Laravel

Laravel has become the reference PHP framework for modern monolithic applications. Its philosophy: convention over configuration, batteries included, maximum development velocity. For an SMB that wants a complete web app with back-office, auth, payment and integrated front, Laravel offers one of the most complete ecosystems on the market: Filament for admins, Livewire for dynamic frontend without JS, Cashier for billing. Unlike Symfony which excels on API backends and long-term complex apps, Laravel shines where monolithic coherence and velocity matter.

• →SymfonyFor REST API backends or complex business apps designed over 10 years: complementary, not competingView page
• →Symfony + API PlatformIf the need is exclusively a robust REST APIView page
• →Next.js full-stackIf the team prefers TypeScript to PHP for full-stackView page
• →Ruby on RailsPhilosophy very close to Laravel, but in Ruby: valid choice if the team prefers

1. 01

   Filament systematically for back-office: it has become the reference PHP admin

2. 02

   Livewire or Inertia.js for frontend depending on the team: avoid a separate SPA when possible

3. 03

   Tests with Pest (preferred to PHPUnit): more concise syntax, better readability

4. 04

   Sanctum or Fortify for auth: avoid rewriting what the ecosystem does well

5. 05

   Laravel Forge or Vapor for deployment, or classic Docker depending on preferences

• Laravel or Symfony: how to choose?

  Laravel for a complete monolith (back-office + front) to deliver fast, with an ecosystem that natively covers most needs. Symfony for a REST API backend (often via API Platform), a decoupled architecture, or complex business apps designed over 10 years. Both are excellent frameworks. They answer distinct needs, they don't compete head-on.
• How much does a Laravel project cost?

  For a medium monolithic application (back-office + frontend, 4-6 business modules), expect €4,000 to €15,000. For a multi-tenant SaaS with billing and full auth, €8,000 to €25,000. Laravel significantly accelerates first milestones thanks to its ecosystem (Filament, Cashier): often 30-40% faster than a Symfony equivalent for the same scope.
• Is Filament really worth it?

  Yes, it has become the reference for PHP back-offices. Filament generates complete CRUDs, dashboards, widgets. Often 70-80% of the back-office is delivered without writing custom code. For a team that would have spent weeks on a custom admin, it's a considerable time saving. The learning curve is fast (1-2 days to become productive).
• Does Laravel really scale?

  Yes, without difficulty for the vast majority of SMBs. Significant SaaS (Flarum, Invoice Ninja, Statamic) run on Laravel at scale. Classic optimizations (Redis cache, Laravel Horizon queues, read/write separation) are enough to handle millions of requests per day. Beyond that, like any framework, architectural adjustments become necessary, but that's rarely an SMB's concern.
• Livewire or Inertia.js?

  Livewire if you want to stay 100% PHP-centric, write server-side HTML with transparent dynamic, excellent for back-end teams. Inertia.js if you want to write the front in Vue or React but keep routing and session Laravel-side, good hybrid for mixed teams. Both are production-ready and directly supported by Laravel.