Twig is the more common choice for new PHP projects today, mainly because Symfony has shipped it as the default template engine since Symfony 2 came out in 2011. Smarty is older, first released in the early 2000s, and it's still the preference in some codebases, particularly ones built before Twig existed or running on platforms like PrestaShop that bundled Smarty from the start.
How do Twig and Smarty actually compare?
| Aspect | Twig | Smarty |
|---|---|---|
| Syntax and sandboxing | Uses {{ }} and {% %} delimiters, similar to Jinja2, and includes a built-in Sandbox extension for restricting tags and filters in untrusted templates. | Uses a $variable-style tag syntax closer to plain PHP; offers comparable restrictions through a separate Smarty_Security class. |
| Framework default | Bundled as the default template engine in Symfony since Symfony 2, released in 2011. | Not tied to a major modern PHP framework, though it remains the default in PrestaShop's storefront theme system. |
| Template inheritance | Built around {% extends %} and named {% block %} regions that child templates override directly. | Added inheritance later through an {extends} resource, layered on top of an older include-based model. |
| Performance and caching | Compiles templates once into native PHP classes, then relies on the app's opcode cache for repeat requests. | Compiles templates into PHP scripts in a configurable directory and adds its own whole-page output caching with adjustable cache lifetimes. |
| Security defaults | Autoescaping for HTML output is on by default. | Escaping is applied per variable with the |escape modifier; autoescape exists as a setting but isn't the historical default. |
When does each one fit?
When Twig fits
Twig is the practical choice for any new Symfony application, since working against the framework's default adds maintenance cost without a clear payoff. It also suits projects with deep template inheritance trees, layouts with many overridable blocks, since that is what its block system was built for. Teams that want escaping on by default, instead of remembering to add it to every variable, get that behavior for free with Twig.
When Smarty still shows up
Smarty is common in codebases that predate Twig's rise, plus e-commerce platforms such as PrestaShop that built their theming layer around it years ago. It also turns up in agencies maintaining older Zen Cart or osCommerce-derived sites, where the templating layer is wired into custom plugins built over many years. In these cases, the cost of a rewrite usually outweighs the benefit of switching engines.
Who should pick which?
If you're starting a new PHP project, or already run Symfony, Twig is the safer default and the one most PHP developers will expect to see. If you're maintaining an existing Smarty-based store or legacy app, the better move is usually fluency in whatever the codebase already uses rather than migrating for its own sake. Neither engine is wrong, the choice mostly follows what the surrounding framework or platform already decided before you got there.
Last verified: July 22, 2026. Updated: July 22, 2026.
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