head to head · open source
cakephp vs LimeSurvey
cakephp has 8,792 GitHub stars, 3,366 forks, 25 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LimeSurvey has 3,727 stars, 1,122 forks, 101 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cakephp leads on adoption by 136% (8,792 vs 3,727 stars). cakephp is written in PHP under MIT; LimeSurvey is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence. cakephp has attracted 38% as many forks as stars, LimeSurvey 30%. LimeSurvey was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (php), 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 | LimeSurvey | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.8K | ★ 3.7K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | PHP | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| 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 LimeSurvey if
- You want the LimeSurvey feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and LimeSurvey 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 LimeSurvey
LimeSurvey is a free and open source online survey platform written primarily in PHP with a JavaScript and React front end. It lives in the web forms and survey ecosystem, and it positions itself as a self hostable alternative to hosted services such as SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Qualtrics, and Google Forms. The project has been developed since 2006 and is used by businesses, academic institutions, teachers, students, governments, and financial institutes across more than 80 countries.
read the full LimeSurvey overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is cakephp or LimeSurvey more popular?
cakephp has 8,792 GitHub stars and LimeSurvey has 3,727. cakephp has the larger community by that measure.
Are cakephp and LimeSurvey free?
Both are open source. cakephp is licensed under MIT, and LimeSurvey has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between cakephp and LimeSurvey?
cakephp is written in PHP and LimeSurvey in JavaScript. 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 LimeSurvey?
Choose cakephp if you want the larger community (8,792 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose LimeSurvey if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.