The two most well-known and widely-used PHP web frameworks are Laravel and Symfony. When it comes to speed, they are just amazing. They assist companies in developing scalable web apps that are in sync with current technological landscapes, company objectives, and operational requirements. The question is, how can one pick the finest one?
To help you decide on which of the PHP development services you should take up, this blog will compare and contrast Laravel and Symfony frameworks from every angle. Read on for more information!
Overview: Laravel
Laravel is a well-known and open-source PHP web framework that is free and licensed under the MIT license. The Laravel framework is based on the Symfony components and follows the qualified MVC (model-view-controller) pattern of development.
As an integral part of Laravel, you'll find Composer, a PHP language dependency management, and a modular packaging system. Included as well are features that aid in database administration and application deployment, and a variety of ways to access relational databases.
Laravel is a popular PHP framework that works great for any kind of business. Among other things, Laravel's constant performance, extensive functionality, and adaptability have earned it the respect of expert PHP developers worldwide.
Benefits of Laravel
The main feature of the Laravel framework is how easy it is to use. Despite its depth, the user manual uses the simplest language imaginable. PHP screencasts simplify the process.
It uses the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design paradigm. It stays away from illogical design patterns where PHP and HTML are combined into one file.
Logic of any kind can be easily embedded into HTML files using the blade template engine. Adding new features to existing applications without changing their core code is now a breeze.
The Routing system has evolved into something that is both abstract and incredibly easy to handle. All procedures have been made easier, and the provided abstraction has removed any degrees of complexity. A reverse routing mechanism is also supported by the framework.
Overview: Symfony
Fabien Potencier developed Symfony in October 2005 and released it under the MIT license. Since Symfony is open-source, any programmer may modify it to fit their needs by adding modules that are specific to their project. Web developers can make use of Symfony's reusable PHP components and framework.
Since Symfony is so extensive and well-supported, every user has a comparable range of options. After all, you can always incorporate your components into your framework if you don't find what you need here.
Symfony, a PHP framework, is best organized according to the MVC approach. Unlike Laravel, though, it is not an MVC framework in the strictest sense. Eliminating coding challenges and saving time during web development is the main idea behind the Symfony Framework. It all starts with the idea that people should be able to tailor software to their own needs.
Benefits of Symfony
The libraries that make up a Symfony bundle are very user-friendly and simple to set up and work with.
Being familiar with PHP will make learning it a breeze, and the big community will ensure that you have no trouble finding experts to assist you with any issues you have.
To ensure it remains technologically current, its community and core developers are always developing new features and components.
Symfony is a PHP framework with all the necessary functionality, it could be used as a one-stop shop for all the lower-level components needed to build a PHP application.
Among Symfony's many features include the ability to debug networks, a large community, and plug-in packages.
Symfony vs Laravel: Head-to-Head Comparison
Laravel and Symfony are both excellent frameworks, but you should weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each carefully before deciding which one to use for your project. Here is a quick comparison of these frameworks to assist you in making a final decision.
- Popularity and Job Market
The number of websites using Symfony is 11,654, whereas the number of websites using Laravel is 135,974. Laravel has the most market share among these frameworks for sites with 10k, 100k, and 1 million visits. Symfony has 25.4k ratings on GitHub, whereas Laravel has 65.8k stars. Consider also that Symfony has 2394 contributors and Laravel has 2576 contributors to their respective framework communities. Laravel has a more robust employment market than Symfony, according to these statistics.
- Learning Curve
Learning Symfony isn't as easy as learning Laravel. You won't find nearly as many tutorials or community support as with Laravel, but the documentation is still really good. There is a gentle learning curve with Laravel. The framework's documentation, videos, and tutorials cover all the bases for developers.
- Performance
Earlier versions saw Laravel surpass Symfony in performance. But with the improvements in Symfony 4+, the benefits of Laravel are practically nonexistent anymore. The performance gains that Laravel spoke about in the beginning might not be there anymore. If you use the latest version of each PHP framework, performance is completely up to you.
- Security
The security mechanism in Symfony is strong, but it isn't always easy to set up. It has a pretty granular permission mechanism and allows many authentication methods. In most cases, the core functionalities are more than enough, even if Laravel takes a less complicated approach to security.
- ORM
When working with Doctrine, Symfony takes advantage of object-relational mapping (ORM) to get data. The following database management systems are compatible with Symfony SQLite: SQLServer, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Sybase SQL Anywhere, MySQL, and SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere. Laravel uses Eloquent for object-relational mapping (ORM) data retrieval. With Laravel, you can connect to databases that use MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL, or SQLServer.
- Database Migration
With Symfony, database migrations are made easy. Simple definitions are sufficient for the model's fields. Although it may seem like a simple win at first glance, Laravel database migrations are really manual. But field definitions aren't needed for them. In this case, each framework offers its own set of benefits.
- Support and Community
Symfony is complex, despite its superb documentation. The popularity of Laravel has resulted in an abundance of online support resources, training, and courses. Additionally, Laravel provides resources for learning and development via the Laracasts forum, Treehouse, Codebright, and Sitepoint. Learning Symfony is more challenging compared to Laravel. There is documentation, however, compared to Laravel, there are fewer tutorials and community resources.
Symfony vs Laravel: Which One Should You Choose?
It all comes down to your end goal, thus there's no clear victor between Laravel and Symfony.
You should choose Symfony if:
The enterprise application you are creating is complex, but it is well-structured, extendable, and well-maintained.
With Symfony's release dates laid out for the next six years, it's quite unlikely that any surprises would arise during the design process of a substantial long-term project's conversion.
Choose Laravel instead if:
Although the framework is novel to you, it provides excellent learning materials with reduced syntax and is easy to master.
Since Laravel engineers are easy to come by and the framework is great for quick application development, you're building a startup product and putting your hypothesis to the test with it.
You will require a location to host your framework regardless of your choice.
Final Verdict: Symfony vs Laravel
When it comes to web development solutions, both Laravel and Symfony are strong and dependable frameworks. However, the issue of which PHP framework is best remains unanswered. The project size is the sole perfect key. After that, smaller web development tasks are perfect for the Laravel PHP framework. The stability and other features of Symfony make it a potentially superior choice for long-term, complicated web application projects.
Beyond this, it could be beneficial to choose a top web development firm. By choosing an outsourcing option, you may have the firm recommend a structure that will function best for your organization.
To ensure a smooth and successful web development journey, your project's scope and level of detail are going to steer you toward the best-suited decision.