Top 10 Must-Have PHP Frameworks in 2024

By Venkatesh C.R8 mins read

Are you a developer looking for the right PHP framework for your next web application? You’ve come to the right place for answers. Choosing a development framework is extremely important. It influences the scalability of your design and also affects development efficiency. Ultimately, your project’s success largely hinges on the framework you choose. However, given the many options available, finding the right PHP framework can be dizzying. We’ve created the following list to make the process easier for you. It rounds up the top PHP frameworks, including their strengths and weaknesses so that you can make an informed decision for your project. Take a look.

Reasons to use a PHP framework

Well, quite frankly you need to use a PHP framework much for the same reason you’d use any development framework for that matter – to make your work more efficient and save time. With the right framework, you essentially get important software or codebase templates. You only need to make minor tweaks, add your code, and, viola, you can customize your own unique application.

This beats writing every line of code from scratch, thereby increasing development speed.

Other key reasons to use a PHP framework include:

Greater application security
Simple application maintenance
Cost and time-efficiency benefits
Improved project versatility
Lower code length
Improved database proficiency
Easier application debugging.

The Best PHP frameworks you can use in 2024

Now that you know why PHP frameworks are important, let’s get to the bone of contention. Here are some of the best PHP frameworks. With this information, you’ll have the knowledge to choose the right framework for your application.

1. Laravel

More than 13 years after its introduction, Laravel remains one of the most popular PHP frameworks. One great thing about it is that it remains an open-source software with a very large community. It packs interesting built-in security features, some of which include automatic testing.

Advantages of Laravel

Laravel greatly simplifies database interactions with your web apps.
You also get built-in support for authorization and authentication.
Laravel also offers an expressive and elegant syntax.

Shortcomings of Laravel

It offers limited community support so you’ll mostly be on your own.
Being a very lightweight framework, it also lacks important features that others have.

2. CodeIgniter

If you need to create full-featured web applications with a straight-to-the-point yet elegant framework, CodeIgniter may be for you. It’s a lightweight framework just like Laravel. However, you get both non-MVC and MCV design patterns, with the latter architecture great for speeding up development.

Advantages of CodeIgniter

Excellent documentation which makes it easy to learn from scratch.
You also get many security-rich functions for delivering secure apps.
It delivers improved search engine optimization.

Shortcomings of CodeIgniter

Just like Laravel, it’s also lightweight and lacks advanced features.
While it offers extensive documentation, some of it is obsolete and highlights deprecated
features.

3. Symfony

Reliant upon a modular component system, this makes for a very flexible framework. You get more than 50 reusable PHP components. Further, Symfony relies on a fast template engine called Twig, which also comes with an in-built debugging tool.

Advantages of Symfony

Symfony is a feature-rich platform that’s well-organized
You also get a large and active community to provide support
It offers a large ecosystem of third-party bundles as well.

Shortcomings of Symfony

It has a very steep learning curve, making it challenging to master.
Testing can also be very time-consuming with this platform.

4. Laminas Project

Did you ever hear about the Zend PHP framework? Well, this picks up where the latter left off and it’s essentially a continuation of this framework. Laminas Project is an MVC-based and object-oriented platform, which makes it possible to reuse a lot of code.

Advantages of Laminas Project

It’s a cost-efficient option compared to other frameworks.
You also get a large set of libraries and loosely coupled components.
Learning this framework also comes with a certification that can boost your portfolio.

Shortcomings of Laminas Project

This framework can be especially complex for small projects.
It also provides external plugins which can be very costly.

5. Phalcon

The source for this program is written in C, but don’t worry, it’s a full-stack PHP framework. It leverages PHP classes as well as its namespaces so no, you won’t need to learn any C. It’s not as popular as the others, but it’s still a very formidable option to have at your disposal.

Advantages of Phalcon

You get outstanding execution speed with this framework.
It lets you add only the libraries you need to maintain a clutter-free development
environment.
You get full-stack functionality, which sorts out both front and backend development.

Shortcomings of Phalcon

The use of C programming within the PHP framework makes it quite complex.
Installing Phalcon can also be quite challenging.

6. CakePHP

This is one of the first PHP MVC frameworks created and it has certainly aged like fine wine. It comes with its own unique set of coding guidelines and conventions. This means that it’s significantly different from other frameworks you may be used to.

Advantages of CakePHP

No extensive pre-configuration is necessary, making it easy to install.
You can create custom tests to improve application debugging.
It also has very simple CURD operations, which is another huge plus.

Shortcomings of CakePHP

It requires that you follow its naming conventions.
The CakePHP community is also smaller compared to other frameworks.

7. Yii

Setting up Yii is a piece of cake. But, more importantly, this framework also supports the Gii code generator. You also get SQL injection prevention, user-based authentication controls and other important security features to build resilient web apps.

Advantages of Yii

Yii simplifies the development process and alleviates the need for complex tools.
You get massive community support to accelerate the development of your projects.
It’s also very simple to scale making it excellent for complex projects.

Shortcomings of Yii

It’s not a very beginner-friendly platform so it requires experienced developers.
The framework also doesn’t support AR queries or multiple relations.

8. Fat-Free Framework

83KB – that’s the size of this framework, which is most popularly known as F3. So, it’s essentially a lightweight framework, but that also means that you can build lightweight apps that deliver excellent performances. The great thing about this is that you don’t need to set up a complex directory structure, curl or component. This means you can hit the ground running with your app.

Advantages of fat-free framework

It offers more granular control over application routing.
F3 offers great simplicity which means that it’s also easy to pick up.
The framework also provides multiple database compatibility and great optional plugins.

Shortcomings of fat-free framework

It doesn’t support Façade and data mapper like some tools.
Being a simplistic framework, it also delivers very simple application tests.

9. FuelPHP

Created in 2010, FuelPHP has worked its way up to being one of the most beloved PHP frameworks among developers. While other frameworks on this list have a standard MVC, this takes things a notch higher. It supports a hierarchal model viewer or HMVC. This makes it even simpler to both reuse code, and achieve excellent modularity to help you build easily scalable web apps.

Advantages of FuelPHP

It offers an HMVC pattern which solves some issues with the standard MVC
FuelPHP is a powerful framework that you can use on a variety of projects.
It supports password hashing techniques and strong cryptography.

Disadvantages of FuelPHP

Fewer resources in terms of documentation and community support is available.
It’s not as mature as other frameworks so you may not find all the features you need.

10. Slim

True to its name, Slim is technically a micro framework but it’s still an excellent PHP framework nonetheless. Overall, the best thing about it is the powerful HHTP router although its client-side HTTP caching is also another important strong point of the software. If you’re looking to develop RESTful APIs or a HTTP request application, it’s a great option to consider.

Advantages of Slim framework

It enables rapid prototyping which improves your productivity and efficiency.
You get a lot of design freedom as a developer compared to other frameworks.
Slim offers faster and powerfull HTTP routing to help you design SEO-friendly URLs.

Disadvantages of Slim framework

You have to manually install an ORM because it doesn’t have it by default
Being a micro-framework, you also get few built-in features compared to others

Need Help Designing your Web Application? We can Help

PHP is an excellent programming language, more so when we’re talking about server-side scripting. However, the truth is writing scripts from scratch is just so time-consuming. This is where the best PHP frameworks come in. They let you cherry-pick your code instead of writing it from scratch. With this round-up of the best PHP frameworks, you can choose the right one for your web app. If you require assistance with your PHP web design project, our marketing agency would be happy to help. Click here to hire our experienced PHP developers for your project today.