When you first start working with Laravel, you quickly discover that there are two completely different ways to interact with your database:

- Query Builder
- Eloquent ORM

Both can fetch, update, and delete data
Both live inside the Laravel core.
But they feel very different — like two different “languages” for the same database.

This article explains the real differences, the tricky parts, and the best use cases for each one — without the confusing, textbook-style explanations.

Let’s get into it.

**What Is Query Builder?

You tell the database exactly what to do:

• - What table to read

• - What columns to fetch

• - What joins to apply

• - What filters to run

Example:

$users = DB::table('users')->where('active', 1)->get();

You get raw data (stdClass), not models.

** When Query Builder shines:

• - Large datasets

• - Heavy analytics

• - Multi-table joins

• - When performance is the #1 priority

• - When you don’t need relationships or model features

It’s fast, strict, and predictable.

**What Is Eloquent?

Eloquent is an ORM: Object Relational Mapper.
It lets you treat database rows as PHP objects.

Each table = one model
Each row = one object

Example:

$users = User::where('active', 1)->get();

You don’t think in SQL —
you think in objects, relationships, and methods.

**Eloquent shines when:

• - You have relationships between tables

• - You want clean, readable code

• - Your data has logic

• - You want accessors, mutators, events, soft deletes

• - You’re building CRUD or API endpoints

It’s more “human-friendly,” but has overhead.

*** JOINs: The Biggest Difference

This is where most developers feel the gap between both approaches.

** Query Builder JOIN

You write the join manually:

$orders = DB::table('orders')
    ->join('users', 'orders.user_id', '=', 'users.id')
    ->select('orders.*', 'users.name')
    ->get();

Feels very SQL-like.
You control everything.

**Eloquent JOIN (yes, it exists)

$orders = Order::join('users', 'orders.user_id', '=', 'users.id')
    ->select('orders.*', 'users.name')
    ->get();

Works, but defeats the point of Eloquent.

** The REAL Eloquent Way: Relationships

User model:

public function orders() {
    return $this->hasMany(Order::class);
}

Fetch:

$users = User::with('orders')->get();

Way cleaner.
Zero SQL in your code.
Less noise.

But… slower for huge datasets.

*** Return Types: A Very Important Difference

**Query Builder returns:

• raw objects (stdClass)

• arrays (if you use ->get()->toArray())

You get basic data.

**Eloquent returns:

• full model objects

• with accessors

• with casts

• with events

• with hidden fields

• with loaded relationships

You get intelligent data, not raw rows.

*** Inserts, Updates, Deletes

**Query Builder

DB::table('users')->insert([...]);
DB::table('users')->where('id', 1)->update([...]);
DB::table('users')->delete(1);

**Eloquent

$user = new User();
$user->name = 'John';
$user->save();

$user = User::find(1);
$user->name = 'New';
$user->save();

User::destroy(1);

Clean, expressive, object-oriented.

*** Performance (Honest Comparison)

This is the truth:

** Query Builder

• - Faster

• - Lower RAM usage

• - You fetch exactly what you need

• - No model overhead

**Eloquent

• - Slightly slower

• - Wraps rows into models

• - Loads relationships

• - Auto-handles mutators/casts

For normal apps, Eloquent is perfect.
For heavy data processing, Query Builder wins easily.

*** Relationships vs Joins — The Heart of the Difference

Query Builder → You join manually

Eloquent → You define relationships once

Example:
Get all users with their posts.

**Query Builder:

DB::table('users')
    ->join('posts', 'users.id', '=', 'posts.user_id')
    ->get();

**Eloquent:

User::with('posts')->get();

Big difference in readability.

*** Hidden Differences Nobody Mentions

# 1. Timestamps

Eloquent auto-updates created_at and updated_at.

Query Builder does nothing automatically.

# 2. Accessors & Mutators

Eloquent:

public function getFullNameAttribute() {
    return $this->first_name . ' ' . $this->last_name;
}

Query Builder?
You must compute it manually every time.

# 3. Casting (important!)

Eloquent:

protected $casts = [
    'is_active' => 'boolean',
    'settings' => 'array',
];

Query Builder:
You get raw DB strings.

# 4. Model Events

Eloquent:

protected static function booted() {
    static::created(function ($user) {
        Log::info('New user created');
    });
}

Query Builder:
No events at all.

# 5. Soft Deletes

-Eloquent:

use SoftDeletes;

-Query Builder:
You must filter deleted rows manually.

*** When Should You Use Which?

**Use Eloquent if:

• - Your table has relationships

• - Your logic is object-oriented

• - You want readable, clean code

• - Your app isn’t heavy on SQL performance

• - You want automatic casting/events/scopes

**Use Query Builder if:

• - Performance is key

• - You're doing reporting or analytics

• - You need many joins

• - You’re working with hundreds of thousands of rows

• - You don’t need model features

*** Final Side-by-Side Example

Goal:
Get all active users with their orders, newest order first, selecting only needed columns.

**Query Builder:

$users = DB::table('users')
    ->join('orders', 'users.id', '=', 'orders.user_id')
    ->where('users.status', 'active')
    ->select(
        'users.id',
        'users.name',
        'orders.total',
        'orders.created_at'
    )
    ->orderBy('orders.created_at', 'desc')
    ->get();

**Eloquent:

User model:

public function orders() {
    return $this->hasMany(Order::class);
}

Query:

$users = User::where('status', 'active')
    ->with(['orders' => function ($q) {
        $q->select('id', 'user_id', 'total', 'created_at');
    }])
    ->get();

Cleaner, more readable — but slightly heavier.