Difference Between Lumen and Laravel

Both Lumen and Laravel are frameworks used for backend web development. We will discuss what is Lumen, features of Lumen, advantages and disadvantages and applications of Lumen. Similarly we will discuss Laravel in this article. Then we will discuss differences between Lumen and Laravel.

What is Lumen?

Lumen is framework used for small project. It is micro-framework used in backend web development. We use PHP prorgamming language in Lumen. Lumen is lightweight version of Laravel. Lumen is a open-source framework. You can learn Lumen if you know PHP programming language. 

Features of Lumen

These are various features of Lumen given as below -

• Composer: It uses Composer for dependency management. We install third party libraries to manage dependencies efficiently.
• Routing: Lumen provides routing system to define routes in your application.
• Middleware: Lumen supports middleware to manage requests and responses.
• Configuration: We configure settings in environment files.
• ORM: Lumen supports ORM to handle database operations.
• Authentication: Lumen provides simple authentication features for APIs and microservices.
• Redis: Lumen supports Redis for session and cache management.
• Queues: It has queues for background tasks.
• Testing: Lumen supports testing features for different types of test cases.

Advantages and disadvantages of Lumen

These are various advantages and disadvantages of Lumen given as below -

Advantages	Disadvantages
It is lightweight version	It has limited features than Laravel.
We use Lumen to build APIs and microservices.	We do not use Lumen to build large applications.
It is easy to learn for PHP developers.	It may require more configurations for large projects.
Lumen provides simple routing system.	Lumen does not have feature like Blade templating.

Applications of Lumen

These are various uses of Lumen given as below -

• API Development: We use Lumen to develop RESTfyl APIs for mobile apps and other services.
• Microservices: We use Lumen to develop small services in a microservices architecture.
• Real-Time Applications: We use Lumen to develop real-time applications.

What is Laravel?

Laravel is a framework used in backend web development using PHP programming langauge. Laravel is a open-source framework with model-view-controller design pattern. Laravel reuses existing components of different frameworks. Laravel provides a rich set of functionalities and features. You can learn Laravel framework easily if you know basic and advanced PHP. A website prevents prevents several web attacks if you used Laravel to develop this website. 

Features of Laravel

These are various features of Laravel as given below -

• Routing: Users can define routes in the web application in the Laravel. It increases performance.
  
• Configuration Management: Applications can run on different environments with constant changes. Laravel handles its configuration in an efficient way.
  
• Query Builder and ORM: Laravel provides query builders for querying databases using various simple chain methods. It provides Object Relational Mapper (ORM).
  
• Schema Builder: It keeps the database definitions and schema in PHP code.
  
• Template Engine: It is used to design hierarchical blocks and layouts with predefined blocks that include dynamic content.
  
• E-mail: We use mail class to send mails.
• Composer: It is tool with all the dependencies and libraries. We can create a project with respect given frameworks. You can install third party libraries with help of composer. It uses composer.json file to store installed third party libraries.
  
• Artisan: It is command line interface in the Laravel.
  
• Modularity: Laravel provides 20 built in libraries and modules.
  
• Testability: We can test our code through various test cases.
• Authentication: Laravel provides authentication methods for user authentication.
  
• Redis: We connect sessions using Redis in Laravel.
  
• Queues: We use queue services to complete tasks without any delay.
  
• Event and Command Bus: Laravel provides Command Bus.

Advantages and disadvantages of Laravel

These are various advantages and disadvantages of Laravel as given below -

Advantages	Disadvantages
It is simple in coding because of built-in functions.	It has less features than any other framework.
It is secure because of strong security features like encrypted passwords.	It has limited support.
It is scalable, so we can handle any size project.	It is expensive.
It is easy to learn because of clear documentation and avaliable tutorials.	It is slower than any other frameworks.
We can migrate data easily, so it is simple to move data between systems.	It updates frequently, so it can cause differet issues with older versions.

Applications of Laravel

Larvael is framework to develop different types of web applications. There are different uses of Laravel given as below -

• API Development: We can develop APIs for mobile apps and other applications.
• eCommerce Platforms: We can create secure and scalable online store websites with features like shopping carts.
• Content Management Systems (CMS): We can create websites with dynamic content, i.e., blogs, news portals.

Difference Between Lumen and Laravel

These are some differences between Lumen and Laravel given as below in the table -

Lumen	Laravel
Lumen is micro-framework to develop APIs and microservices.	Laravel is full-stack web application framework.
We use PHP programming language in Lumen.	We use PHP programming language in Laravel too.
It is faster becasue of less minimal bootstrapping.	It is slower than Lumen.
Lumen provides limited configuration options.	Laravel is more configurable and extensible.
We use Lumen for lightweight APIs and microservices.	We use Laravel for more web applications.
Lumen provides FastRoute for improved performance.	Laravel provides symfony routing.
Lumen does not support Blade templating.	Laravel supports views Blade templating engine.
We need to enable ORM manually in Lumen.	ORM is enabled by default in Laravel.
Lumen does not support sessions (stateless design).	Laravel supports sessions (stateless design).
Lumen has minimum middleware to focus on speed.	Laravel has predefined and extendable middleware.
Lumen has limited support of Artisan Commands.	Laravel fully support Artisan Commands.
Lumen provides stateless and token-based authentication only.	Laravel support full session-based authentication.
Lumen does not support Event Queues.	Laravel supports Event Queues.
We use Lumen for stateless APIs and microservices.	We use Laravel for full web applications, like user interfaces.

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed Lumen and Laravel. Both Lumen and Laravel are framework used for web development. We use PHP programming languages in both frameworks. We have discussed what is Lumen, features of Lumen, advantages and disadvantages and applications of Lumen. Similarly, we have discussed Laravel in this article. Then we have discussed differences between Lumen and Laravel.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Que-1: When do you use Lumen instead of Laravel?

Ans: We use Lumen to build lightweight APIS, microservies and real-time applications. We use Laravel to build large applications.

Que-2: Can you switch from Lumen to Laravel if your project grows?

Ans: Yes, we can switch from Lumen to Laravel because both framework has similar similar components and use PHP. 

Que-3: Is Lumen harder to learn compared to Laravel?

Ans: No, Lumen is not harder to learn. It is easier to learn because both Lumen and Laravel use PHP programming language, so you can switch framework to learn.