Laradock vs Symfony Docker

What is Symfony Docker?

Symfony Docker is a project template by Kévin Dunglas (a Symfony core member and the author of FrankenPHP). It ships a Dockerfile and compose.yaml built around FrankenPHP, giving a new Symfony app a modern, production-capable runtime with HTTP/2, HTTPS, and a built-in worker mode. Separately, the Symfony CLI provides a fast local web server (symfony server:start) that runs on your host PHP and can read environment variables from Docker services.

This page compares both with Laradock: where Symfony Docker is a single, excellent, Symfony-shaped template, Laradock is a framework-agnostic catalog of 100+ pre-wired services.

Symfony Docker is a lean, FrankenPHP-based template for one Symfony app, and it is genuinely good. Laradock is the broad, pre-wired environment: 100+ services, any PHP project, and a path to production. This page sets Symfony up on both.

TL;DR: pick Symfony Docker for a single modern Symfony app when its FrankenPHP-based stack fits, it is clean and official-adjacent. Pick Laradock when you need services it does not include, you work across multiple frameworks or projects, or you want a legacy PHP version. (Laradock also ships FrankenPHP as a service, so you keep that option either way.)

Setting up with Symfony Docker

git clone https://github.com/dunglas/symfony-docker.git my-app
cd my-app
docker compose build --no-cache
docker compose up -d

Your app runs on FrankenPHP at https://localhost with a trusted local certificate. Add a database via the template's documented Compose overrides, and use docker compose exec php ... for Composer and the Symfony console. It is tuned for one Symfony application; a second database, a search cluster, a message broker, or a queue worker are additions you make and maintain in the compose file.

Setting up with the Symfony CLI

symfony new my-app
cd my-app
symfony server:start

Fast and lightweight, but it runs on your host's PHP (not Docker), so PHP versions and extensions are your machine's, and any database/Redis/search service is something you install or run separately.

The same thing with Laradock

cd my-app
git clone https://github.com/laradock/laradock.git
cd laradock

Laradock CLI

./laradock start nginx mysql redis workspace
./laradock workspace

Docker Compose

cp .env.example .env
docker compose up -d nginx mysql redis workspace
docker compose exec workspace bash

Inside the workspace, composer create-project symfony/skeleton . (or symfony console ...) just works. Want FrankenPHP instead of NGINX + PHP-FPM? It is a Laradock service too: ./laradock start frankenphp. Need Messenger backed by RabbitMQ, or Meilisearch/Typesense for search? Each is one word. Full walkthrough: Run Symfony on Docker.

Side by side

	Symfony Docker	Symfony CLI	Laradock
What it is	FrankenPHP-based project template	Native local web server	Pre-wired Docker environment
Runtime	FrankenPHP (in Docker)	Your host PHP	PHP-FPM + NGINX/Apache/Caddy, or FrankenPHP/RoadRunner
Services included	PHP + you add the rest	None (host)	100+ (databases, caches, queues, search, mail, monitoring)
Frameworks	Symfony-shaped	Symfony	Any PHP project
PHP versions	Recent (image-based)	Whatever is on your host	5.6 - 8.5
HTTPS	✅ automatic (FrankenPHP)	✅ (symfony server:ca:install)	Via Caddy/Traefik/certbot services
Adding a service later	Edit compose.yaml yourself	Install/run it separately	docker compose up -d {service}
Production path	✅ FrankenPHP image	❌ dev server	./laradock ship → server / Kubernetes / cloud

Choose Symfony Docker if...

• You are building a single Symfony app and its FrankenPHP-based stack is what you want.
• You value a small, Symfony-official-adjacent template maintained by a core contributor.
• Your service needs are modest and you are comfortable extending the compose file.

Choose the Symfony CLI if...

• You want the fastest possible local loop and are happy managing PHP and services on your host.

Choose Laradock if...

• You need services beyond the template: multiple databases, RabbitMQ/Kafka, Elasticsearch/Meilisearch, monitoring, local LLMs, each one up command away.
• You work on more than one framework or project and want a single environment for all of them.
• You need a specific or legacy PHP version.
• You want the same stack to go to production with ./laradock ship, and you can still choose FrankenPHP as the runtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Symfony Docker official?

It is maintained by Kévin Dunglas, a Symfony core team member, and is the setup the Symfony documentation points to for Docker. It is best described as official-adjacent rather than a first-party Symfony product.

Can I use FrankenPHP with Laradock?

Yes. FrankenPHP is one of Laradock's built-in services (./laradock start frankenphp), alongside RoadRunner and the classic NGINX/Apache/Caddy + PHP-FPM options, so choosing Laradock does not mean giving up FrankenPHP.

Does Symfony Docker handle databases and search?

It focuses on the PHP runtime; a database, search engine, or message broker are additions you wire into its compose.yaml. Laradock ships those as ready-to-start services.

See the full landscape: Laradock vs Laravel Sail and Laradock vs Others. Ready to try it? Run Symfony on Docker takes about five minutes.