A Comprehensive Comparison Between Laravel and ThinkPHP

The PHP ecosystem is home to a vast array of frameworks.

Among these, Laravel stands as the most widely adopted PHP framework globally. In contrast, ThinkPHP, a framework originating from China, continues to be a preferred choice for a significant number of projects within the Chinese market.

* This information is current as of February 2026.

Laravel and ThinkPHP Overview

① Laravel ：The Global Standard for Modern Frameworks

Developed in 2011 by Taylor Otwell (Laravel LLC), Laravel is a PHP framework characterized by its elegant syntax. It provides a significant competitive advantage, particularly in the development of international projects.

The framework was designed with multilingual support in mind from the ground up. With extensive official documentation in English and active translations into many other languages, it enables seamless learning and information sharing across global development teams.

Technically, Laravel achieves exceptional flexibility and scalability through its rich feature set and a robust architecture centered on the Service Container. This makes it an ideal foundation for complex, large-scale projects, delivering high performance while ensuring maintainability and future growth.

Furthermore, Laravel boasts a strong track record of global adoption due to its comprehensive integration support for international cloud services and third-party APIs, such as AWS, Stripe, and Slack.

• Rich Feature Set: Eloquent ORM, Blade templating, migrations, etc.
• Vibrant Ecosystem: Numerous official and community packages (Laravel Forge, Vapor, etc.)
• Excellent Documentation: Multilingual support covering everyone from beginners to advanced users.
• Modern Development Practices: Service containers, middleware, event systems, etc.
• Strong Community: A global developer network with regular updates.

② ThinkPHP：A Practical Framework for the Chinese Market

First released in 2006 (originally under the name FCS), ThinkPHP is a PHP framework designed to be simple, lightweight, and capable of high-speed execution.

The framework excels in its specialized support for the unique requirements of the Chinese development landscape. It offers extensive documentation tailored to domestic needs and boasts strong native integration with major Chinese services, including Alipay, WeChat, and Baidu.

Because ThinkPHP is fundamentally optimized for the Chinese market and Chinese-speaking environments, it remains a critical skill for developers working on domestic projects within China.

• Extensive Chinese Documentation: Provides a lower learning curve for Chinese-speaking engineers.
• Optimized for the Domestic Market: Supports China-specific features, including integration with Alipay, WeChat, and various localized payment systems.
• MVC Architecture: Follows a traditional Model-View-Controller structure that is easy to understand and implement.
• High Customizability: Offers flexible configuration and extensibility to meet diverse project requirements.
• Lightweight and Fast: Delivers high performance through its streamlined and efficient structure.

Comparison of Laravel and ThinkPHP

This section summarizes the primary differences between Laravel and ThinkPHP.

* This information is current as of January 2026. Specifications and features are subject to change in future updates.

Selecting the Right Framework for Your Project

① Laravel：New Development and International Projects

While ThinkPHP remains widely used for domestic development projects within China, recent years have seen a steady increase in the adoption of Laravel for new builds and international assignments.

For instance, in projects involving foreign-affiliated enterprises (such as Japanese firms) or cross-border e-commerce services, there is a high demand for global standards in design, maintainability, and scalability. Laravel is exceptionally well-suited for these requirements, offering robust coding conventions, advanced security architecture, comprehensive API development tools, and a vast package ecosystem.

Furthermore, when looking toward future overseas expansion or long-term scalability, Laravel often proves more sustainable for ongoing operations than ThinkPHP. Consequently, the number of engineers proficient in Laravel is rising annually, particularly among young developers in China and those with extensive experience in international project environments.

② ThinkPHP：Chinese Projects and Legacy System Maintenance

On the other hand, for projects exclusively targeting the Chinese market, the ThinkPHP framework remains a viable and effective choice.

Originally, ThinkPHP gained widespread adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and development agencies across China due to its comprehensive Chinese-language documentation and low learning curve. Consequently, a vast number of websites and enterprise systems developed between the late 2000s and the 2010s were built using the ThinkPHP framework.

Even today, ThinkPHP is frequently utilized for domestic projects within China, as well as for the ongoing maintenance and refactoring of legacy systems.

Summary

The demand for Laravel in China is steadily increasing. For new development and international assignments, selecting Laravel is becoming the natural and standard choice.

However, for development specialized for the Chinese market or the maintenance of legacy systems, the technical expertise and insights surrounding ThinkPHP remain essential.

Ultimately, this is not a simple debate over which framework is “superior.” The key perspective is that the optimal framework changes based on the specific nature of the project and its future roadmap.

When undertaking system development in China, it is vital to clarify project requirements, evaluate the target market, and consider future scalability before selecting the most suitable framework for your needs.

For website creation, server construction/operation