Laravel vs. Symfony: Which is the Best Framework

PHP frameworks are crucial in web development, significantly impacting a project's success. Choosing the proper framework is essential to ensure smooth and efficient development.

When it comes to PHP frameworks, two prominent contenders stand out: Laravel and Symfony. Both frameworks boast widespread acclaim and active communities. In this blog, we will explore the strengths and advantages of Laravel and Symfony, helping you make informed decisions for your projects.

What is Symfony?

Symfony is an open-source PHP framework founded in 2005. Despite being launched almost 15 years ago, Symfony remains a modern and feature-rich framework.

Companies like Spotify, Dailymotion, and Trivago rely on Symfony as their backend. Now, let's delve into Symfony's best features.

Symfony's Best Features:

• Modified MVC Architecture - Symfony uses modified model view architecture that separates the presentation layer from business logic for better scalability and maintenance.

• Powerful dependency manager - Symfony leverages its Composer tool to manage reusable components effectively. Developers can easily import external libraries and use them in their projects.
  
  
• Highly customizable- Thanks to its OOPS architecture, Symfony boasts high-level customization capacities.

Why should you choose Symfony?

Enterprises often choose Symfony due to its un-opinionated and open nature. Since enterprise applications require long-term planning, Symfony's un-opinionated and open approach grants businesses complete control over architecture.

Furthermore, its long-standing presence in the industry since 2005 has established a robust and extensive community, providing additional support for enterprise projects.

What is Laravel?

Laravel is an open-source and free PHP framework developed by Taylor Otwell. With its primary focus on simplifying web development, Laravel comes with pre-coded libraries, enabling developers to build web applications rapidly.

Companies like Pfizer and BBC rely on Laravel for their backend. Let's explore Laravel's standout features.

Laravel's Best Features:

• Original templating engine - Laravel's templating engine, Blade, is one of the industry's top-notch engines that generate lightweight templates to simplify developers' jobs
  
  
• Route Handling - Route handling is straightforward in Laravel, as you can use 'simple names' instead of path names. Also, Laravel’s separate routes file makes the management of routes easier.
  
  
• Flexible cache handling- Laravel's cache API supports third-party backends like Memcached and Redis, resulting in quick loading times.
  
  
• Out-of-box testing - Laravel supports unit testing for pinpointing issues and feature testing for comprehensive application testing.

When Should You Choose Laravel?

You should select Laravel framework because Laravel is suitable for small-scale apps and large-scale projects when used correctly. It excels in creating minimum viable products due to its beginner-friendly nature. It's also an opinionated framework, which implies almost every developer will follow similar development practices ensuring consistency. Adding to it is Laravel’s ease of operations allowing new developers to collaborate on the project without taking months to understand the architecture and code base.

Key Differences Between Laravel and Symfony

Conclusion:

There's no definite winner when choosing between Symfony and Laravel. The right choice of framework depends on your business needs. Symfony is better suitable for complex and high-budget projects, whereas Laravel is easy to start even for beginners and thus makes a good choice for small and simple projects.

Once you have chosen the right framework among the two, it's time to Clarion Technologies have a talent pool of the top 1% of developers across technologies, who will help you make the best out of your projects. Time is money, contact us today, and let's get going.