# The 10 Most Popular PHP Frameworks and Their Creators

By Bobby Iliev, 2021-03-14. https://bobbyiliev.com/post/the-10-most-popular-php-frameworks-and-their-creators/

# Introduction

It would be really intimidating if you had to start from scratch and reinvent the wheel every time you were to start a new project.

Luckily in 2021 there is a vast number of brilliant PHP frameworks out there that you can use.

In my opinion using a framework is a must as it would help you structure your project, so that in case that there were other people working on the project they would be able to easily find their way around.

In this post I will list out the 10 most popular PHP frameworks and their creatos!

# Laravel

Laravel is a web application framework with expressive, elegant syntax. This is my personal favourite framework! I love the Laravel ecosystem and all of the great open source tools that you could use.

* Website: [https://laravel.com](laravel.com)
* Creator: [Taylor Otwell](https://twitter.com/taylorotwell)
* Release date: June 2011
* Source code: [Laravel Source Code](https://github.com/laravel/laravel)
* Logo:
![Laravel logo](https://imgur.com/FC5R3ue.png)

# Symfony

* Website: [https://symfony.com/](https://symfony.com/)
* Creator: [https://sensiolabs.com/](SensioLabs SAS)
* Release date: 22 October 2005
* Source code: [Symfony Source Code](https://github.com/symfony/symfony)
* Logo:
![Symfony Logo](https://imgur.com/T6kYVo6.png)

# CodeIgniter

* Website: [https://codeigniter.com/](https://codeigniter.com/)
* Creator: [British Columbia Institute of Technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Institute_of_Technology)
* Release date: February 28, 2006
* Source code: [CodeIgniter Source Code](https://github.com/bcit-ci/CodeIgniter)
* Logo:
![CodeIgniter Logo](https://imgur.com/CW9nZK2.png)

# Zend Framework / Laminas Project

The Laminas Project is an open-source continuation of Zend Framework, a PHP framework and component library targeting enterprise applications.

* Website: [https://getlaminas.org/](https://getlaminas.org/)
* Creator: [Zend](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zend_(company))
* Release date: March 2006
* Source code: [Laminas Source Code](https://github.com/laminas/laminas-mvc-skeleton)
* Logo:
![Laminas Logo](https://imgur.com/UUphaE5.png)

# Yii (Framework)

* Website: [https://www.yiiframework.com/](https://www.yiiframework.com/)
* Team: [Yii Team](https://www.yiiframework.com/team)
* Release date: December 2008
* Source code: [Yii  Source Code](https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2)
* Logo:
![Yii Logo](https://imgur.com/MHkZ8bZ.png)

# CakePHP

* Website: [https://cakephp.org/](https://cakephp.org/)
* Creator: [Michal Tatarynowicz](https://www.toptal.com/resume/michal-tatarynowicz)
* Release date: April 2005
* Source code: [CakePHP Source Code](https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/)
* Logo:
![CakePHP logo](https://imgur.com/llQbqzv.png)

# Slim

* Website: [https://www.slimframework.com/](https://www.slimframework.com/)
* Creator: [Josh Lockhart](https://github.com/codeguy)
* Release date: v1.0.0 was released on Nov 2 2010
* Source code: [Slim Source Code](https://github.com/slimphp/Slim)
* Logo:
![Slim PHP Logo](https://imgur.com/9xBBCpM.png)

# Phalcon

* Website: [https://phalcon.io](https://phalcon.io)
* Creator: [https://github.com/andresgutierrez](Andres Gutierrez)
* Release date: November 14, 2012
* Source code: [Phalcon Source Code](https://github.com/phalcon/cphalcon)
* Logo:
![Phalcon Logo](https://imgur.com/uRcLEZu.png)

# FuelPHP

* Website: [https://fuelphp.com/](https://fuelphp.com/)
* Creator: [FuelPHP developer team](https://www.fuelphp.com/about/)
* Release date: October 2010
* Source code: [FuelPHP Source Code](https://github.com/fuel/fuel)
* Logo:
![FuelPHP Logo](https://imgur.com/kfClqrK.png)

# Fat-Free Framework

* Website: [https://fatfreeframework.com/](https://fatfreeframework.com/)
* Creator: Commonly called F3
* Release date: 2009
* Source code: [Fat-Free Source Code](https://github.com/bcosca/fatfree)
* Logo:
![Fat-Free Logo](https://imgur.com/kb1aEmO.png)

# Conclusion

If you are just getting started with coding, it might be a bit overwhelming to have to learn a whole Framework. But in the long run this is going to save you a lot fo development time!

If I missed a framework that you think should be on the list make sure to let me know by tagging me on Twitter: [@bobbyiliev_](https://twitter.com/bobbyiliev_)