10 Best PHP IDEs

PHP is a very popular in web development. It's easy to use , it has many web frameworks and tools to make it even easier. While writing PHP wab application, integrating frameworks and libraries to build large systems, text editor is not enough, we need a good integrated development environment for that

We did our monthly survey with our visitors in DiscoverSDK - what is the best PHP IDEs.

We listed 30 options and asked to take into account many developer experience aspects like web framework integration, editing features, debugging tools etc

Here are the results: (Best first)

1. PhpStorm:

• PHP IDE for professional developers.
• Created by JetBrains.
• PhpStorm 8 comes with PHP 5.6 support.
• Support a wide variety of PHP frameworks, such as, Symfony, Drupal, WordPress, Zend Framework, Laravel, Magento, Joomla!, CakePHP, Yii, and more.
• Closed-Source.
• Compatible with Windows, Mac OS and Linux.
• Designed for Python, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, TypeScript, CSS, popular template languages and more.
• Features Intelligent Code Editor, Smart Code Navigation and Fast and Safe Refactorings.
• Supports Debugging, Testing and Profiling, VCS, Deployment and Remote Development, Database tools, Python Web frameworks, JavaScript & HTML, Live Edit, IPython Notebook integration, Interactive Python console, Support for scientific stack, Customizable UI, Plugins and Cross-platform IDE.

2. Sublime Text:

• A sophisticated text editor for code, markup and prose.
• Created by Sublime.
• Closed-Source.
• Sublime Text is not quite an IDE, but with the installation of a handful of packages/plugins you can make it the ideal editor for developing PHP in.
• Compatible with Windows, OS X and Linux.
• Features Goto Anything, Multiple Selections, Command Palette, Distraction Free Mode, Split Editing, Instant Project Switch, Plugin API, Customize Anything and Cross Platform.

3. NetBeans:

• Created by Oracle.
• Closed-Source.
• NetBeans IDE supports the following popular PHP frameworks: Zend , Symfony2 , Symfony1.
• NetBeans IDE for PHP offers a number of features specific to developing with the latest features of PHP.
• Compatible with Windows, OS X and Linux.
• Features Fast & Smart Code Editing, Easy & Efficient Project Management, Rapid User Interface Development, Write Bug Free Code and Rich Set of Community Provided Plugins.

4. Zend Studio:

• With 3X faster performance, Zend Studio allows you to code faster, debug more easily, and take advantage of the massive performance gains in PHP 7.
• Created by Zend.
• Open-Source.
• Compatible with Windows, OS X and Linux.
• Features PHP 7 support, Code editor, Source control, PHP unit testing and built-in tools, Web server integration, Apigility integration for API building.
• Supports Mobile app development, Integration with popular technologies, Web server integration and Cloud deployment.
• Also supports all the PHP frameworks from Zend Framework, Laravel, Symfony, and many more.
• Zend Studio also provides best-in-market integration with debug tools like Xdebug, Zend Debugger, and Z-Ray. With multiple debugging options, you get more advanced debugging capabilities. For faster development, Zend Studio automatically detects and validates your PHP binary or local server settings.

5. Eclipse:

• An amazing open source community of Tools, Projects and Collaborative Working Groups.
• PDT supports PHP versions 5.1/5.2/5.3/5.4/5.5/5.6/7.0.
• The PHP IDE project delivers a PHP Integrated Development Environment framework for the Eclipse platform.
• Created by The Eclipse Foundation.
• Open-Source.
• Compatible with Windows, OS X and Linux.
• Features

6. Notepad++:

• Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages.
• Created by Don Ho.
• Closed-Source.
• Compatible with Windows only.
• Features Syntax Highlighting and Syntax Folding, User Defined Syntax Highlighting and Folding, User Defined Syntax Highlighting and Folding, GUI entirely customizable, Auto-completion (Word completion, Function completion and Function parameters hint), Multi-Document (Tab interface), Multi-View, WYSIWYG (Printing), Zoom in and zoom out, Multi-Language environment supported, Bookmark, Macro recording and playback and Launch with different arguments.
• Aside from Python, Notepad++ is also designed for C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Ruby and many more.

7. Aptana Studio:

• Aptana Studio is the professional, open source development tool for the open web.
• PHP 5.4 support.
• Created by Appcelerator Inc..
• Open-Source.
• Compatible with Windows, Max OS X and Linux - All in both 32-bit and 64-bit.
• Features HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Code Assist, Deployment Wizard, Git Integration, Built-in Terminal, IDE Customization.
• Also includes an Integrated Debugger.
• includes extensive capabilities to build Ruby and Rails, PHP, and Python applications, along with complete HTML, CSS and JavaScript editing.

8. phpDesigner:

• A fast PHP IDE and PHP editor with built-in HTML5-, CSS3- and JavaScript editors boosted with features to help you create amazing websites.
• Created by MPSOFTWARE ApS.
• Closed-Source.
• Compatible with Windows only.
• Fast, powerful and intuitive to use.
• Features PHP IDE and PHP editor, HTML5-, CSS3- and JavaScript editor, Code insight, PHP frameworks, JavaScript frameworks, Integration with GIT and SVN and Work with files over FTP/SFTP.
• Also allows the user to Debug and profile PHP with Xdebug.

9. NuSphere PHPEd:

• The Integrated Development Environment for PHP (PHP IDE), HTML, CSS, XML, SMARTY, XHTML and other.
• Created by NuSphere.
• Closed-Source.
• Full support for PHP 5.6
• Compatible with Windows only (XP, 2003, 2008, Vista, 7 and 8 - all in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions).
• Features Advanced Editor, Code Insight, Testing, Embedded browsers, Even more Advanced Editor, Project and File Management, Database client, Refactoring of PHP code and Integrated help system.
• Also includes Commercial versions of PHP DBG Debugger, PHP SQL Profiler in PhpED, Triggering debugger on errors or exceptions, Remote and local debugging setup with easy to follow wizard, Evaluate/Modify and Parallel Debugging. Also, SSH Tunnels can be setup directly in PHP IDE and used for remote debugging.
• Php Frameworks are fully supported by PhpED's code completion, function call cue, find declaration and other PhpED Code Insight features.

10. Komodo:

• Komodo is The Best IDE for Web and Mobile Development.
• Created by ActiveState Software Inc.
• Komodo supports any framework (ie. Cake PHP, jQuery) and PHPDoc.
• Compatible with PHP 4.4 and higher.
• Closed-Source.
• Aside from PHP, Komodo is also designed for Python, Go, Perl, Tcl, Ruby, NodeJS, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and more.
• Features Tutorial Tool (IDE) , Publishing Improvements (IDE) , Language Updates, Advanced Editor, Code Intelligence, Version Control and Integrated Tools, Workflow and File Management, Add-Ons and Customization, Dev Team Capabilities and Supported Languages.
• Also includes Graphical Debugger, Chrome Debugging, Chrome Debugging, Breakpoint Configuration, Local and Remote Debugging, RX Toolkit, Consolidated View, Multithreaded Debugging, Multi-Process Debugging, HTTP Inspector, Changed Variable Highlighting and Built on DBGp Protocol.