Laravel vs Lumen: Which One Is Better For You?
Are you owning a startup and planning to launch your website or mobile app or both? You should hire a developer who can help you with this. However, you can be in confusion regarding what type of developer you must hire! A Laravel developer or a Lumen Developer?
Startups require developers all the time. However, before hiring one, they must understand the type of developer ideal for them. If you’re also in trouble and can’t select one in the Laravel vs Lumen battle, then we’re here to help you out. Keep reading!
Full Stack Framework vs Micro Framework
Before knowing in detail about Laravel and Lumen, let’s discuss the differences between Full stack framework and Micro Framework.
As the name suggests, Full stack framework is a complete web development framework involving all the required elements of web development. Various steps of this type of framework include web serving, generating HTML and managing databases, etc.
Laravel is an example of a Full stack framework.
Micro Frameworks are different from Full stack ones as they are designed to solve particular design related issues. If you’re planning to start with a smaller application, then you might use Micro Framework. Lumen is a type of Micro Framework.
We hope the Full Stack framework vs Micro Framework factors are clear to you? Now, let’s move towards the Lumen vs Laravel discussion.
What Is Laravel?
Laravel is a full stack development framework that is open-source. This PHP framework can build any type of web application regardless of its features.
Hence, it doesn’t matter if you’re running a startup or a large organization; Laravel can always be your go-to development framework.
Let’s have an understanding of Laravel’s pros and cons:
Pros
- Numerous libraries filled with cool feature templates, the availability of an in-built database migration system
- Lesser time required for coding and you can get better efficiency
- Laravel can create applications which are secured and can fight any types of web attacks
Cons
- Developers often complain Laravel to be a slow framework
- You need to hire Laravel experts to operate this framework as armature developers cannot handle this framework
- Community support is lesser for Laravel framework
What Is Lumen?
Lumen is a Micro Framework and you can use it for fewer number of applications as it is designed to create specific solutions only. However, you can get some coolest features that are unique to Lumen.
For example, it is fast and needs less financial investment. Hence, startups are particularly in favor of Lumen in the Laravel vs Lumen confusion.
Lets’ now discuss the pros and cons of this framework.
Pros
- You have the option to upgrade your Lumen framework to Laravel whenever you want
- Developers take lesser time to understand Lumen and they often praise the less complicated features of Lumen
- It is unarguably the fastest Micro Framework till now with a speed of 100/rps
Cons
- You can use Lumen for specific solutions only.
- Lumen only works fine with Laravel
- Some of the limitations of Laravel are also visible in Lumen
Laravel vs Lumen: A Featured-Based Comparison
1. Architecture
The architectural factor in Lumen vs Laravel is that Lumen is a type of Micro Framework whereas Laravel is a type of Full Stack Framework. However, you must also know that Lumen is a subset of Laravel.
2. Usage
The usage of both Lumen and Laravel are completely different from each other. Lumen is a lighter version of Laravel. This Micro Framework is typically used for designing small applications with lesser features.
To describe simply, if you own a startup, Lumen is a better option for you and if you run a large organization, go for Laravel.
3. Integration
In the Laravel vs Lumen discussion, the mentioning of the integration feature is essential. Both of these frameworks have different types of integration facilities. For example, in the case of Laravel, the integration is with the PHP programming language.
On the contrary, if you’re using Lumen, you can notice the integration with 3rd party tools for accessing new features. So, a basic integration difference remains.
4. Platform
For any web development framework, the developers should know about the platform that the framework supports.
So, if you’re opting for Laravel, you’re stress-free, as Laravel is compatible with all systems and platforms. In fact, Lumen too supports all platforms as Lumen is a subset of Laravel.
Thus , in the Lumen vs Laravel discussion, the platform is not a factor of difference. It basically shows that from a platform perspective, both Lumen and Laravel are similar.
5. Request
This factor in the Laravel vs Lumen discussion is related to the speed of these frameworks. The number of requests handled by Laravel is higher than that of Lumen. This is the reason why Lumen is the fastest Micro Framework whereas Laravel is much slower.
To be precise, Lumen handles 100 requests per second. So, if speed is your requirement, then you know which framework to choose.
6. Community
Though Lumen is a subset of Laravel, community support is bigger in the case of Lumen. You can easily seek help from many individual contributors if you’re facing any challenges with the Lumen framework.
7. License
The licensing factor is also necessary to discuss in the case of Laravel vs Lumen discussion. In both cases, you can opt for an MIT license. Hence, this is more of a similarity than a difference, isn’t it?
Read also: Exploring The Top Features of Laravel 6
8. Response Time
Lumen is faster and its response time is much lesser compared to Laravel. This accounts for a major difference between the two.
9. Speed
Lumen is not only speedier than Laravel but also it is faster than most Micro Frameworks out there. Hence, if you’re a startup owner and looking for a speedy framework, go for Lumen without any further doubts.
10. Learning Curve
The learning curve for Lumen is smaller as this framework is simpler and you need less time to learn its features. The same cannot be stated for Laravel as the learning curve, in this case, is bigger.
11. Template
There are numerous libraries and in-built templates within Laravel and this feature of Laravel sets it apart in the Laravel vs Lumen discussion. As a web developer, you have more tools to create a cool app by using Laravel.
12. ORM
From the ORM framework perspective, Laravel can outperform Lumen, any day. The expressive features of Laravel mark its success in this case.
However, Lumen does not have any such feature. But then again, Lumen is a version of Laravel itself.
13. Handling Database Queries
Finally, you must know that Laravel has an in-built database migration system. Therefore, it is obvious that Laravel handles database and SQL queries in a better manner as compared to Lumen.
Conclusion
It’s time that we wrap-up our Lumen vs Laravel discussion. Let us tell you that there is not one particular framework that you can consider as perfect.
Both Laravel App Development and Lumen Development have their pros and cons and both have their own sets of unique features. So select the one that best suits your requirements.
FAQ
Laravel works best when you’re dealing with event queuing and enterprise level apps. While lumen works better when you’re dealing with micro level APIs. So, as per the situation, you need to choose one of two.
Laravel was invented by Taylor Otwell. The same man created Lumen, which is a micro version of Laravel. So, it is lightweight, smaller and faster. Sometimes, when people want to develop light web apps, Lumen is useful.
The simple answer to this question would be, YES. Laravel is the faster PHP web framework to have arrived in recent times. The fast & well-organized process plus code reusability features makes Laravel the fastest among all.
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