How does CI4 compare to Laravel for large-scale applications?
Answer
For large-scale applications, Laravel and CodeIgniter 4 have different strengths and trade-offs. Laravel advantages: richer ecosystem (Horizon, Telescope, Sanctum, Octane), more powerful DI container with automatic resolution, Eloquent ORM with more relationship types and query power, first-party packages for common needs, better broadcast/WebSocket support, more mature testing utilities, and the Forge/Vapor deployment platforms. CI4 advantages: lower framework overhead (faster cold starts, less memory), simpler learning curve, less magic (more explicit code), better suited for hosting environments without shell access, and smaller codebase to understand. For teams building complex enterprise applications with advanced features, Laravel is usually the better choice. CI4 excels for smaller teams, performance-critical APIs, and applications where simplicity and low overhead are priorities.