head to head · open source
cakephp vs FormsLab
cakephp has 8,792 GitHub stars, 3,366 forks, 25 open issues and last shipped yesterday. FormsLab has 544 stars, 72 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. cakephp leads on adoption by 1,516% (8,792 vs 544 stars). cakephp is written in PHP under MIT; FormsLab is written in TypeScript under MIT. cakephp has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, FormsLab 13%. cakephp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (hacktoberfest), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| cakephp | FormsLab | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.8K | ★ 544 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-02-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 72 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick cakephp if
- You weight community size — 8.8K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick FormsLab if
- You want the FormsLab feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and FormsLab fits your workflow better
About cakephp
CakePHP is an open source web application framework for PHP, distributed under the MIT license and maintained as an official repository on GitHub. It is built around design patterns that are already familiar to most PHP developers, including Associative Data Mapping, Front Controller, and Model View Controller. The stated goal of the project is to give PHP developers at every level a structured foundation for building robust web applications quickly, without giving up flexibility in how those applications are organised. The project has existed for roughly sixteen years and has accumulated a substantial community,…
read the full cakephp overview →
About FormsLab
FormsLab is an MIT licensed, TypeScript based open source form builder for teams that need anonymous surveys, polls, and customer feedback collection while keeping the application and its data on infrastructure they control.
read the full FormsLab overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is cakephp or FormsLab more popular?
cakephp has 8,792 GitHub stars and FormsLab has 544. cakephp has the larger community by that measure.
Are cakephp and FormsLab free?
Both are open source. cakephp is licensed under MIT and FormsLab under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between cakephp and FormsLab?
cakephp is written in PHP and FormsLab in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, cakephp or FormsLab?
Choose cakephp if you want the larger community (8,792 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose FormsLab if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.