PHP Projects with Source Code — 300+ Free Capstones (2026)

Free PHP projects with full source code, curated and re-tested for 2026 by the team at PIES IT Solutions. This page lists 300+ downloadable PHP systems — POS, school management, hotel, library, learning management, hospital, government services — all with MySQL databases and step-by-step setup guides.

Most projects here originated as Philippine BSIT capstone or thesis submissions and have been updated for compatibility with modern PHP (7.4 / 8.x). Every project includes the full source, sample database, and basic documentation. Pick the one that matches your capstone domain, then customize it — don’t submit any of them unchanged.

How to choose a PHP project for your capstone

Before you click “download” on the first project that looks cool, narrow the list with three questions:

Will your panel accept the domain? Safe domains: business (POS, sales, inventory, payroll), school (enrollment, attendance, library), government (barangay, voting), healthcare (clinic, hospital). Risky: entertainment, social media clones, anything that looks like a copy of an existing commercial product.
Does the complexity match your timeline? Single-table CRUD apps take 1–2 weeks to customize. Multi-role systems (admin/teacher/student/parent) take 4–6 weeks. Pick a project that fits the time you actually have left in the semester.
Is the codebase still maintainable? Avoid projects that depend on PHP 5.x — they fail on modern XAMPP. Every project on this page has been verified to run on PHP 7.4 or higher as of May 2026 (look for the “PHP 8 tested” badge on each post page).

Featured PHP project categories

Jump straight to the type of system you need:

School & academic systems — School Management System · Library Management · Student Information System
Business systems — Sales & Inventory · POS · Payroll · E-commerce
Hospitality & service — Hotel Management · Restaurant Management · Ticket Reservation
Government & community — Online Voting System · Barangay Information System · Document Tracking
Healthcare — Clinic Information · Hospital Management · Patient Records

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Frequently asked questions

Are these PHP projects free for capstone use?

Yes — all 300+ projects on this page are free to download and use as the foundation for your BSIT capstone or thesis. There’s no signup, no email gate, and no payment. We do ask that you modify the projects substantially before submission — panels in 2026 actively check for known capstone codebases.

Do these PHP projects run on modern PHP 8?

Yes, with caveats. Projects published or last updated in 2025–2026 run on PHP 8 directly. Older projects (originally written for PHP 5.6) need 2–3 small patches — usually replacing mysql_* functions with mysqli_*. Each project page includes specific compatibility notes.

What’s the easiest PHP project to start with as a beginner?

Start with a single-domain CRUD system: a simple Student Information System, a Library Management System, or a basic POS. These typically use 3–5 database tables and have under 10 pages, so you can finish customization in 2–3 weeks. Avoid multi-role systems (admin/teacher/student/parent) until you’ve shipped at least one simple CRUD project.

Do the downloads include project documentation (Chapter 1–5)?

Downloads include source code, the SQL database file, and a README with setup instructions. Capstone documentation (Chapters 1–5, ERD, DFD, user manual) is not included — you’ll need to write it yourself, which is standard for academic submissions. We have a free UML diagram hub and capstone documentation guides to help.

Can I deploy these PHP projects to a live web server?

Yes. Most projects are CodeIgniter 3 or plain PHP — both run on standard shared hosting with PHP 7.4+ and MySQL. Upload the source via cPanel File Manager (or FTP), import the SQL file to your hosting database, and update config/database.php with your live credentials. Setup tutorials linked from each project page.

How often is this PHP projects list updated?

We add 2–4 new tested PHP projects per month and re-verify older projects for modern PHP compatibility on a rolling basis. The “Recent Posts” widget on the sidebar shows the latest additions. As of May 2026, this list contains 300+ tested projects.

About this PHP projects collection

This curated list of PHP projects is maintained by the team at PIES Information Technology Solutions, an IT consultancy based in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, Philippines. We’ve been collecting, testing, and republishing student capstone resources since 2019 — focused on BSIT programs in the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Every project is re-opened and verified against the current PHP and MySQL release before it’s listed here. Found a broken download or a bug? Contact us — we credit contributors in the next refresh.