Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PhpStorm VS PythonAnywhere

Compare PhpStorm VS PythonAnywhere and see what are their differences

PhpStorm logo PhpStorm

Professional IDE for PHP and Web Developers

PythonAnywhere logo PythonAnywhere

Host, run, and code Python in the cloud: PythonAnywhere
  • PhpStorm Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • PythonAnywhere Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

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.

PythonAnywhere features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    PythonAnywhere provides a user-friendly interface with pre-configured settings, which makes it simple for beginners to deploy and manage Python applications without the need to manage server infrastructure.
  • Integrated Development Environment
    It includes an in-browser code editor and Python console, making it convenient to edit and run code on the go without needing to install any software locally.
  • Affordable Pricing
    Offers various pricing tiers, including a free tier, which is very attractive for small projects, prototypes, and learning purposes.
  • Scalability
    Offers options to scale applications as needed, making it suitable for growing projects that may require additional resources over time.
  • Built-in Python Libraries
    Comes pre-installed with many common Python libraries and frameworks, saving users the time and effort of setting up dependencies.
  • Built-in MySQL Support
    Provides built-in support for MySQL databases, making it straightforward to set up and manage databases for your applications.
  • Automated Backups
    Includes automated backup features to help secure your data and provide peace of mind.

Possible disadvantages of PythonAnywhere

  • Limited Customization
    The pre-configured environment limits customization options, which may be a drawback for more advanced users who require specific configurations or installations.
  • Free Tier Limitations
    The free tier has significant limitations, including restricted CPU time and storage space, which can hinder more demanding applications.
  • Performance
    Shared plans might experience slower performance during peak times due to the shared nature of the infrastructure.
  • Lack of Root Access
    Users do not have root access to the underlying system, which can be a limitation for deploying certain types of applications or custom services.
  • Support Limitations
    While it offers community support and documentation, the level of professional support might not meet the needs of all users, especially those on lower-tier plans.
  • Limited Language Support
    Primarily focused on Python, which may not suit all projects, especially those requiring multi-language support.
  • Resource Constraints
    Lower-tier plans have stringent resource limits (CPU, RAM, storage), which can be restrictive for resource-intensive applications.

Analysis of PhpStorm

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

Analysis of PythonAnywhere

Overall verdict

  • Overall, PythonAnywhere is considered a good option for those seeking a reliable, straightforward, and affordable way to host Python applications. While it might not cater to the needs of very large scale or highly customizable environments, it is well-suited for personal projects, small to medium-sized applications, and educational purposes.

Why this product is good

  • PythonAnywhere is a popular choice for hosting Python applications because it offers a convenient and user-friendly platform for both beginners and experienced developers. Its cloud-based service allows for easy deployment and execution of Python scripts without the need to manage physical servers. The platform supports web development frameworks like Flask and Django, provides a variety of integrations and is equipped with a web-based interactive console, which makes it highly accessible for many users.

Recommended for

    PythonAnywhere is especially recommended for Python developers (beginners and intermediates), educators, students, and hobbyists who are looking for an easy and quick way to deploy and host their Python applications or who need an online python environment for coding practice.

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

PythonAnywhere videos

Python Anywhere with pythonanywhere - Simplified Python VPS hosting

More videos:

  • Review - Deploy Python Flask App on Pythonanywhere.com
  • Review - PythonAnywhere in one minute

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PhpStorm and PythonAnywhere)
Text Editors
67 67%
33% 33
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Computing
0 0%
100% 100
Software Development
72 72%
28% 28

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, PythonAnywhere seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 55 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PhpStorm mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of PhpStorm yet. Tracking of PhpStorm recommendations started around Mar 2021.

PythonAnywhere mentions (55)

  • [Offer] I need someone to set up a webhook in my WordPress site and a Python server with listener + bot
    The website is already built. Each comment will have a reddit post URL, and the bot should leave a comment on that URL. We can use pythonanywhere.com for this to make it easiest. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Flask and web hosting
    If you are learning, use pythonanywhere.com as they specialize in python, and make setup easy. Only $5 a month. Start with a barebones flask app, get it to run, then follow a tutorial. Actually better to build the app locally, easier to test with IDE like Pycharm. Then upload to the net. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Redirecting client to my server via a external server
    Hello, I have a Minecraft server running on a Rpi with Paper. It works great and I use it to play with some of my friends. However, the server's public IP address often changes, meaning that I have to give my friends the new IP address daily. Being a programmer, I feel this could be automated. I don't want to buy a domain, so I want to try and setup a system where the server sends Its IP to my PythonAnywhere... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Question Gallery WebApp Django or Flask?
    Hosting wise, I would reccomend pythonanywhere.com, combined with either https://imagekit.io or https://cloudinary.com. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Cheap Heroku alternative for PHP MySQL app
    So what is the best alternative? I have one Plotly Dash app on pythonanywhere.com where I spend 6 bucks a month so I don't want to spend anymore than 5 dollars per month on the PHP + MySQL. Source: over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

IntelliJ IDEA - Capable and Ergonomic IDE for JVM

Heroku - Agile deployment platform for Ruby, Node.js, Clojure, Java, Python, and Scala. Setup takes only minutes and deploys are instant through git. Leave tedious server maintenance to Heroku and focus on your code.

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.

DigitalOcean - Simplifying cloud hosting. Deploy an SSD cloud server in 55 seconds.

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

Google App Engine - A powerful platform to build web and mobile apps that scale automatically.