While building PHP-based web applications, developers often choose a framework that will serve the project's requirements well. It is admittedly a difficult choice, especially considering the vast number of popular PHP frameworks available in the market. So while there are a variety of options to choose from, there are two names that stand out: Laravel and Yii.

While Laravel is more suited when you need to build a complex syntax application, Yii is a better option when you need a high-performance framework that facilitates a rapid development process. It is easy to see why developers and businesses might struggle between picking one between these frameworks. Nonetheless, the decision must be made. So, to help you out with it, we put together a quick Yii vs. Laravel comparison, so you can how these two are different from one another and then decide which one works better for your development project's requirements.

1. Installation: Laravel makes use of Composer PHP for installation, which helps guarantee correct installation sans any bugs. Besides that, Laravel also includes Laravel Installer which is accompanied by a guide to help developers with the installation process. Yii can also be simple to install since it gets a template. However, developers must first download a web app to run the software.

2. Validation: If a user wishes to carry out scenario-based validation, Laravel isn't the solution you are looking for since it doesn't offer a relevant package. Laravel doesn't provide any construct to validate a model in distinct contexts. On the other hand, you can use Yii for assigning a model from request parameters as well as its validation. Long story short, you can tend to both these situations with Yii. And not only that, but Yii also allows you to tailor the code by your needs.

3. Routing: With Laravel, the user must declare the route to every action of the controller. Also, if the course is already defined, the function of a controller can be accessed from anywhere outside. Also, it operates on the principle that the framework must offer a default route. Whereas with Yii, you don't need a path for every action since all route actions are detected by default.

4. Debugging: As far as debugging is concerned, Laravel wins hands down since it provides several options, including Imho and logging. So while some might think Imho is limited, it can prove to be quite resourceful while addressing issues associated with the laravel-debugbar extension. Yii gets a debugging console with several level logging options for database requests logging as well as debugging.

5. Security: While Laravel doesn’t have many assessment tools, you can sufficiently ensure safety via extensions. In case you were wondering, Laravel offers about 9,000 extensions to choose from. Also, like Laravel, Yii and others offer different levels of security to users, which includes authentication, passwords, cross-site request forgery, site scripting, SQL injections, and more.

Laravel and Yii, both robust frameworks, come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages. While both of them can be utilized in full stack development, the ultimate choice between them remains subjective. Nonetheless, many experts believe Laravel has the edge over Yii. So, if you decide to opt for Laravel application development, make sure you hire a trusted service provider to ensure you have a high-quality app at the end of the process.