The main reason to use a framework is to reduce development time, make a website secure and multiple teams can work independently(Design and Development).

PHP is the most popular option when it comes to web development. According to wappalyzer in Aug-2021 4,808,000 websites use PHP.

Here is the explanation of the top 7 PHP frameworks based on the number of active websites and features. And other PHP frameworks list.

1. Laravel

Laravel is a free, open-source PHP web framework, created by Taylor Otwell and intended for the development of web applications following the model–view–controller (MVC) architectural pattern and based on Symfony.

Laravel offers a rich set of functionalities that incorporates the basic features of PHP frameworks like CodeIgniter. Laravel has a very rich set of features that will boost the speed of web development.

Laravel is the best PHP framework because of the Easy Authorization technique, Routing, Blade template engine, Migration support, Object-Oriented libraries, Artisan build tool, Security, and MVC Support.

Why Use Laravel Framework :

Fast Development.
High level of security.
In-built authentication and authorization system.
Blade Templating.
Easy mail service integration.
Easy to learn.

2. CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter is an Application Development Framework - a toolkit - for people who build websites using PHP.

Its goal is to enable you to develop projects much faster than you could if you were writing code from scratch, by providing a rich set of libraries for commonly needed tasks, as well as a simple interface and logical structure to access these libraries.

CodeIgniter lets you creatively focus on your project by minimizing the amount of code needed for a given task.

Why use CodeIgniter Framework:

Supports easy migration from a server hosting to server hosting.
Simplifies the PHP syntax.
Simple and Easy to learn.
Lightweight.

3. Yii

Yii is an open-source, object-oriented, component-based MVC PHP web application framework. Yii is pronounced as "Yee" or [ji:] and in Chinese, it means "simple and evolutionary" and it can be an acronym for "Yes It Is!".

The Yii framework has a component-based architecture and full solid caching support. Therefore, it is suitable for building all kinds of Web applications: forums, portals, content management systems, RESTful services, e-commerce websites, and so forth.

Why use Yii Framework :

The functionality and unit testing is based on PHPUnit and Selenium.
Detailed documentation and tutorial of every single method
date and time formatting, message translation, number formatting, and interface localization.
offers tools for speedily generating code through features such as CRUD and form inputs.
It allows third-party interfaces by merging different frameworks with it.

4. Zend

Zend Framework is a collection of professional PHP packages with more than 413 million installations. It can be used to develop web applications and services using PHP 5.6+ and provides 100% object-oriented code using a broad spectrum of language features.

Zend Framework provides users a support of the Model View Controller (MVC) in combination with the Front Controller solution.

MVC implementation in Zend Framework has five main areas. The router and dispatcher functions to decide which controller to run based on data from URL, and controller functions in combination with the model and view to develop and create the final web page.

The framework uses various packages by the use of Composer as part of its package dependency managers. some of them are PHPUnit for testing all packages.

Why use Zend Framework :

architecture with loosely coupled components and minimal interdependencies.
Support for multiple database systems and vendors.
Zend framework is Completely Object Oriented.
High-quality, object-oriented PHP 5 class library giving attention to best practices.
Supports the use of multi-language.
Zend Framework supports multiple database systems.

5. Symfony

Symfony is a PHP web application framework and a set of reusable PHP components/libraries. Symfony was published as free software on October 18, 2005, and released under the MIT license.

Symfony is faster because it allows developers to save time by re-using generic modules in order to focus on other areas. Without, however, ever being tied to the framework itself.

Besides a framework, there are other solutions that are available to develop both Web sites and Web applications: CMSs (Content Management System) and their supplemental modules, as well as packaged professional solutions (CRM, e-commerce solutions, etc.).

Why use Symfony Framework :

The incredible usage of Reusable Components.
Interoperability.
Caching management.
Flexibility

6. Phalcon

Phalcon is developed by a group of developers where Andres Gutierrez was their team head. Phalcon is an open-source framework of PHP programming language. It is based on the Module View Controller (MVC) pattern.

Phalcon is implemented as a web server extension written in Zephir and C, aiming to boost execution speed, reduce resource usage, and handle more HTTP requests per second than comparable frameworks written primarily in PHP. One drawback of this approach is that root/administrative access is required on the server to install Phalcon by building a custom binary or using a precompiled one.

Why use Phalcon Framework :

C-extensions are loaded together as a one-time process on the webserver.
Good Template engine.
The code is compiled and isn’t interpreted because is already compiled to a specific platform and processor.
Micro application front controller.
Good speed and performance.

7. CakePHP

CakePHP started in April 2005, when a Polish programmer Michal Tatarynowicz wrote a minimal version of a rapid application development framework in PHP, dubbing it Cake.

CakePHP uses well-known software engineering concepts and software design patterns, such as convention over configuration, model–view–controller, active record, association data mapping, and front controller.

The CakePHP website describes itself as - "CakePHP makes building web applications simpler, faster while requiring less code. A modern PHP 7 framework offering a flexible database access layer and a powerful scaffolding system that makes building both small and complex systems simpler, easier, and, of course, tastier. Build fast, grow solid with CakePHP.”

Why use CakePHP Framework :

Supports all kinds of database drivers and database types for both PDO and native.
Flexible Catching.
Less configuration is required.
ORM Support.
Friendly License.

8. FuelPHP

FuelPHP is an MVC (Model-View-Controller) framework that was designed from the ground up to have full support for HMVC as part of its architecture.

They also added ViewModels (also known as presentation models) into the mix which gives you the option to add a powerful layer between the Controller and the View.

FuelPHP also supports a more router-based approach where you might route directly to a closure which deals with the input URI, making the closure the controller and giving it control of further execution.

10. Flight

Flight is a fast, simple, extensible framework for PHP. Flight enables you to quickly and easily build RESTful web applications.

Above are the most popular PHP frameworks. Here is the rest of the list of PHP frameworks

Other PHP Frameworks List

Here is the list of other PHP frameworks :

Kohana
Fat-Free
PHP-Mini
Zikula
Simple PHP Framework
LI3
silex