Laravel vs CodeIgniter vs CakePHP vs Yii - select best PHP framework

04 Jun

PHP has become one of the most widely used web development languages in recent years as the best server-side programming language. Not only is it an open-source language, but it also has a simple learning curve and a number of essential frameworks for enterprise-grade apps.

There are numerous PHP frameworks available that enable agile development and improve application performance. This also permits startups, small businesses, and major corporations to expand over time.

CodeIgniter vs. CakePHP vs. Laravel vs. Yii - side by side comparison

Side by side comparison of top 4 PHP web frameworks
Points of Comparison	Laravel	CodeIgniter	Cake-PHP	Yii
Trend & Popularity in Developers	Currently, Laravel is the most loved and most used PHP framework with the most stars on GitHub.	CodeIgniter has always been popular because of its easy to use architecture.	CakePHP usage and popularity is going down slowly since the year 2009.	Yii has been a slow and clumsy journey. However, it is not the first choice of developers these days.
Structures and Updates of framework	Laravel follows the MVC structure and comes with a command-line tool named Artisan. Laravel updates are common and recurring.	The structure is MVC.CI 4's structure has been organized in 5 directories with now CLI, and Composer support.	CakePHP code is based on Ruby on Rails & follows a systematic method. On Github, it has a fairly active release schedule.	Yii adheres to a tight MVC model. It was first released many years ago and is still in version 2.0.x.
Documentation & Libraries	Laravel's official documentation is very elaborate and helpful. You can find thousands of libraries in Packagist which can be installed using the composer	CodeIgniter has the best documentation which is easy to understand. It does not have many libraries like others, as CI just launched composer support in v4.	CakePHP has standard/normal documentation and has a few third-party libraries which can be installed using composer.	Yii has good documentation and there are enough libraries on Packagist.org to make a strong claim.
Database support and Integration	Laravel Supports almost every DBMS and RDBMS and has packages for every database. Laravel comes with its own ORM tool to integrate with the Database.	CodeIgniter provides RDBMS support such as MySQL or PostgreSQL by default. CI v4 comes with a composer which allows you to use libraries for all Database support	CakePHP comes with support for convention RDBMS including Oracle. For NoSQL databases, you have to get third-party libraries. CakePHP also comes with ORM.	Yii provides decent database support which includes SQLite, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL and other RDBMS. It has built-in support for ActiveRecord ORM.
Templating	Laravel by default provides a Blade template engine which is easy to use for frontend developers and best in performance. You do not have to learn PHP to use Blade.	CodeIgniter Does not have any default template engine. Developer can use their own design structures and standards with PHP.	CakePHP provides a crude PHP structure by default in templates but also allows Twig templates which should be great for frontend developers.	Yii does not provide any default template engine, but it allows developers to use third-party template engines like Twig & Smarty.
Ease of web development	Laravel makes development easier by providing features like routing, database migrations, eloquent & query builder, command-line utilities, built-in paginations, etc...	CodeIgniter is very easy to use and has the least learning curve. It takes very less time for development than other frameworks.	Because of its adherence to established procedures, if you use CakePHP's design pattern, you should be good to go for a faster development cycle.	Yii's development is substantially faster thanks to its automatic code generation function, which can be accessed via the gii extension.
Developer & User Community	Laravel has the largest user and developer active community than any other PHP framework.	CodeIgniter has a decent big user and developer community which helps in solving problems and third party libraries.	Cake-PHP has a medium-sized community that helps developers to solve problems.	Yii has a very small developer and user community due to its low use base.
Database Model	Object-Oriented Database model	Relational Object-Oriented Database model	Object-Relational Document oriented	Relational Object-Oriented Database model
Programming Paradigm	Object-Oriented event-driven functional	Component Oriented	Object-Oriented event-driven functional	Object-Oriented event-driven
Developer hourly Cost	USA: $40 - $80 (USD) UK: £40 - £85 (GBP) Australia: $35 - $60 (AUD) India: $15 - $35 (USD) Polestar Tech Consultancy: $12 (USD)	USA: $30 - $70 (USD) UK: £30 - £72 (GBP) Australia: $28 - $56 (AUD) India: $12 - $30 (USD) Polestar Tech Consultancy: $10 (USD)	USA: $30 - $75 (USD) UK: £32 - £75 (GBP) Australia: $30 - $55 (AUD) India: $12 - $25 (USD)	USA: $35 - $75 (USD) UK: £30 - £80 (GBP) Australia: $35 - $65 (AUD) India: $15 - $35 (USD)
Website	Laravel	CodeIgniter	CakePHP	Yii

Top PHP Frameworks Benchmark comparison

Top PHP framework Benchmarks

This PHP framework benchmark comparison is done between CodeIgniter vs Laravel vs CakePHP vs Yii. This is done by techempower.com. It is available for all and can view the updated benchmarks of each different framework with different configurations. This PHP framework benchmark comparison is of Round 20 taken on the date 2021-02-08. You can check the PHP framework benchmark by yourself by downloading their open-source library available on GitHub.

According to these PHP framework benchmarks, CodeIgniter is the clear winner in the performance. Followed by Laravel at the 2nd position.

Detailed Comparison between Laravel vs. Yii vs. CakePHP vs. CodeIgniter

Laravel

Fun Fact: 466,400+ live web applications & websites are using the Laravel framework for their software solutions. Additionally, 610,600+ web apps and websites used Laravel since launched to the year 2022.

Laravel is currently one of the most popular MVC (Model View Controller) based PHP web frameworks. With the use of the PHP server-side programming language in Laravel, developers can concentrate on the essentials. It allows software developers to focus on the prerequisites while providing smooth scaling and agile software development. If you really want to implement all of these functionalities in your next software application, Laravel is the best choice for it. You can hire the best Laravel development company.

Advantages of Laravel framework

Blade Template Engine: In comparison to other PHP templating engines, Laravel comes with the Blade template engine, which is basic yet extremely powerful. It has no impact on your web app's performance and allows you to use plain PHP code in views. It includes features like template inheritance and data presentation that give freedom to the software development process, in addition to some handy shortcuts for standard PHP procedures.
Artisan: Laravel comes with Artisan. Artisan is the unified command-line interface for programmers. It allows programmers to write skeleton code. It also enables administrators to monitor the database system, removing the need for Laravel developers to perform basic programming activities. When it comes to developing and managing simple MVC files with their settings, an artisan is a fantastic tool.
Eloquent ORM: Eloquent ORM in Laravel provides a basic ActiveRecord implementation for web developers, making database interaction straightforward and time-saving. Developers can use PHP syntax to write database queries, and they don't need to code or use SQL to update or edit databases.

CodeIgniter

Fun Fact: 748360+ live websites and web-based software applications are using CodeIgniter. Additionally, 569,000+ sites used CodeIgniter from launch to the year 2022.

The CodeIgniter is primarily used to modify the Hierarchical Model View Controller (HMVC), which allows developers to arrange controllers, views, and models into modular groups. They're also organised into subdirectories. In comparison to other PHP frameworks, the CodeIgniter framework is known for its vivid speed and fast responsiveness.

By lowering the amount of code required for a specific activity, CodeIgniter allows you to focus more effectively on the deliverable. You'll be relieved to know that it's completely open-source and free to use, so you won't have to worry about breaking the bank. You can utilise it as you want because it is faster than you might believe. Model, View, and Controller (MVC) have always made things simpler and more fascinating. Remember that the controller is a required component that makes up the framework's processing unit, although the model and view are optional. You can consult the best CodeIgniter development Company for free.

Advantages of CodeIgniter Framework

Handling Bugs and Errors: If you want to create faultless websites with great functionality and appearance, CodeIgniter is the tool for you. A simple user interface is offered to assist in the detection of any issues or defects that may be inhibiting the website's smooth operation and, as a result, harming the user experience.
Interface that is User-friendly: CodeIgniter's best UI makes it simple to create beautiful websites and web applications. You can always count on the CodeIgniter framework if you need a website or software with dynamic functionality or are looking for a platform that can provide you with the greatest responsive user experience. All you have to do now is focus on choosing the best CodeIgniter web development company to meet your various business requirements.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Another excellent incentive to choose CodeIgniter for your company's website development is the possibility to improve the website's rating. When it comes to development, digital marketing specialists favour the CodeIgniter platform because it focuses on increasing visitors. Aside from that, the platform has a number of tools that work together to optimise the website's overall performance without impacting the layout or other critical parts.

CakePHP

Fun Fact: 60,500+ live websites are using CakePHP in the year 2022. Additionally, 132,000+ websites used CakePHP historically.

CakePHP is an open-source framework for developing PHP Frameworks that is extremely fast. It's an MVC-based approach whose goal is to make creating Web applications simple and distributed. It's also commonly used to manage a web application, and Cake PHP's extensive library support makes this concept clear and simple for developers to implement. CakePHP is also feasible because of the run-time architecture framework. When using Cake PHP, the lines of code are often decreased. It is one of the most efficient web development platforms available.

Advantages of CakePHP framework

No need to configure anything: The cake-PHP framework is preferable because it saves web developers a great deal of time and effort. While using this framework, no system configuration is required. What exactly does this imply? This eliminates the need to devote time to set up a Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP environment. It does this automatically by detecting all of the parameters that need to be changed. Furthermore, the Apache configuration is not required. It even takes control of the built-in validation mechanisms, which saves you even more time. Different validation rules can be created by developers; this capability is both efficient and straightforward.
Extendable Code: The cake-PHP framework enables you to develop reusable code components that can be used in several projects. Components, helpers, plug-ins, and behaviours can all be given features and functions instead of expanding the system's modules. The cake forge site has a lot of plugin tools and components, which saves you the time and effort of having to write everything from scratch.
Easy CRUD Operations: The term CRUD stands for "create, read, update, and delete." In a software system, those were among the most significant tasks. It is simple to create, view, read, update, and delete various entities. This allows you to see a demonstration of your programme. This enables all models and controllers to be customised to meet the application's exact requirements. It also makes data administration in the web development process more easier.

Yii PHP framework

Yii is a web application development framework that is open-source. It's a PHP framework that's object-oriented and MVC (Model-View-Controller) based. CRUD generation is one of Yii's greatest capabilities. To produce regularly used pieces of code, Yii employs a specific code generator tool called Gii, which has both a web-based and command-line interface. This allows for speedier application development and performance.

Yii follows the DRY — Don't Repeat Yourself — a guideline, which allows for an organised codebase and eliminates the need for repetitive code. For data validation, Yii has various Ajax-based widgets. It allows for platform extension by allowing for minor code modifications as well as compatibility when merging third-party interfaces.

Conclusion

Depending on the current scenario, If you are looking for a framework for Large scale enterprise web-based application or software then you should definitely select Laravel for it. It is specifically designed for large scale software which will allow you to scale the software as per need with a very organised structure.

If you are developing a website that needs the best and fastest performance and is SEO friendly, CodeIgniter is the best choice for that. CodeIgniter has the best performance matrix for small and medium-sized projects and also the best for SEO friendly websites.

CakePHP and Yii are now moving toward vanishing and have legacy versions and updates. It's better not to use the legacy framework for modern software solutions.