PHP frameworks are the most commonly used frameworks for web development due to various reasons. Their high development speed, scalability, security, and reusability make them prominent across web development platforms. The two most popular PHP frameworks are Symfony and Laravel. There is debate among developers about which is better. So let’s have a look at the features and capabilities of both to help developers choose between them.

Laravel

Laravel is an open-source PHP framework and follows an MVC (model-view-controller) design pattern. It has an easy syntax and offers multiple built-in components to create web applications. Laravel is known for its simple approach to coding.

Pros of Laravel

• It is always in upgraded form with the latest PHP features.
• It offers rapid development with easy-to-learn and easy-to-read syntax.
• It is highly compatible with third-party libraries and platforms.
• It uses a template engine to create layouts for web apps and format data.
• It allows adding new features and modules without making changes in the core.
• It offers automated testing methods to reduce time-consuming functions.
• It allows the integration of third-party apps through API.

Cons of Laravel

• Applications built on Laravel are heavy and have high load time on mobile.
• There are fewer third-party libraries available for Laravel which makes quality and reliability harder for developers.
• Laravel is lightweight and sometimes causes backend data congestion due to excessive database queries.
• Lavaravel updates are mostly incompatible. Shifting to a new version can break the previous code.
• Dependency injection is complex.

Symfony

Symfony is also an open-source PHP framework for web development.Symfony MVC framework makes it easy for developers to develop scalable applications. It has a library of resources and components which include Symfony Event Dispatcher, DomCrawler, Symfony YAML, Symfony Templating, Discord Notifier, Symfony Dependency Injector, and many more. Symfony is one of the best PHP frameworks to develop enterprise-level website development projects. Symfony framework pros and cons are mentioned below.

Pros of Symfony

• Symfony is a perfect choice for scalable projects. Its 4+ upgrade has high performance and less complexity.
• Symfony provides the flexibility of making changes in code to customize web solutions and apps.
• One of the biggest advantages of Symfony is that it offers a variety of components that can be used for certain functionalities. It eliminates the hassle of writing lengthy and complex code.
• Symfony has high support for databases.
• Symfony features make code easy to configure with its bundle of components.
• Unit testing is easy in Symfony and this is the reason why it is a comfortable choice for developers.
• Considering Symfony vs Laravel security, Symfony has advanced security capabilities to develop secure applications.

Cons of Symfony

• High traffic on apps reduces their performance in real-time.
• Symfony requires more time to learn its complex frameworks and components.
• The development process of Symfony is slow.
• Testing is a time taking process.

Final Thoughts

Both Symphony and Laravel are top PHP frameworks for web development. It is difficult to choose one. However, Symphony vs Laravel speed and performance is often compared but it totally depends on the requirements of your project. Laravel is a perfect choice for startups whereas Symphony is highly supportive for high-scale and long-term projects. For customization requirements, Symphony is a suitable option as it has various built-in components that allow you to build projects without developing complex functions.