PHP
A general-purpose scripting language and interpreter especially suited to web development.
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4 more ways to get PHP
Other download sites
Run by third parties, not by The PHP Group. Prefer the official page above when it works.
Package managers
- Chocolatey
choco install php - Homebrew
brew install php
About PHP
PHP is a scripting language used to build websites and web applications, from small blogs to large sites. The PHP project publishes the interpreter as source releases, with Windows builds available from its download page.
Several release branches are maintained at once, currently 8.2 through 8.5, with regular bug fix releases, and PHP 8.6 is in beta testing. Documentation and upgrade notes are published for each version.
Strengths
- Several supported release branches with frequent bug fix releases
- Well suited to server-side web development
- Windows builds and source releases published officially
- Detailed changelogs and upgrading notes
Limitations
- Official downloads for Linux and macOS are source releases; binaries usually come from package managers
- Older branches require upgrades as they reach end of life
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- PHP-3.01
- Developer
- The PHP Group
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Web developers building or running server-side PHP applications
- Categories
- Developer tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to PHP
Compare allSoftware that can replace PHP for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Python
A general-purpose programming language used for scripting, web backends, data analysis and machine learning.
Python is a general-purpose language with a large standard library and data tooling, used for web backends too, with official Windows and source releases on a yearly schedule.
Ruby
A dynamic, open-source programming language focused on simplicity and programmer productivity.
Ruby is an open-source dynamic language with readable syntax suited to scripting and web development, though its interpreted runtime is slower for heavy computation.
Node.js
The JavaScript runtime that server-side JavaScript is built on, with the npm ecosystem behind it.
Node.js runs server-side JavaScript with the npm ecosystem and long-term support releases, but is single-threaded by default for CPU-heavy work.
PHP as an alternative
Listings that name PHP as an alternative.
Perl
A mature general-purpose scripting language known for text processing, with the large CPAN module archive.
PHP is a scripting language aimed at server-side web development with frequent bug fix releases. Its official Linux and macOS downloads are source releases, so binaries usually come from package managers.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Composer
Dependency manager for PHP projects.
XAMPP
Apache, MariaDB, PHP and Perl packaged as one local development stack.
Laravel Herd
A native PHP and Laravel development environment for Windows and macOS with PHP and nginx included.
MAMP
A local web server environment with Apache or Nginx, MySQL and PHP for macOS and Windows.
Laragon
A lightweight, portable local development environment for PHP, Node.js and other web stacks on Windows.
PhpStorm
A commercial JetBrains IDE for PHP, with built-in JavaScript, TypeScript and SQL support.
