Laravel vs Symfony
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A PHP web framework for building web applications with a clean, readable syntax.
Open source · MIT
A PHP framework for building web and console applications, plus reusable PHP components.
The short answer
Choose Laravel if you need…
- PHP developers building web applications or APIs
- Teams that want a large set of built-in tools instead of assembling many separate libraries
- Beginners learning server-side web development who want extensive documentation and tutorials
- Projects that need background job queues or real-time event broadcasting
Choose Symfony if you need…
- PHP developers building web applications that need a structured framework
- Teams that want semantic versioning and Long Term Support (LTS) releases
- Developers who want reusable PHP components without adopting the full framework
- Projects that need console applications as well as web applications
Side-by-side
| Laravel | Symfony | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Framework | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 35k | 31.2k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | PHP | PHP |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Laravel
Laravel is a web application framework written in PHP. It provides ready-made tools for common chores in web projects, such as routing, database migrations, background jobs, caching, sessions and real-time event broadcasting. This repository holds the core framework code; the README points to a separate main repository for building an actual application.
Symfony
Symfony is a PHP framework that gives developers a structured base for building websites, web applications, and command-line tools. It also ships as a set of reusable PHP components that can be used on their own. The README says it is used by thousands of web applications and by many popular PHP projects.
Best for
Laravel
- PHP developers building web applications or APIs
- Teams that want a large set of built-in tools instead of assembling many separate libraries
- Beginners learning server-side web development who want extensive documentation and tutorials
- Projects that need background job queues or real-time event broadcasting
Symfony
- PHP developers building web applications that need a structured framework
- Teams that want semantic versioning and Long Term Support (LTS) releases
- Developers who want reusable PHP components without adopting the full framework
- Projects that need console applications as well as web applications
Strengths
Laravel
- Extensive documentation and video tutorial library, according to the README
- Includes many common features built in, such as routing, queues, caching and migrations
- Open source under the permissive MIT license
Symfony
- Widely used, with a large community and many contributors according to the README
- Follows semantic versioning and publishes LTS versions for predictable upgrades
- Has extensive documentation, including a Getting Started guide and a best practices reference
Not ideal for
Laravel
- People who do not use PHP, since the framework is written in and for PHP
- Developers who want a very small, minimal framework, because Laravel ships with many built-in components
- Projects that need a non-PHP stack and cannot adopt PHP tooling
Symfony
- People who do not work with PHP, since the project is written for PHP developers
- Complete beginners to programming, as the framework assumes familiarity with PHP and Composer
- Very small one-off scripts where a full framework adds more setup than it saves
Trade-offs
Laravel
- The README describes this repo as core framework code, so most newcomers will start from the separate main Laravel repository instead
- Requires familiarity with PHP and its tooling, which the README does not cover in detail
- The README does not state specific system requirements or setup steps, so this analysis is limited
Symfony
- Requires working knowledge of PHP and Composer, so it is not a gentle first step for newcomers
- The README is mostly links, so details of specific features must be checked in the official docs
- Feature set and setup depend on the chosen components and version, which the README does not detail
Getting started
Laravel
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/laravel/frameworkSymfony
Install Symfony with Composer (see official setup docs for the exact command)
git clone https://github.com/symfony/symfonyFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Laravel and Symfony?
Laravel: A PHP web framework for building web applications with a clean, readable syntax. Symfony: A PHP framework for building web and console applications, plus reusable PHP components. Laravel suits php developers building web applications or apis, while Symfony suits php developers building web applications that need a structured framework.
Are Laravel and Symfony free?
Laravel: Free and open source. Symfony: Free and open source.
Is Laravel or Symfony more popular?
Laravel has more GitHub stars (35k) than Symfony (31.2k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Laravel and Symfony?
Other options people compare them with include Express, CodeIgniter, Slim.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.