Top 10 PHP Frameworks in 2023
PHP (Hypertext Processor) is the most popular server-side programming language, which is being adopted by many developers and communities leading to the emergence of many PHP frameworks. These frameworks help the developers in fast web development and deploying the complexity. So, if you are a web developer and on the fence about which framework to choose for the best web development. Well, here is an extra hand you need. We tried to put together the best PHP frameworks of 2022 including the newly emerged ones with advanced features and abilities.
The list below of the top 10 PHP frameworks targets developers with different hosting capabilities, levels of experience, and development timeframes. We also provide you with the favorable and unfavorable factors (pros and cons) of each framework, which will help you in deciding the best one you need for your web development.
1. Laravel
Being the first framework that introduced routing in an abstract way, Laravel eliminates the hassle of code organization and is the most prominent PHP framework with a massive community of developers. It is a comprehensive framework featuring tons of Laravel-specific packages, unit testing, lightweight Blade templating unit, ORM, packaging system, and RESTful controllers which makes it is specially designed model to build the application quickly using the MVC architecture. Handling the NoSQL structures like Mondo DB or Redis is one of the best things Laravel can do. With the extensive documentation, popularity, and, Laravel Udemy, it is very much easy to get started with Laravel. The latest version of this framework requires a 7.1.3 PHP version or above.
Pros:
- Organized code and files
- Quick development of application
- Features MVC architecture, ORM, Unit testing (FAST on HHVM), and other out-of-the-box functionalities.
- Integration of payment with stripe
- Has overloading capabilities using dynamic methods
- Strong encryption packages
- High-level abstraction and best documentation
Cons:
- Incompatible with shared hosting plans
- Does any queries on the database
Also, Read Laravel interview questions
2. Phalcon
It has been actively developed since 2012, featuring ORM, MVC, caching, and auto-loading components, and using very few resources when compared to any frameworks, it is absolutely blazing fast. It has all the developer tools such as Object Document mapping for MongoDB and many other features that include form builders, Template engines, building applications with international language support, etc. Phalcon can be the ideal choice to build the performance REST APIS and also full-fledged web applications. This framework requires 5.3 PHP version.
Pros:
- Built-in security features
- Autoloading
- Uniquely built as C-extension
- The performance is Blazing fast with low overheads
- It's developer friendly and facilitates lots of documentation
Cons:
- It is an open source but not as Laravel
- Bugs need to wait to be patched by developers.
- Incompatible with HHVM
Also, Read Phalcon interview questions
3. CodeIgniter
CodeIgniter can be an ideal choice for the rapid development of the application. It helps developers in building full-fledged web applications with small learning curves and numerous libraries. It makes the life of a developer easier with low hassle and no special command line or software installation requirement. Just requires file uploading and it's all ready to use after the upload. The documentation is extensive and the community is vast and helpful. Featuring many built-in libraries for unit testing, validation, email, sessions, and much more of it, the CodeIgniter makes a perfect choice for the development of applications. This framework requires a 5.4 PHP version.
Pros:
- Developer friendly, as it does not require any special dependencies or support
- Outperforms other non-MVC frameworks
- Very well-abled in using normal web hosting services and standard databases like MySQL.
- Has extensive and good documentation.
Cons:
- No namespaces, but still the framework can speed up.
- Not very much friendly towards unit testing when compared to other frameworks
- Comes with only a few built-in libraries.
Also, Read Codeigniter interview questions
4. Symfony
This framework is modular with high performance and well documentation. It is developed by French Sensio Labs and is used by many reputed companies. This prominent framework helps in to build both RESTful APIs and full-fledged web applications. This framework requires the 5.5.9 PHP version.
Pros:
- Provides high performance and is stable,
- The framework is well-documented, maintained, and supported.
Cons:
- Documentation is good, but the in-learning curve disappoints.
Also, Read Symfony interview questions
5. CakePHP
An ideal framework for beginners and comes with code generation and scaffolding functionality for the rapid development of commercial web applications. The framework is unique in having MVC conventions and is under active development process for good documentation and gathering support portals to get started. The configuration is a breeze as it eliminates the need for complicated XML files. With tons of packages and security features, it also has tools for form validation. This framework requires 5.5.9 PHP version.
Pros:
- Modern framework with tons of packages
- Has scaffolding systems and fast builds
- Ideal for commercial web applications
- Built-in database access, validation, authentication
- Actively developed
- Prevention of scripting and SQL injection
- Good documentation
Cons:
- Not ideal for constructing RESTful APIs
Also, Read CakePHP interview questions
6. Zend Framework
It is one of the prominent, professional frameworks and is mostly used to build high-performance enterprise-level applications. It is developed with extensibility, security, and performance in mind. Because of its complete focus on enterprise applications, it has many components for authentication, forms, feed, services, and more. It can’t be ideal for quick application development. But comes with many developer tools that make application development easier. This framework requires 5.3 PHP version.
Pros:
- Perfect for enterprise applications
- Fully-object oriented
- Has tons of components for feeds, forms, and validation
Cons:
- Not ideal for rapid application development
Also, Read Zend Framework Interview Questions
7. Fuel PHP
Built with HMVC architecture in mind, the Fuel PHP is a modern, highly modular, sophisticated, and extensible PHP framework, that features lightweight, template parsing, powerful ORM support and security enhancements with many packages and about 21 developer’s capabilities. It is actively developed, fully object-oriented, supports multiple applications on a single installation and has the ability to install the framework using composer. This framework requires 5.5.3 PHP version.
Pros:
- Modular with integrated ORM
- Restful building and URL routing
- Authentication packages
- Fully object-oriented support multiple applications
Cons:
- Not beginner friendly.
- Relative framework with fewer modules
- Less open-source community contributions
- Less prominent when compared to other frameworks
Also, read Fuel PHP Interview Questions
8. Slim
Inspired by Ruby’s Sinatra, the Slim is a minimal micro-framework, which is best utilized in building lightweight Restful APIs. Featuring built standards and many add-on features like URL handling, routing, HTTP caching and much more, developing becomes easy. This framework requires 5.5 PHP version.
Pros:
- It is one of the fastest PHP frameworks available
- Beginner friendly documentation
- Actively developed framework
- Ideal for small rest APIs
Cons:
- Has minimal add-ons on the stock composer
- Since it’s new, there is no official LTS release yet
Also, Read Top 10 Slim framework interview questions
9. Phpixie
This framework is the latest, lightweight, modularized and easy to get started with. Enabling fast compilation, it comes with great tools for security and cryptography support for MongoDB and code sharing with the composer. But has relatively few modules and is less prominent when compared to other frameworks. This framework requires 5.3 PHP version.
Pros:
- Relatively new framework with fast compilation ability.
- Easy to get started with
- Has an impressive routing system
- It is HMVC pattern oriented
- Documentation with code samples
Cons:
- Has only a few modules
- Incompatible with the components that are independently made from the dependencies.
Also, Read PHPixie Framework Interview Questions
10. Fat-Free
It is a modular PHP micro-framework that comes with tons of packages which makes it a perfect competitor of a full-fledged PHP framework, Laravel. The packages include unit testing, CSS compression, image processing, Open ID, data validation, and much more. With the Fat-free framework, you get off-the-shelf support for SQL and NoSQL databases, making it easy for the developers to develop multilingual web applications. This framework requires 5.5 PHP version.
Pros:
- Lightweight and small learning curve
- Comes with tons of packages
- Provides off the shelf support for both SQL and NoSQL
- Fast optimizations for URL routing and caching
- An ideal choice for multilingual applications.
Cons:
- No latest or modern options when compared to other frameworks
- Code repetition
- Kind of overkill for a micro framework
Also, Read Fat-Free Framework Interview Questions
Wrapping Up
The choice or selection of the PHP framework primarily depends upon the kind of website or the web application to be developed and later on the features of the PHP framework like scalability, speed, modules, packages, documentation, unit testing, a support system of databases, security and other built-in features.
So, the above list of PHP frameworks has all the frameworks that are considered to be the best PHP frameworks in the year 2022. Each of them has different capabilities and packages.
Single out the one that suits best to your web development project for a smooth web application development journey.