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comparison php frameworks laravel vs codeigniter

Detailed comparison of PHP frameworks; laravel vs codeigniter

Laravel and codeigniter are among the best frameworks in PHP so far.
CodeIgniter is the oldest, most commonly used and simplest of all; while Laravel is very young but it comes with a lot of features out-of-box and is becoming a preferable choice for new applications.

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Laravel vs CodeIgniter

From my experience I have listed down comparison between the two php frameworks:

# Laravel CodeIgniter
Initial release 2011 2006
Started by Taylor Otwell Rick Ellis, now it is a project of British Columbia Institute of Technology
License MIT License MIT Licence
Official website www.laravel.com https://codeigniter.com/
Current stable version 5.2 3.1.0
Difficulty level Average Very easy
Framework pattern MVC MVC
Memory recommended 1GB 256MB
CLI Tool Yes, Artisan tool is present. It helps to create controller,model,migrations, seeding, put/bring project in maintenance mode, and a lot more features. No
Databases support MySQL, Postgres, SQLite, SQL Server MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, SQLite, CUBRID, Interbase, ODBC
NoSQL(MongoDB) support Not inbuilt, 3rd party library can be used. Not inbuilt, 3rd party library can be used.
Cache drivers File, Memcache, Redis File, Memcache, Redis, WinCache (useful for windows)
Session drivers File, Cookie, Database, Memcached, Redis Files, Database, Redis, Memcached
Mail Drivers SMTP, Mailgun, Mandrill, SparkPost, Amazon SES, Mail, and sendmail Mail, Sendmail, and SMTP
Queues Drivers Database, Beanstalkd, Amazon SQS, Redis, and synchronous (for local use) driver. not inbuilt, 3rd partly library can be used.
Supports ReSTfull architecture Yes, good support with routes and controllers. Yes
Localization / Language Yes Yes
Route support Yes, with lot of features. Using routes is compulsory. Yes, using routes is optional.
Template engine Yes, Very good support of Blade template. Minimal, and they discourage the use of template engine.
Authentication system inbuilt, very flexible Not inbuilt, 3rd party auth can be integrated.
Authorization system Inbuilt Not inbuilt, 3rd party authorization can be used.
Admin generator No, scaffold for login and registration is present. No
ORM Eloquent ORM, with lot of features. Codeigniter DB driver (CI_DB_driver)
Pagination Inbuilt, easy to use, flexible with inbuilt bootstrap support. Inbuilt, easy to use, flexible
Migration & seeding Inbuilt not inbuilt.
TDD (Test driven development) framework Inbuilt PHPUnit not inbuilt, PHPUnit or any other can be integrated.
Form data validation Inbuilt with good support Inbuilt with good support
Uses Middleware Yes, helps with validation like CSRF check, authentication, etc No, but all such validations can be done here also.
Support for Virtual machines Inbuilt, Homestead for linux/windows(pre-packaged Vagrant box), Valet for mac. Not inbuilt. Virtual box / Vagrant can be easily used.

Hope I have listed all points which will help you choose between the two frameworks for your next project. In case I missed some points, I would highly appreciate if you could share in comments below.

Do share if you feel this article will be of value to other readers.

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10 Comments

  • Ahtsham Rana Reply

    Very good comparison Nikhil, it would have been greatly appreciated if you could have also included a Pros and Cons list of using these two frameworks.

    2016-10-05 08:38:55
  • balaji Reply

    i am currently as codegniter developer from last two months .how much time need to learn Laravel 4 or Laravel 5. and can i started whith Laravel 4 or directly with 5.

    2016-09-17 20:03:39
    • Nikhil Agrawal

      Good that you have started with codeigniter, you can directly start with newly released Laravel 5.3.
      Laravel is very simple, the documentation is good to get started with it. In case you need help leave a note here.

      2016-09-19 10:12:47
  • Laravel vs Codeigniter | Reply

    […] http://thewebfosters.com/blogs/comparison-php-frameworks-laravel-vs-codeigniter/ […]

    2016-08-23 10:58:00
  • Kapil Verma Reply

    One thing you forgot to mention about laravel is "collection".

    2016-08-23 09:38:44
    • Nikhil Agrawal

      oh..yes.
      Thanks for adding it ! #keepSharing

      2016-08-23 10:32:28
  • Hiren Reply

    Good comparison.

    2016-08-09 09:55:55
    • Nikhil Agrawal

      Thanks Hiren !

      2016-08-09 10:05:36
  • Hugo Davenport Reply

    I have to admit I'm a Zend supporter. As Zend maintains PHP itself, the Zend Framework is liable to be the longest lasting PHP framework of all.
    It also has a HUGE range of Google plugins, which is pretty handy for many apps. Zend is extremely easy to use, and the core is compact and fast.
    Downside: The documentation. Everything is there, but not always where you'd expect to find it!

    2016-08-05 08:46:17
    • Nikhil Agrawal

      Almost all Google plugins for php frameworks are available at packagist.org. Laravel, CodeIgniter, Zend all are long lasting and good part is they keep on providing updates with latest technology trends.

      Thanks for sharing your view.

      2016-08-05 11:02:59

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