StackShareStackShare
Follow on
StackShare

Discover and share technology stacks from companies around the world.

Follow on

© 2025 StackShare. All rights reserved.

Product

  • Stacks
  • Tools
  • Feed

Company

  • About
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  1. Stackups
  2. Application & Data
  3. Frameworks
  4. Frameworks
  5. CodeIgniter vs PHP-MVC

CodeIgniter vs PHP-MVC

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

CodeIgniter
CodeIgniter
Stacks3.2K
Followers1.5K
Votes466
PHP-MVC
PHP-MVC
Stacks106
Followers222
Votes3

CodeIgniter vs PHP-MVC: What are the differences?

  1. Key Difference 1: Language Support CodeIgniter is based on PHP, which is a popular server-side scripting language. It provides support for a wide range of platforms and operating systems. On the other hand, PHP-MVC is a framework that utilizes the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern and is specifically designed for PHP applications.

  2. Key Difference 2: Modularity CodeIgniter follows a monolithic approach, where all the libraries and components are bundled together, making it relatively easy to set up and use. However, this can lead to a larger footprint and slower performance for larger applications. PHP-MVC, on the other hand, follows a modular approach, allowing developers to pick and choose the specific components they need, resulting in leaner and more efficient applications.

  3. Key Difference 3: Configuration and Convention CodeIgniter relies heavily on configuration files, where developers can define various settings and options. It follows a "convention over configuration" approach, meaning it assumes certain default conventions unless explicitly overridden. PHP-MVC, on the other hand, is more configuration-driven, allowing developers to customize and fine-tune various aspects of the framework to suit their specific needs.

  4. Key Difference 4: Database Management CodeIgniter provides a built-in database abstraction layer, which makes it easier to work with databases. It supports multiple database types, such as MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL, and provides a simple and intuitive interface for performing database operations. PHP-MVC, on the other hand, does not have a built-in database layer and relies on third-party libraries or extensions for database management.

  5. Key Difference 5: Extension and Customization CodeIgniter provides a robust set of built-in libraries and helpers that cover a wide range of functionality, such as form validation, file uploading, and session management. Additionally, it has a large community of developers who contribute plugins and extensions, making it easy to extend the framework's capabilities. PHP-MVC, on the other hand, provides a basic set of libraries and leaves room for developers to customize and extend the framework according to their specific requirements.

  6. Key Difference 6: Learning Curve CodeIgniter has a relatively low learning curve, making it accessible to beginners and allowing them to quickly start building web applications. It has comprehensive documentation and a large community of developers, which makes it easier to find support and resources. PHP-MVC, on the other hand, may have a steeper learning curve, as it requires a solid understanding of the MVC pattern and PHP frameworks in general. However, once mastered, it provides a solid foundation for developing scalable and maintainable applications.

In summary, CodeIgniter is a PHP-based framework that offers simplicity, comprehensive documentation, and a low learning curve, while PHP-MVC provides modularity, customization options, and extensibility for more experienced developers.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs
CLI (Node.js)
or
Manual

Advice on CodeIgniter, PHP-MVC

A
A

Aug 3, 2021

Needs adviceonMySQLMySQLLaravelLaravelVue.jsVue.js

I need to build a web application plus android and IOS apps for an enterprise, like an e-commerce portal. It will have intensive use of MySQL to display thousands (40-50k) of live product information in an interactive table (searchable, filterable), live delivery tracking. It has to be secure, as it will handle information on customers, sales, inventory. Here is the technology stack: Backend: Laravel 7 Frondend: Vue.js, React or AngularJS?

Need help deciding technology stack. Thanks.

300k views300k
Comments
Michael
Michael

Developer at Fleet-Nomics

Sep 11, 2022

Needs adviceonBubbleBubbleCodeIgniterCodeIgniterCakePHPCakePHP

Hi all, I need to create a simple IoT interface application that connects the end device API with a GeoTab API. I am considering using Bubble due to its simple interface and configuration tools, but I fear it's too simple. We will want to add features and new devices as we grow - I was thinking of using CodeIgniter or CakePHP on a hosted site for the application. Must support JCOM encoding between the two APIs and there is no need for a separate interface as GeoTab already has one; we are just connecting and pushing data. Thoughts?

47.4k views47.4k
Comments
Ajeet
Ajeet

Dec 16, 2019

Needs advice

Hi, We are thinking to rebuild a website and need your suggestion on which platform to choose from NodeJs, Laravel & CodeIgnitor. Since it's an education base website and there will be multiple functionalities like the use of graphics, video, animation and off-course forms for lead generation. Please advise us which tool to use to build the website considering load-time, server security, code vulnerability, etc.

216k views216k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

CodeIgniter
CodeIgniter
PHP-MVC
PHP-MVC

CodeIgniter is a proven, agile & open PHP web application framework with a small footprint. It is powering the next generation of web apps.

This project is - by intention - NOT a full framework, it's a bare-bone structure, written in purely native PHP ! The php-mvc skeleton tries to be the extremely slimmed down opposite of big frameworks like Zend2, Symfony or Laravel.

Statistics
Stacks
3.2K
Stacks
106
Followers
1.5K
Followers
222
Votes
466
Votes
3
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 88
    Mvc
  • 76
    Easy setup
  • 70
    Open source
  • 62
    Well documented
  • 36
    Community support
Cons
  • 6
    No ORM
  • 1
    No CLI
Pros
  • 3
    Easy to Learn
Integrations
PHP
PHP
PHP
PHP

What are some alternatives to CodeIgniter, PHP-MVC?

Node.js

Node.js

Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient, perfect for data-intensive real-time applications that run across distributed devices.

Rails

Rails

Rails is a web-application framework that includes everything needed to create database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern.

Django

Django

Django is a high-level Python Web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design.

Laravel

Laravel

It is a web application framework with expressive, elegant syntax. It attempts to take the pain out of development by easing common tasks used in the majority of web projects, such as authentication, routing, sessions, and caching.

.NET

.NET

.NET is a general purpose development platform. With .NET, you can use multiple languages, editors, and libraries to build native applications for web, mobile, desktop, gaming, and IoT for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and more.

ASP.NET Core

ASP.NET Core

A free and open-source web framework, and higher performance than ASP.NET, developed by Microsoft and the community. It is a modular framework that runs on both the full .NET Framework, on Windows, and the cross-platform .NET Core.

Symfony

Symfony

It is written with speed and flexibility in mind. It allows developers to build better and easy to maintain websites with PHP..

Spring

Spring

A key element of Spring is infrastructural support at the application level: Spring focuses on the "plumbing" of enterprise applications so that teams can focus on application-level business logic, without unnecessary ties to specific deployment environments.

Spring Boot

Spring Boot

Spring Boot makes it easy to create stand-alone, production-grade Spring based Applications that you can "just run". We take an opinionated view of the Spring platform and third-party libraries so you can get started with minimum fuss. Most Spring Boot applications need very little Spring configuration.

Android SDK

Android SDK

Android provides a rich application framework that allows you to build innovative apps and games for mobile devices in a Java language environment.

Related Comparisons

Bootstrap
Materialize

Bootstrap vs Materialize

Laravel
Django

Django vs Laravel vs Node.js

Bootstrap
Foundation

Bootstrap vs Foundation vs Material UI

Node.js
Spring Boot

Node.js vs Spring-Boot

Liquibase
Flyway

Flyway vs Liquibase