Best PHP Frameworks of 2025
Based on community feedback, performance, and developer experience
Laravel
Laravel continues to dominate the PHP framework landscape with its elegant syntax and robust feature set.
- Elegant syntax and powerful ORM
- Comprehensive ecosystem with tools like Laravel Forge and Vapor
- Strong community support and regular updates
- Excellent documentation
Symfony
A mature framework known for its stability, flexibility, and high-performance components.
- Reusable components and bundles
- Enterprise-grade security
- Built for scalability
- Flexible architecture
CodeIgniter
Lightweight and straightforward, perfect for small to medium-sized projects with minimal server requirements.
- Small footprint and high performance
- Easy to learn and implement
- Minimal configuration
- Excellent for beginners
Yii Framework
A high-performance framework for developing modern web applications quickly.
- Lazy loading techniques for optimal performance
- Built-in security features
- MVC architecture
- Database abstraction layer
CakePHP
A rapid development framework that makes building web applications simpler and faster.
- Code generation tools
- Built-in validation
- Easy database interaction
- Convention over configuration
Laminas (formerly Zend)
Enterprise-ready framework focusing on security, performance, and extensibility.
- Middleware-based architecture
- Enterprise-grade security
- Modular structure
- Compatibility with PHP 8
Slim Framework
A micro framework that helps you quickly build simple yet powerful web applications and APIs.
- Lightweight and minimal
- Fast routing engine
- PSR-7 HTTP message implementation
- Middleware architecture
Phalcon
A full-stack PHP framework delivered as a C-extension offering high performance and low resource consumption.
- Extremely high performance
- Low memory usage
- Complete MVC structure
- Easy to install with Composer
Laravel Lumen
A micro-framework by Laravel, perfect for building Laravel-powered APIs and microservices.
- Ultra-fast performance
- Laravel compatibility
- Minimal configuration
- Great for APIs and microservices
FuelPHP
A flexible, community-driven PHP framework that combines the best ideas from other frameworks.
- HMVC architecture
- Security features built-in
- Flexible authentication system
- Active community