Which PHP framework should you choose?
For most new business applications, Laravel. CodeIgniter and CakePHP are both alive, supported and sensible in the right place, but Laravel ships the most of what a modern application needs, and it publishes the clearest support dates. The choice matters less than keeping whichever one you pick on a supported version.
- Choose Laravel if you are building a product or internal system that will grow, needs queues, scheduled jobs, logins and APIs, and should be easy to hand to another developer later
- Choose CodeIgniter if the application is small, the hosting is modest, and you want a light framework with very little to learn
- Choose CakePHP if your team already knows it, or you value strict conventions that make every project look the same
What changed since this was first written
The 2022 version of this article called Laravel new and unstable, warned that CodeIgniter needed PHP 5.1.6, and described CakePHP as incredibly slow. None of that describes the frameworks today. All three have been rebuilt around modern PHP, and all three released updates in the past month.
The bigger change is that the question has moved. In 2022 people asked which framework was fastest to write code in. Today the more useful question is which one your application can stay on for years without a forced rewrite, because that is where the real cost of a framework sits.
Laravel vs CodeIgniter vs CakePHP at a glance
| Framework | Current release | PHP needed | Support policy | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laravel | 13.36.0, released 13 October 2026 | 8.3 to 8.5 for Laravel 13 | Bug fixes for 18 months and security fixes for 2 years on every major release | Products and internal systems that will grow |
| CodeIgniter | 4.7.5, released 9 October 2026 | 8.2 or newer | The requirements page lists which PHP versions each release supports | Small applications on modest hosting |
| CakePHP | 5.4.3, released 3 October 2026 | 8.2 or newer to install | The previous major gets 24 months of active support and 36 months of security fixes | Teams that already know it, or want strict conventions |
Release numbers come from each project's GitHub releases page. The support policies come from the Laravel release notes, the CodeIgniter server requirements and the CakePHP release policy, all checked on 16 October 2026.
Where each framework earns its place
Laravel
Laravel's strength is how much comes in the box. Authentication, queues for background work, scheduled tasks, mail, file storage and a testing setup are all first-party, so a developer spends the first weeks on your product rather than on plumbing. Because so much of it is standard, another Laravel developer can usually find their way around the codebase quickly, which matters the day you need someone new.
The cost is pace. A new major version arrives every year, so an application has to be upgraded on a schedule. When Laravel is the right fit covers where it works, where it does not, and which version an application should be on.
CodeIgniter
CodeIgniter is small, fast to learn and undemanding to host. It suits a focused application with a handful of screens, built by one developer who wants the framework to stay out of the way.
It gives you less out of the box, so features Laravel includes have to be added or written. That is fine for a small tool and a growing cost for a product that keeps adding features.
CakePHP
CakePHP is the most opinionated of the three. Name things its way and a great deal works automatically, which keeps every project consistent and makes a codebase easy to read for anyone who knows the conventions.
Fewer developers specialise in it than in Laravel, so finding one can take longer. It is a good choice when the team already has the skill, and a harder one to justify starting from scratch.
The question to ask before you start: how long is it supported?
A framework version and the PHP version under it both stop receiving security fixes on a known date. After that, the application keeps working but nobody is patching it, and the upgrade you put off gets bigger every year.
| Version | Security fixes until | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| PHP 8.2 | 31 December 2026 | Plan the move to 8.3 or newer now |
| PHP 8.3 | 31 December 2027 | Safe for a year, the minimum for Laravel 13 |
| PHP 8.4 | 31 December 2028 | A sensible target for a new build |
| PHP 8.5 | 31 December 2029 | The newest; needs CodeIgniter 4.7 or later |
| Laravel 12 | 24 February 2027 | Upgrade to 13 within the next few months |
| Laravel 13 | Q1 2028 | The version to start a new project on |
| CakePHP 4 | Ended 10 September 2026 | No longer patched; move to CakePHP 5 |
PHP dates are from php.net's supported versions page, checked on 16 October 2026. Where your application runs matters as well, and where to host a PHP application compares the platforms that keep the PHP version current for you.
If you already run one of them
Switching frameworks is rarely worth it on its own. A working CodeIgniter or CakePHP application on a supported version should usually stay where it is, and the money is better spent on the features users are asking for.
The exception is an application on a version that no longer gets fixes, such as CakePHP 4 or Laravel 11 and older. The upgrade then has to happen anyway, and it is the one moment a move to another framework costs little more than staying. What drives the cost of a Laravel build sets out the lines a rebuild is priced on.
If the real case is whether to use PHP at all, whether PHP is still a good choice for a new web application compares it with Node.js and Python.
If the PHP application is a WordPress site rather than a framework build, the same support dates apply, and what a host PHP upgrade can break on WordPress covers what to check when your host moves it.
The part the framework does not decide
Most business applications live or die on what they connect to: the CRM, the accounting system, the payment provider, the email tool. All three frameworks can call an API equally well, so the framework choice changes very little here.
What changes the result is how those connections are designed, retried and watched once they are live. How a custom API integration is actually built walks through that, and some connections are cheaper to run outside the application entirely as workflow automation in Zapier, Make or n8n.
Where AI fits in a PHP application
None of the three frameworks needs anything special to use AI. A language model is another API, so a PHP application can summarise a support ticket, draft a reply, classify an enquiry or search its own documents by meaning, whichever framework it is written in.
What matters more is designing the application around those features from the start: where the model's answer is checked, what happens when it is wrong, and what data it may see. That is what what AI-first app development means describes, and it is how our AI web and app development work is scoped. For the schedule rather than the stack, how long an AI app takes to build sets out each stage.
Common questions
Is Laravel better than CodeIgniter?
For a growing application, usually yes, because it includes queues, scheduling, authentication and testing out of the box. CodeIgniter is lighter and quicker to learn, which makes it a reasonable choice for a small, focused tool.
Is CakePHP still maintained?
Yes. CakePHP 5 is actively developed, and version 5.4.3 was released on 3 October 2026. CakePHP 4 stopped receiving security fixes on 10 September 2026, so applications on it should move to version 5.
Is CodeIgniter dead?
No. CodeIgniter 4 is maintained, and version 4.7.5 was released on 9 October 2026. Its requirements page lists which PHP versions each release supports, and PHP 8.5 needs CodeIgniter 4.7 or later.
Which PHP version should a new project use?
PHP 8.4 or 8.5. PHP 8.4 receives security fixes until 31 December 2028 and PHP 8.5 until 31 December 2029, while PHP 8.2 stops at the end of 2026.
Can you build our application in Laravel?
Yes. We build web applications AI-first, connect them to your CRM and other systems, and you own the code and the accounts. Each project is quoted once the scope is clear (our answers page explains why), so tell us what the application needs to do and we will tell you what the first version should include.
