PHP Performance Benchmarks

This page allows you to view different processign speeds of various PHP functions, iterated for 10000 (or less in some cases). The info shows the relative speed of these functions on this server, runnin PHP version 7.4.33. The benchmarks are done live. Reload the page to get fresh numbers. This page was created by Thiemo Mättig, check his website for more awesome tools.

Please note that these are micro benchmarks. Micro benchmarks are stupid. I created this comparison to learn something about PHP and how the PHP compiler works. This can not be used to compare PHP versions or servers.

Check if a String is empty

Method Undefined Null False Empty string String '0' String '1' Long string Summary Index
if (!$var)2 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms2 ms1425
if (empty($var))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
if ($var == '')>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms292
if ('' == $var)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms300
if ($var === '')>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms240
if ('' === $var)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms384
if (strcmp($var, '') == 0)1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms765
if (strcmp('', $var) == 0)1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms704
if (strlen($var) == 0)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms336
if (!strlen($var))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms304

My conclusion: In most cases, Do not use empty() because it does not trigger a warning when used with undefined variables. Note that empty('0') returns true. Use strlen() if you want to detect '0'. Try to avoid == at all because it may cause strange behaviour (e.g. '9a' == 9 returns true). Prefer === over == and !== over != if possible because it does compare the variable types in addition to the contents.

Check if an Array is empty

Method Empty array 100 elements Summary Index
count($array) === 0 //by reference>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms143
count($array) === 0 //by value>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms130
$array === []>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms119
empty($array)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
(bool)$array>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms111

My conclusion: Why count if you don't care about the exact number?

Compare two Strings

Method Equal First character not equal Last character not equal Summary Index
$a == $b>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
$a === $b>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms123
!strcmp($a, $b)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms193
strcmp($a, $b) == 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms180
strcmp($a, $b) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms218
strcasecmp($a, $b) === 0>0 ms>0 ms1 ms1 ms304

My conclusion: Use what fits your needs.

Check if a String contains another String

Method Not found Found at the start Found in the middle Found at the end Summary Index
strstr($haystack, $needle)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms166
strpos($haystack, $needle) !== false>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
strstr($haystack, $needle) !== false>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms158
stristr($haystack, $needle)2 ms3 ms2 ms2 ms9 ms3958
preg_match("/$needle/", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms238
preg_match("/$needle/i", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms387
preg_match("/$needle/S", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms240
strpos( strtolower($haystack), $needle )2 ms2 ms2 ms2 ms7 ms3153
strpos( strtoupper($haystack), $needle )3 ms2 ms2 ms2 ms10 ms4722
strpos($haystack,"NEEDLE") || strpos($haystack,"needle") || strpos($haystack,"Needle")>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms343

My conclusion: It does not matter if you use strstr() or strpos(). Use the preg…() functions only if you need the power of regular expressions. Never use the ereg…() functions.

Check if a String starts with another String

Method Not found Found at the start Found in the middle Found at the end Summary Index
$haystack[0] === 'n'>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
strncmp($haystack, $needle, strlen($needle)) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms128
strncmp($haystack, 'needle', 6) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms112
strncasecmp($haystack, $needle, strlen($needle)) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms119
strpos($haystack, $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms600
substr($haystack, 0, strlen($needle)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms125
strcmp(substr($haystack, 0, strlen($needle)), $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms179
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, 0, strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms160
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, 0)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms111
preg_match('/^' . preg_quote($needle, '/') . '/', $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms442

My conclusion: strpos() is very fast and can be used in almost all cases. strncmp() is good if you are looking for a constant length needle.

Check if a String ends with another String

Method Not found Found at the start Found in the middle Found at the end Summary Index
$haystack[strlen($haystack) - 1] === 'n'>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
substr($haystack, strlen($haystack) - strlen($needle)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms133
substr($haystack, -strlen($needle)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms131
substr($haystack, -1) === 'n'>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms112
strcmp(substr($haystack, -strlen($needle)), $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms178
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, -strlen($needle), strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms142
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, -strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms131
preg_match('/' . preg_quote($needle, '/') . '$/', $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms2708

My conclusion: Using substr() with a negative position is a good trick.

Replace a (>1 Character) String inside another String

Method Not found Found at the start Found in the middle Found at the end Summary Index
str_replace($search, $replace, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
preg_replace("/$search/", $replace, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms183
preg_replace("/$search/S", $replace, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms165
strtr($subject, array($search => $replace))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms105

My conclusion: Never use the ereg…() functions.

Replace a Character inside a String

Method Not found Found at the start Found in the middle Found at the end Summary Index
str_replace($fromChar, $toChar, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms106
strtr($subject, $fromChar, $toChar)1 ms3 ms2 ms1 ms8 ms940
strtr($subject, array($fromChar => $toChar))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms100

My conclusion: Since PHP 7.0 strtr() can sometimes beat str_replace().

Trim Characters from the Beginning and End of a String

Method Not found Found at start Found at end Found at both sides Summary Index
trim($string, ',')>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
preg_replace('/^,*|,*$/', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms3468
preg_replace('/^,*|,*$/m', '', $string)1 ms1 ms1 ms1 ms5 ms20536
preg_replace('/^,+|,+$/', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms671
preg_replace('/^,+|,+$/m', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms563
preg_replace('/^,+/', '', preg_replace('/,+$/', '', …))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms871

My conclusion: Always benchmark your regular expressions! In this case, with .* you also replace nothing with nothing which takes time because there is a lot of “nothing” in every string.

Split a String into an Array

Method Empty string Single occurrence Multiple occurrences Summary Index
explode(',', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms100
preg_split('/,/', $string)>0 ms>0 ms1 ms1 ms191
preg_match_all('/[^,]+/', $string, $matches)>0 ms>0 ms1 ms2 ms303

My conclusion: Don't use split(). It got deprecated in PHP 5.3 and removed from PHP 7.0.

Loop a numerical indexed Array of Strings

Method Summary Index
for ($i = 0; $i < count($array); $i++) //by reference>0 ms238
for ($i = 0; $i < count($array); $i++) //by value>0 ms215
for ($i = 0, $count = count($array); $i < $count; $i++)>0 ms143
for ($i = count($array) - 1; $i >= 0; $i--)>0 ms140
for ($i = count($array) - 1; $i >= 0; --$i)>0 ms100
$i = count($array); while ($i--)>0 ms127

My conclusion: count() could have been horribly slow in PHP 5 and below when copy-on-write accidentally kicked in. Always precalculate it, if possible.

Get Elements from an Array

Method Summary Index
$array[0]3 ms110
$array['key']3 ms100

My conclusion: I like associative arrays.

Implode an Array

Method Summary Index
implode(' ', $array)1 ms100
"$array[0] $array[1] $array[2]"1 ms112
$array[0] . ' ' . $array[1] . ' ' . $array[2]1 ms152
sprintf('%s %s %s', $array[0], $array[1], $array[2])1 ms180
vsprintf('%s %s %s', $array)1 ms173

My conclusion: String concatenation is a cheap operation in PHP. Don't waste your time benchmarking this.

The single vs. double Quotes Myth

Method Summary Index
'contains no dollar signs'>0 ms105
"contains no dollar signs">0 ms105
'$variables $are $not $replaced'>0 ms103
"\$variables \$are \$not \$replaced">0 ms100
"$variables $are $replaced"1 ms2359
$variables . ' ' . $are . ' ' . $replaced2 ms3972
$variables . " " . $are . " " . $replaced3 ms4066

My conclusion: It does not matter if you use single or double quotes at all. The inclusion of variables has a measurable effect, but that's independent from the quotes.

© Thiemo Mättig, created in September 2008, updated in August 2017
Free sourcecode of this script is available
My current projects:

This page is for the more technical aspect of my life. Here I test new scripts and keep a relevant index of the tools I build or like. Sadly, my time is very limited, so I update this page only on rare occasions.
You can contact me for feedback, suggestions, and custom work requests at this address: max _at_ lumnar.com