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Head-to-head · Frameworks

Grails vs Symfony MakerBundle

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Grails #4 in Frameworks 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Grails
Symfony MakerBundle #7 in Frameworks 8.6/10 Open source ✓ 1 of 4 features Explore MakerBundle

Grails leads on 0 checks, Symfony MakerBundle on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreGrails · 9.0/10
  • Free planonly Grails
  • Most featuresGrails · 3 of 4

Grails scores higher on our rubric for frameworks: 9.0 against 8.6 out of 10; our editors rank them #4 and #7.

Grails is the better fit for full-stack JVM teams using Groovy or Java. Symfony MakerBundle is the better fit for symfony developers needing code scaffolding.

  • Grails fits best

    Full-stack JVM teams using Groovy or Java

  • Symfony MakerBundle fits best

    Symfony developers needing code scaffolding

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Side by side

Feature Grails 9.0/10 Visit ↗ Symfony MakerBundle 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.0 8.6
Ranking #4 in Frameworks #7 in Frameworks
Best for Full-stack JVM teams using Groovy or Java Symfony developers needing code scaffolding
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Open source
Free plan ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Integrations 9 integrations 4 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Grails 3/4 · Symfony MakerBundle 1/4
Open source ✓ ✓
Self-hosting ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Database tools ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Managed hosting — Not checked yet
Specs
Framework scope Full-stack Not checked yet
Supported languages Groovy, Java PHP
Target platforms JVM, Unix-like operating systems, Windows Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • GORM supports relational and non-relational data access.
  • Web and REST profiles, HTML and JSON views support full-stack work.
  • Gradle tooling, plugins and asynchronous programming extend the framework.
  • Generates controllers, Doctrine entities, forms, tests, validators and voters
  • Custom maker commands support project-specific boilerplate generation
  • Integrates with Symfony Console, Composer and PHP-CS-Fixer
Cons
  • Requires JVM and Groovy or Java expertise.
  • Deployment is self-hosted rather than managed.
  • Support is through community resources and documentation.
  • Focused on Symfony applications and PHP projects
  • Requires Composer installation and a self-hosted Symfony environment
  • Support is centered on community resources and documentation
Our verdict

Grails is an open-source, full-stack web application framework for the Java platform, built around Groovy and Spring Boot. It is aimed at teams developing JVM applications that want server-side web and REST capabilities in one framework.…

Read the review →

Symfony MakerBundle is an open-source bundle for developers building Symfony applications in PHP. Through Symfony’s bin/console interface, it generates common application classes and supporting code, including console commands,…

Read the review →
  1. GrailsFrameworks 9.0Free plan
  2. Symfony MakerBundleFrameworks 8.6Open source

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Grails — where it wins

    • GORM supports relational and non-relational data access.
    • Web and REST profiles, HTML and JSON views support full-stack work.
    • Gradle tooling, plugins and asynchronous programming extend the framework.

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires JVM and Groovy or Java expertise.
    • Deployment is self-hosted rather than managed.
    • Support is through community resources and documentation.

  • Symfony MakerBundle — where it wins

    • Generates controllers, Doctrine entities, forms, tests, validators and voters
    • Custom maker commands support project-specific boilerplate generation
    • Integrates with Symfony Console, Composer and PHP-CS-Fixer

    Where it doesn't

    • Focused on Symfony applications and PHP projects
    • Requires Composer installation and a self-hosted Symfony environment
    • Support is centered on community resources and documentation
  • Grails9.0/10 · Free plan

    Grails combines Groovy, Spring Boot controllers and GORM for self-hosted JVM applications.

    Visit GrailsFull verdict →
  • Symfony MakerBundle8.6/10 · Open source

    A focused Symfony scaffolding bundle that turns repetitive PHP setup into configurable console commands.

    Explore MakerBundleFull verdict →

More comparisons

All frameworks comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update