IDE comparison
PhpStorm vs Eclipse PDT for PHP
Quick verdict
PhpStorm is the stronger turnkey PHP product; Eclipse PDT is the better fit when open-source licensing and an existing Eclipse platform matter more than polish.
Feature comparison table
| Feature | Eclipse PDT | PhpStorm |
|---|---|---|
| basics | ||
| PHP syntax highlighting | Supported | Supported |
| Integrated terminal | Supported | Supported |
| Beginner friendly | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| containers | ||
| Docker | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| Dev Containers | Not supported | Partial / plugin-dependent |
| WSL | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| database | ||
| Database connections | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| SQL tools | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| debugging | ||
| Xdebug | Supported | Supported |
| extensibility | ||
| Plugin ecosystem | Supported | Supported |
| AI-assisted tooling | Not supported | Partial / plugin-dependent |
| frameworks | ||
| Laravel | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| Symfony | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| WordPress | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| Drupal | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| Magento / Adobe Commerce | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| Laminas / Zend Framework | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| php | ||
| PHP support | Supported | Supported |
| Code completion | Supported | Supported |
| Inspections and diagnostics | Supported | Supported |
| Automated refactoring | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| PHPUnit | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| Composer | Supported | Supported |
| PHPStan | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| Psalm | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| PHP CS Fixer | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| PHP_CodeSniffer | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| platforms | ||
| Windows | Supported | Supported |
| macOS | Supported | Supported |
| Linux | Supported | Supported |
| Browser based | Not supported | Not supported |
| pricing | ||
| Free to use | Supported | Not supported |
| Commercial option acceptable | Supported | Supported |
| remote | ||
| SSH workflows | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| SFTP | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| FTP | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| Remote development | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| resources | ||
| Low memory use | Not supported | Not supported |
| Large projects | Supported | Supported |
| vcs | ||
| Git | Supported | Supported |
| GitHub | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
| GitLab | Partial / plugin-dependent | Supported |
Detailed comparison
Integrated products with different economics
Both products model PHP projects, provide code assistance, and support interactive debugging. PhpStorm is funded through JetBrains subscriptions and concentrates PHP, web, database, container, and framework functionality in a curated product. PDT is an Eclipse Foundation project distributed under the EPL and draws remote, Git, database, and other capabilities from the wider Eclipse ecosystem.
PhpStorm generally offers deeper automated PHP refactoring and framework navigation. PDT offers transparency, no license fee, and alignment with organizations already deploying Eclipse for Java or other engineering work.
Who should choose Eclipse PDT
Choose PhpStorm when
The project is large, framework-heavy, and frequently refactored; the team needs supported Docker interpreters and polished database tools; and subscription cost is acceptable. Scope indexing carefully on generated or remote directories.
Who should choose PhpStorm
Choose Eclipse PDT when
The organization requires open-source tooling, already manages Eclipse update sites, or wants one Eclipse platform across languages. Standardize an exact tested package because two plugin collections can behave very differently.
Final recommendation by user type
Recommendation
Validate the PHP language level, Composer project import, Xdebug 3 connection, Git workflow, and one framework-specific navigation task. PDT should not be dismissed as discontinued, and PhpStorm should not be selected merely because it is commercial.