PHP Technology Assessment
Executive Summary for Decision Makers
why-php.com
Updated: December 2025
The Bottom Line
PHP powers 72.9% of all websites with known server-side technology, including Wikipedia, Slack, and Etsy. Meta's Hack derives from PHP. Modern PHP 8.x delivers enterprise-grade performance, security, and developer productivity at competitive costs.
72.9%
Web Market Share
30
Years Mature
5M+
Developers Worldwide
400k+
Packages Available
1 Enterprise Validation
Facebook/Meta
3+ billion daily active users
Wikipedia
16+ billion page views/month
Slack
Acquired for $27.7B
Etsy
$12.6B annual GMV
2 Business Benefits
Cost Efficiency
PHP developers cost 10-20% less than Node.js/Go equivalents
Massive Talent Pool
5M+ developers means faster hiring and competitive rates
Enterprise Security
Symfony/Laravel frameworks pass strictest security audits
Fast Time-to-Market
Rapid development with mature ecosystem and frameworks
3 3-Year TCO Comparison (5-Person Team)
PHP (Symfony)
€825,000
Recommended
Node.js
€1,050,000
+27% higher
Go
€1,200,000
+45% higher
Based on European market salary data. Includes developer costs only. See full TCO calculator at why-php.com
? Addressing Common Concerns
"PHP is dead"
72.9% market share, active development, PHP Foundation funding
"PHP doesn't scale"
Wikipedia, Slack, Etsy serve billions of users on PHP
"PHP isn't modern"
PHP 8.x: JIT compilation, typed properties, attributes, enums
"Can't hire PHP devs"
5M+ developers globally, largest web talent pool