 milliseconds, which can affect the general performance of a website. That’s why Laravel is the better choice in terms of performance.
Time Taken to Develop Projects
Laravel’s minimal code and high-quality performance enables developers to make apps in less time than those using Symfony.
Symfony demands a number of resources and more coding effort to create high-end web applications. As a result, Laravel is better than Symfony with regards to the time and cost involved with developing web apps.
General Maintenance
Symfony is easier to maintain than Laravel, which makes it more efficient, and Symfony developers can improve web app functionality as a result. If efficient site maintenance is important to you, choose Symfony.
Scaling and Modularity
MVC architecture is one of the core strengths of Laravel, so it’s of no use if you intend to work beyond the MVC paradigm. With Symfony, the code is managed in a neater, cleaner way, so it’s the right option for developers working on projects that are complex and on a large scale.
In terms of scaling and modularity, Symfony comes out on top.
Overall Functionality
Symfony is more flexible than Laravel, which has more complicated functionality features. Symfony is more convenient, encouraging management of critical features instead of minor ones. Developers can deliver projects free of errors using Symfony.
Laravel Vs Symfony: Key Questions
Which of These Frameworks is Best for Your Project?
Laravel is the top PHP framework, due to its outstanding object-relational mapper. But alternative PHP frameworks worth considering are Zend, Angular, and (of course) Symfony.
Which One is the Most Popular?
Laravel is the more famous of these two PHP frameworks, as it allows developers to achieve high-quality performance with minimal coding. Symfony may have the edge, though, in certain cases, as it works brilliantly for complicated web app projects.
What is Symfony Best for?
Symfony is appropriate for long-term projects with a high level of complexity. Symfony’s custom functionality operates efficiently with web application needs, and it has a strong structure as well as clean, tidy coding. Developers can find that their work becomes much easier overall with Symfony.
Should You Choose Laravel or Symfony?
Laravel and Symfony are strong, reliable PHP frameworks, so it’s not always easy to answer this question. Laravel is the right option for web development tasks on a smaller scale, while Symfony is often better when working on long-term, complicated projects. It’s stable, long lasting, and quick.
If you consider the benefits and drawbacks of each PHP framework as covered above then weigh up your options carefully, it will be easier to find the ideal solution for your web development project.
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