Symfony

Symfony is a full-stack PHP framework providing security, routing, templating, object relational mapping, validation, email and testing out of the box, built from reusable components that are also used independently. Those components are the building blocks of projects including Drupal, Laravel, API Platform and Composer, and Symfony Console powers command line applications and much of the framework's own developer tooling.

Its components being used by its competitors is the fact that establishes its position. A developer working in Laravel is already running Symfony code, which means the effort invested in these libraries benefits the whole language rather than one framework, and the quality bar is set by that shared use.

Choosing between the components and the full stack is the real decision. An existing application can adopt one component without adopting a framework, which is a far easier proposition than a rewrite and is how most teams first encounter it.

API development is well served through API Platform, with Symfony UX, Turbo and Stimulus for interfaces that need interactivity without a separate JavaScript application. For a team that does not want to maintain a front end in another language and toolchain, that combination is the reason to look here.