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IntelliJ IDEA VS PhpStorm

Compare IntelliJ IDEA VS PhpStorm and see what are their differences

IntelliJ IDEA logo IntelliJ IDEA

Capable and Ergonomic IDE for JVM

PhpStorm logo PhpStorm

Professional IDE for PHP and Web Developers
  • IntelliJ IDEA Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-20
  • PhpStorm Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18

IntelliJ IDEA features and specs

  • Intelligent Code Completion
    IntelliJ IDEA offers advanced code completion features, which help to speed up coding by suggesting relevant keywords, variable names, and methods. It understands the context of the code, making suggestions more accurate and useful.
  • Powerful Refactoring
    IntelliJ IDEA provides an extensive set of refactoring tools that simplify code restructuring. Developers can easily rename, move, and change the signature of classes and methods without breaking the application.
  • Integrated Version Control
    Supports various version control systems such as Git, SVN, and Mercurial. This integration allows seamless code commits, merges, and history tracking directly within the IDE.
  • Rich Plugin Ecosystem
    Offers a vast library of plugins to extend its functionalities by adding support for additional languages, frameworks, and tools, making it highly customizable.
  • Built-in Terminal
    Includes a powerful built-in terminal that allows for command-line operations without leaving the IDE, improving workflow efficiency.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    IntelliJ IDEA is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing consistency for developers who work across different operating systems.
  • Comprehensive Debugging
    Features advanced debugging tools that provide detailed inspection of variable states, stack traces, and execution flow, making it easier to identify and fix issues.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    Offers a highly intuitive and customizable user interface that simplifies navigation and enhances productivity.

Possible disadvantages of IntelliJ IDEA

  • Resource Intensive
    IntelliJ IDEA can be very demanding on system resources, such as RAM and CPU, which may affect performance on less powerful machines.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users may find it challenging to learn all of its features and settings, as the IDE offers a wide range of tools and options.
  • Cost
    While there is a free Community edition, the Ultimate edition with full features requires a paid license, which can be expensive for individual developers or small teams.
  • Occasional Sluggishness
    Users may experience occasional sluggish performance, especially with large projects or extensive usage of plugins.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Setting up IntelliJ IDEA for the first time, particularly for specific project configurations, can be time-consuming and complex.
  • Frequent Updates
    While regular updates are beneficial for security and new features, they can sometimes cause interruptions or require downtime to install.
  • Dependency on Plugins
    Some key functionalities may rely heavily on third-party plugins, which can sometimes lag in updates or lack sufficient documentation.

PhpStorm features and specs

  • 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 of PhpStorm

  • 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.

IntelliJ IDEA videos

Overview of IntelliJ IDEA

More videos:

  • Review - Why I Use IntelliJ IDEA
  • Review - Be More Productive With IntelliJ IDEA by Trisha Gee

PhpStorm videos

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

0-100% (relative to IntelliJ IDEA and PhpStorm)
IDE
83 83%
17% 17
Text Editors
80 80%
20% 20
Software Development
73 73%
27% 27
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare IntelliJ IDEA and PhpStorm

IntelliJ IDEA Reviews

Explore 9 Top Eclipse Alternatives for 2024
Developed by JetBrains, IntelliJ IDEA is a versatile Integrated Development Environment (IDE) initially built for Java and Kotlin, but extends its prowess to incorporate a myriad of other languages through plugins. A unique and user-centric environment favorably touted for its tuneability and keyboard shortcuts that enhance productivity, IntelliJ IDEA has grown to compete...
Source: aircada.com
Top 10 Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
IntelliJ IDEA is an IDE that was developed by JetBrains and is written in Java, Groovy, and Kotlin. It helps in building the IntelliJ IDEA community from the source code and also produces high-quality code.
The Best IDEs for Java Development: A Comparative Analysis
Intelligent Coding Assistance: What sets IntelliJ IDEA apart is its intelligent coding assistance. It seems to understand your code, predict your needs, and assist you with a range of development tasks from start to finish. By virtually mapping your Java projects, it can detect errors, suggest code variants, conduct refactoring, and more. It’s like having a coding assistant!
Source: dev.to
20 Best Diff Tools to Compare File Contents on Linux
Intellij Idea is an enterprise development, cross-platform software for multiple operating systems. It is used to review the differences between any two files, folders, text sources, or database objects, as well as between local files and their repository versions.
Source: linuxopsys.com
9 Of The Best Android Studio Alternatives To Try Out
IntelliJ IDEA, the routine tasks like coding, are handled by IntelliJ IDEA, which leads to accelerated development. It also allows the programmer to focus on functionality.

PhpStorm Reviews

We have no reviews of PhpStorm yet.
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing IntelliJ IDEA and PhpStorm, you can also consider the following products

Microsoft Visual Studio - Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Eclipse - Eclipse is an open source community, whose projects are focused on building an open development platform comprised of extensible frameworks, tools and runtimes for building, deploying and managing software across the lifecycle.

Xcode - Xcode is Apple’s powerful integrated development environment for creating great apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Xcode 4 includes the Xcode IDE, instruments, iOS Simulator, and the latest Mac OS X and iOS SDKs.

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA