Finding the Balance in Real Applications: ORM vs. Raw SQL

Finding the Balance in Real Applications: ORM vs. Raw SQL

As a developer of a dictionary website, I’ve had to work with tens of thousands of data rows: cleaning them for storage, manipulating them for CRUD operations, and serving them efficiently to users.

As the application grew, I faced software design choices that revealed the practical tradeoffs behind real-world engineering. One of those was choosing between using an ORM or raw SQL.

In real life, there’s rarely a clear black and white. Choices must be pragmatic and situational, and there’s always a tradeoff. Relying entirely on ORM or SQL is a quick way to overcomplicate your work and overwork your nervous system. It’s easy to get stuck chasing a perfectly “pure” design instead of focusing on what’s practical and effective.

For example, Ajap Dictionary uses a hybrid approach:

• Symfony Doctrine ORM for data management.
• Raw SQL for query and lookup delivery.

There’s always a theoretical or aesthetic side to these decisions, but in practice, what truly matters is that the system runs fast and safely.

When to use ORMs

• Great for rapid development and evolving schemas.
• Abstracts repetitive CRUD logic and lets you focus on business rules.
• Developer-friendly and safer for beginners.

When to use raw SQL

• ORMs add an extra layer that can reduce performance.
• Offers full control over queries, indexes, and optimizations.
• Easier to fine-tune for large datasets or complex joins.
• But adds boilerplate and can slow down iteration early on.

Each ORM has its own syntax and design patterns, while SQL remains highly standardized. Skills in SQL transfer easily across projects and systems.

When to Choose What

• Early-stage or rapidly evolving schema: ORM helps you move fast.
• Use ORM where developer productivity and data safety matter most.
• Mature systems or performance-critical operations: raw SQL gives more precision.
• Use SQL for the small percentage of queries that truly need optimization.

Two Key Practices

• Always follow safe query practices to prevent SQL injection.
• Make sure your raw SQL actually outperforms the ORM. Inefficient SQL can easily do the opposite.

As with many things in life, the key is knowing when to switch and how to blend the two, based on what your application actually requires.