Laravel vs PHP: Comparing Frameworks, Pros, Cons, and Use Cases

Laravel vs. PHP—the debate never goes off track. While PHP with Laravel is the most preferred practice, it’s important to remember that Laravel is a framework built on top of the PHP programming language. PHP is one of the most widely used web development languages; however, it alone does not rule the web development industry. Laravel has its own developer base that prefers this advanced programming language and thus separates both PHP and Laravel. 

Recent study statistics show that around 45% of internet users prefer the PHP programming language. At the same time, the market share of around 39% (and increasing continuously) in web app development is ruled by Laravel users. Thus, we can conclude that both PHP and Laravel are close competitors of each other.

When you’re a coder, all you want to do is search for the quickest tools that can help you make a solid website in no time. Hence, there is a need to compare different programming languages as well as frameworks in one ecosystem at times. So without further ado, let’s dive into our detailed guide.

What Is PHP?

Before we make the comparison between PHP vs Laravel, let’s understand all the basics. The programming language PHP, or Hypertext Preprocessor, lets you automate a number of server-side web development chores.

PHP is made up of the best PHP frameworks, including Laravel. These frameworks use PHP as their primary programming language, which is an HTML code-based language. It is widely used to create database-driven apps, dynamic web pages, and eCommerce websites. The primary justification for using PHP for developing your web application is that it doesn’t require any third-party tools or libraries. Eventually, it helps you write less code, finish the development process faster, and host it easily with reliable PHP hosting solutions.

When we discuss core PHP, it brings complete control over the codebase and application structure, which is why it is also referred to as vanilla PHP. Core PHP is often preferred for smaller, less complex applications where rapid development and a lightweight approach are desired, offering developers a quick hand. 

Core PHP’s Pros 

• Through the various engagement models, corporations can use the free core PHP framework on the internet and hire human resources to carry out cost-effective development.
• Using the core PHP, developers can design the simplest design that is most comprehensible for a user and is possessed by various types of web applications.
• The developer can also easily understand the syntax, enabling him or her to write uncluttered code. In addition, it helps developers fortify an application built by somebody else and smoothly enhance it in accordance with requirements.
• Hardly any database cannot be connected with Core PHP, and this program not only runs on Linux and Unix but can also be installed on any server.

Core PHP Cons 

• Security components are necessary to preserve data integrity, availability, and non-repudiation. Also, software projects’ costs may vary if third-party APIs are used.
• The error/exception handling is outdated, according to the community.
• In addition, its performance will decline as compared to industry standards when its core behavior changes. Furthermore, its application performance is downgraded. Few debugging tools create a problem for users because they suffer during the deployment of the application on the market as they attempt to detect errors when compiling and testing codes.

Examples Of Easy PHP Code Snippets:

1. Displaying Text:

PHP
<?php
  echo "Hello, World!";
?>

2. Variables and Data Types:

PHP
<?php
  $name = "John Doe";
  $age = 30;
  echo "My name is $name and I am $age years old.";
?>

3. Conditional Statements (if-else):

PHP
<?php
  $age = 25;
  if ($age >= 18) {
    echo "You are eligible to vote.";
  } else {
    echo "You are not eligible to vote.";
  }
?>

4. Loops (for loop):

PHP
<?php
  for ($i = 1; $i <= 5; $i++) {
    echo "Number: $i <br>";
  }
?>

What Is Laravel FrameWork?

The Laravel framework is an advanced and resource-rich web development framework built on the PHP programming language. Thus, it’s popularly known as the offspring of PHP. It aids in creating web application backends with sophisticated and expressive syntax. This clutter-free syntax of Laravel helps foster creativity and simplify the processes involved in web development, including HTML templating, routing, caching, sessions, and authentication. 

Laravel facilitates the development process without compromising the functionality of the application. Additionally, it has a number of features to help you expedite the development process, like integrated unit testing, inverted control containers, expressive migration systems, and many more. The best Laravel hosting solutions are beneficial for hosting Laravel-based SPAs, eCommerce portals, web portals with extensive data, and social media platforms.

Laravel Pros

• For Laravel development professionals, there is voluminous documentation that enables them to create a neat codebase and fix mistakes comfortably.
• It provides forwarding emails, which can be used to reduce loading time by informing about new data through some of its caches and integrated with mail services to update subscribers with the latest information.
• Another key feature of Laravel is Artisan, an in-built tool capable of running various repetitive tasks automatically through its command-line interface using a script.
• The availability of numerous packages and templates in online repositories is helpful in reducing the costs, time, and efforts required for the software development cycle’s completion.

Laravel Cons

• The Laravel application builder framework does not contain payment gateways, which makes it unsuitable for building e-commerce websites based on this technology.
• Upgrading the framework version can cause applications to crash, and data might be permanently lost.
• Loading web pages on mobile devices requires more processing power, thus increasing response time and delaying acknowledgments.
• Many times, upgrades do not match up with previous versions or new technology trends, thereby lowering overall performance.

Examples Of Easy Laravel Code Snippets:

1. Route Definition (Basic):

PHP
<?php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
Route::get('/', function () {
  return view('welcome');
});

2. Controller Action with Model Interaction:

PHP
<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;
use App\Post; // Assuming a Post model
class PostController extends Controller
{
  public function show($id)
  {
    $post = Post::find($id); // Fetches a post by ID from the database
    if ($post) {
      return view('post', compact('post'));
    } else {
      return abort(404); // Handle non-existent post
    }
  }
}

3. Blade Template with Data Display:

HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Laravel Example</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>{{ $post->title }}</h1>
  <p>{{ $post->content }}</p>
</body>
</html>

4. User Authentication (Simple Example):

PHP
<?php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Auth;
Route::get('/login', function () {
  // Login form logic
});
Route::post('/login', function () {
  // Handle login form submission with Laravel authentication methods
});
Route::get('/dashboard', function () {
  if (Auth::check()) { // Check if user is authenticated
    return view('dashboard');
  } else {
    return redirect('/login');
  }
});

Comparing PHP vs Laravel

Let’s get the debate rolling between PHP vs Laravel. Users usually assume that if Laravel is the framework of PHP, its functioning must be similar; however, this assumption is quite far from reality.

Although PHP and Laravel run in a similar vein, there are several other distinctions that set Laravel apart from Core PHP. But before we go into more depth about them, let’s first get a quick overview of the similarities and differences between PHP and Laravel.

Quick Overview: Similarities Between PHP vs Laravel

Quick Overview: Features Between PHP vs Laravel

Detailed Comparison

Let’s move on to the constant source of debate on this blog. What really makes us ask about the difference between PHP vs Laravel? These two popular backend technologies differ a lot according to a number of different criteria.

– Structure

When the structure of both PHP and Laravel is compared, it is evident that Core PHP is more flexible and low-level. Hence, developers can fully control the codebase and application structures.

Laravel adheres to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture for an orderly and systematic development process for control and customizations. 

– Performance

Evaluating PHP vs Laravel performance helps developers understand the technical segment of their projects. Core PHP offers more direct control over concurrency. This means developers can easily write codes to handle simultaneous requests, and hence, it provides better performance. 

On the other hand, the Laravel framework handles concurrency through its underlying PHP framework. This brings a slight delay and overhead compared to raw core PHP. However, its structured approach brings the best methods to secure your Laravel applications.

– Development Speed

PHP is an ideal option for small projects like simple web applications, as it’s faster because of its lightweight nature. Thus, developers can quickly write and deploy basic functionalities. On the flip side of it, Laravel is a good option when large projects are required, like eCommerce hosting stores. 

Laravel offers development acceleration with its pre-built components and functionalities instead of writing everything from scratch as it is done in Core PHP.

– Scalability

Scalability is essential for the optimal performance of both PHP and Laravel applications, projects, and more. Although PHP’s structure is flexible, it’s a basic, low-level structure. Hence, scaling with PHP is a challenge. It requires the rewriting of sections and code organization whenever your project scales. 

In contrast, Laravel is highly customizable and scalable. It is designed for scalability with a modular MVC structure. This means that as your project scales, you can add new features and integrate them.

– Security

Core PHP offers open security, which ultimately makes the developers responsible for integrating, installing, and setting security walls. Here, the developers have to manually implement the security features by recognizing the potential threats, cyberattacks, and more. 

On the contrary, Laravel offers built-in security features. Thus, developers using Laravel for backend development work get protected against vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and CSRF. 

– Community and Resources

Laravel has an active and large community of developers who focus on the framework, just like the open community of CodeIgniter, a powerful PHP framework. Similarly, PHP too, boasts a vast and mature community of developers with extensive documentation and online resources. However, Laravel has fewer resources than Core PHP; they are tailored to Laravel development. 

– Database Compatibility

If you ever wondered if PHP and Laravel are the same in terms of database compatibility, then here’s the solution to your query. Databases highly support web applications and store and manage user data. While both PHP and Laravel offer strong database support, there’s a difference between core PHP and Laravel database compatibility rates. 

Laravel focuses on four popular choices of databases, i.e., SQL, SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. It allows developers to connect multiple databases simultaneously and, at the same time, fetch data from various sources. Conversely, PHP has a higher compatibility rate as it can virtually connect to any database system, including DB2, MySQL, Oracle, MongoDB, and more. Further, its structure makes database switching easier, which is extremely beneficial for all beginners.

Uses Cases Of PHP And Laravel

Here’s a list of the popular websites that use PHP and Laravel for their website needs. A thorough overview of each website will let you learn more about the differences between core PHP and Laravel.