PHP powers a huge share of web backends—and the real decision is which framework: Laravel or Symfony. "Symfony vs Laravel" is one of the most common questions I get from teams looking for a PHP developer. The short answer: Laravel first for most new projects; Symfony when the project, codebase, or organisation demands it. I work with both as a freelance developer in Bath, Bristol, Wiltshire, and across the UK. Here's when I'd choose which.
PHP in 2025: Still the Backbone of the Web
PHP is stable, fast enough for most applications, and has decades of tooling and hosting support. For backend development—APIs, business logic, databases, integrations—PHP with a modern framework is a solid choice. Laravel and Symfony (or both, in different contexts) are the two main options.
Laravel: Fast, Opinionated, Great for New Builds
Laravel is built for speed—of development and of onboarding. It has strong defaults: routing, migrations, queues, authentication, API resources. You get a working app quickly without deciding every detail. That makes it ideal for startups, MVPs, and most new PHP backends.
If you're starting from zero and want to ship fast, Laravel is usually the right choice. It's what I recommend for most teams in Bath, Bristol, and the UK when they're building something new. I've written about scaling Laravel, API design in Laravel, and database design—all in a Laravel context.
Symfony: Flexible, When It's the Right Fit
Symfony is a set of reusable PHP components and a full-stack framework. It's less opinionated than Laravel: you compose what you need. That flexibility suits large codebases, long-lived projects, and organisations with strict architectural requirements. Symfony is common in enterprise PHP and in Europe. It also powers Laravel under the hood in many places, so the ecosystems overlap.
Choose Symfony when: you already have a Symfony codebase, you need maximum flexibility, or you're in an environment where Symfony is the standard. I don't push Symfony over Laravel for new startups—Laravel first, Symfony when it's the right fit. Don't choose it just because it's "more enterprise"; Laravel scales to serious traffic and complexity too.
Laravel First, Symfony When It's the Right Fit
My positioning is simple: Laravel first for new work; Symfony when it's the right fit. That might mean an existing Symfony project, a client who's standardised on Symfony, or a problem that benefits from Symfony's modularity. For most new greenfield work in the UK—including Bath, Bristol, and Wiltshire—Laravel is the default.
Can One Developer Do Both?
Yes. Laravel uses many Symfony components under the hood. The skills—PHP, HTTP, databases, APIs, testing—transfer. A Laravel and Symfony developer can work on either stack; the main difference is framework conventions and ecosystem. If you're hiring a freelance PHP developer, someone who knows both gives you flexibility.
What Matters Beyond the Framework
Beyond Laravel vs Symfony:
- Database design: Get the schema and indexes right from the start. See database design for Laravel applications.
- API design: Consistent, versioned, documented. See API design.
- Queues and jobs: Don't block the request for slow work. See Laravel queues.
- Scaling path: Start simple, then separate DB, cache, queues as you grow. See scaling your Laravel backend.
Whether you choose Laravel or Symfony, these principles apply. A good PHP backend developer will focus on problem-solving and maintainability, not framework religion.
The Bottom Line
Symfony vs Laravel isn't about one being "better." It's about fit: Laravel for speed and convention on new projects; Symfony for flexibility, existing codebases, or enterprise contexts. If you're not sure, start with Laravel—you can always introduce Symfony later where it makes sense.
If you're in Bath, Bristol, or Wiltshire and need a developer who can work with Laravel, Symfony, or both, get in touch. I help teams build and scale PHP backends with the right framework for the job.