Software Alternatives & Startups

Brackets VS PhpStorm

Compare Brackets VS PhpStorm and see what are their differences

Brackets

A modern, open source text editor that understands web design

Brackets Landing page
Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
PhpStorm

Professional IDE for PHP and Web Developers

PhpStorm Landing page
Rating
0 reviews

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Brackets seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 48 times since March 2021.

social mentions
48 vs 0
Text Editors popularity
71% vs 29%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Brackets
PhpStorm
Website brackets.io jetbrains.com
Pricing
Open source
Listed in

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Brackets 5 features
PhpStorm 7 features
  • Open Source
    Brackets is an open-source text editor, which means it is free to use and has a community of developers contributing to its improvement and feature updates.
  • Live Preview
    Brackets offers a Live Preview feature that allows developers to see updates to their code in real-time, directly in the browser, enhancing the development workflow.
  • Preprocessor Support
    Brackets has built-in support for CSS preprocessors such as LESS and SASS, making it easier for developers working with these technologies.
  • Inline Editors
    The Inline Editors feature in Brackets enables developers to open a window into the code they care about, without losing context of their current position in the file.
  • Extensibility
    Brackets supports a wide range of extensions and themes, allowing users to customize the editor to suit their personal workflow and preferences.

Possible disadvantages

  • Performance Issues
    Some users have reported that Brackets can be slow and unresponsive, especially when working with large projects or files.
  • Limited Language Support
    While Brackets excels in front-end web development, its support for non-web development languages and back-end development is less robust compared to other editors.
  • Slow Adoption of New Features
    As an open-source project, Brackets may not always adopt new features and technologies as quickly as some proprietary tools that have more resources behind them.
  • Community-Based Support
    Support for Brackets largely comes from the community, which can be less reliable and slower compared to professional, dedicated support teams available for some other tools.
  • Resource Intensity
    Brackets can be resource-intensive, consuming more memory and CPU compared to other lightweight code editors.
  • Advanced Code Editor
    PhpStorm provides an intelligent code editor with features like syntax highlighting, code completion, and real-time error detection to help you write clean and maintainable code efficiently.
  • Built-in Debugging and Testing Tools
    Integrated powerful debugging and testing tools support multiple frameworks and enable step-by-step debugging, ensuring you can quickly identify and fix issues in your code.
  • Version Control Integration
    PhpStorm offers seamless integration with version control systems like Git, SVN, Mercurial, and Perforce, allowing easy management of your codebase and collaboration with your team.
  • Framework Support
    The IDE supports a wide range of PHP frameworks such as Laravel, Symfony, Yii, and Magento, providing specialized tools and features to streamline development within these frameworks.
  • Database Tools
    PhpStorm comes with built-in database tools that allow you to manage and query databases directly from the IDE, improving your development workflow involving database interactions.
  • Live Edit
    The Live Edit feature enables real-time changes to your code to be reflected in your browser immediately, streamlining the development process by reducing the need for manual refreshing.
  • Cross-platform Compatibility
    PhpStorm is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing a consistent development environment regardless of your operating system.

Possible disadvantages

  • Cost
    PhpStorm is a premium IDE with a subscription-based payment model, which can be a barrier for individual developers or small teams with limited budgets.
  • Resource Intensive
    The IDE can be heavy on system resources, which may affect the performance of your machine, especially if you are using older hardware.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive range of features and capabilities, new users might find PhpStorm difficult to master and may require a significant time investment to become proficient.
  • Overwhelming for Simple Projects
    The multitude of tools and features can be overkill for small projects or beginner developers who do not need the advanced capabilities provided by PhpStorm.
  • Periodic Updates
    While updates usually bring improvements, the frequency of updates can sometimes cause disruptions or require adjustments in workflows.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Brackets
PhpStorm

No analysis of Brackets yet.

Overall verdict

  • PhpStorm is considered an excellent choice for professional PHP developers who are looking for a comprehensive and reliable IDE that can handle complex projects efficiently. Although it is a paid software, many users find the investment worthwhile due to the productivity boost it offers.

Why this product is good

  • PhpStorm is widely regarded as a good IDE due to its robust feature set that aids in PHP development. It offers intelligent code assistance, a powerful debugging tool, seamless integration with databases and version control systems, and extensive plugin support. Its user-friendly interface and stability further enhance the development experience.

Recommended for

  • Professional PHP developers
  • Developers working with frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, or Drupal
  • Teams that require collaboration tools
  • Those who need advanced features like code refactoring and testing

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Brackets 3 videos + Add
PhpStorm 3 videos + Add

My Favorite Text Editor - Brackets

More videos

  • Review - Brackets Extensions - A modern, open source text editor
  • Review - Brackets Review

Testing PHPStorm vs Atom || Code Editor side-by-side

More videos

  • Review - Introduction to PhpStorm
  • Review - What's New in PhpStorm 2019.1

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Brackets
PhpStorm
71% 71%
29% 29%
70% 70%
IDE
30% 30%
59% 59%
41% 41%
100% 100%
0% 0%

User comments

Share your experience with using Brackets and PhpStorm. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Brackets no reviews yet
PhpStorm no reviews yet

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We have no reviews of PhpStorm yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Brackets 48 mentions
PhpStorm 0 mentions
  • Create Your First VR Scene Using A-Frame
    Brackets This is a simple and clean text editor which provides features that we are going to use in this. This has a feature of a live preview of the website which is going to be very useful while setting the environment. It has an... - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • A list of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS offerings that have free tiers of interest to devops and infradev
    Brackets - Brackets is an open-source text editor specifically designed for web development. It is lightweight, easy to use, and highly customizable. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • What do you use to create your site?
    I recommend using a separate code editor and not the neocities one. Brackets and VSCodium (VSCode but separated from Microsoft) are pretty good ones https://brackets.io/ https://vscodium.com/. Source: almost 3 years ago

View more

Tracking PhpStorm since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to Brackets and PhpStorm

When comparing Brackets and PhpStorm, you can also consider the following products.