The best replacement for yii is codeigniter.

The best alternatives to yii are rated as following:
★★★★★  codeigniter
★★★★  zend
★★★  cakephp
★★★  laravel
★★★  kohana
★★  symfony
★★  drupal
★★  django
★★  symfony2
★★  rails
★★  cake
★  ruby on rails
★  zend framework
★  phalcon
★  yii2
  fuelphp
  symphony
  doophp

Your alternative for yii is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about yii, one probably shouldn't forget about criteria.

Other search terms related to yii and their ratings are:
★★★★★ criteria
★★★★★ bootstrap 3
★★ activerecord
You have in mind a companion for yii and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of yii in all years. Click on graph for more.
yii
codeigniter
zend