# PhpStorm vs Eclipse vs NetBeans for PHP development: which PHP IDE do professional backend developers actually end up using day to day?

<p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">Hey G2 community, I’m looking beyond feature lists to understand which PHP IDE professional backend developers actually use every day.</p><ul>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/phpstorm/reviews"><strong>PhpStorm</strong></a> <em>(4.6 stars, 494 reviews)</em> is the most PHP-focused, with strong Laravel, Symfony, Twig, pair-programming, and GitHub Copilot support. Reviewers often accept the licence cost, but resource consumption can become frustrating.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/eclipse/reviews"><strong>Eclipse</strong></a> <em>(4.3 stars, 3,218 reviews)</em> is stable, free, and flexible once configured. PHP support is plugin-dependent, and the interface feels dated to some users.</li>
<li>
<a class="a a--md" elv="true" href="https://www.g2.com/products/netbeans/reviews"><strong>NetBeans</strong></a> <em>(4.2 stars, 674 reviews)</em> includes PHP support out of the box and requires less plugin hunting, although background scanning can slow larger projects.</li>
</ul><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">PhpStorm appears strongest for dedicated PHP work; Eclipse and NetBeans appeal more when cost or multi-language development matters.</p><p class="elv-tracking-normal elv-text-default elv-font-figtree elv-text-base elv-leading-base elv-font-normal" elv="true">What made you switch from one to another?</p>

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: 8 days ago
- Author title: Marketer
- Net upvotes: 1


## Comments
### Comment 1

The migration experience is the real gap in this comparison. PhpStorm, Eclipse, and NetBeans all cover the core development workflow, but framework support, plugin maintenance, and team onboarding tend to influence long-term adoption as much as the feature list itself.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: about 19 hours ago
- Author title: Jr. SEO Specialist





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