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 (!$var)3 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms4 ms1124
if (empty($var))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
if ($var == '')1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms308
if ('' == $var)1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms304
if ($var === '')1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms254
if ('' === $var)1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms255
if (strcmp($var, '') == 0)1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms442
if (strcmp('', $var) == 0)1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms442
if (strlen($var) == 0)1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms314
if (!strlen($var))1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms334

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($array) === 0 //by reference>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms141
count($array) === 0 //by value>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms134
$array === []>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms117
empty($array)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
(bool)$array>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms102

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 ms1 ms100
$a === $b>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms103
!strcmp($a, $b)1 ms1 ms1 ms2 ms187
strcmp($a, $b) == 01 ms1 ms1 ms2 ms188
strcmp($a, $b) === 01 ms1 ms1 ms2 ms199
strcasecmp($a, $b) === 02 ms1 ms1 ms4 ms296

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, $needle)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms117
strpos($haystack, $needle) !== false>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
strstr($haystack, $needle) !== false>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms183
stristr($haystack, $needle)3 ms3 ms3 ms3 ms13 ms5884
preg_match("/$needle/", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms507
preg_match("/$needle/i", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms483
preg_match("/$needle/S", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms444
strpos( strtolower($haystack), $needle )5 ms5 ms5 ms5 ms19 ms8675
strpos( strtoupper($haystack), $needle )5 ms5 ms5 ms4 ms18 ms8448
strpos($haystack,"NEEDLE") || strpos($haystack,"needle") || strpos($haystack,"Needle")>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms189

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 ms161
strncmp($haystack, 'needle', 6) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms147
strncasecmp($haystack, $needle, strlen($needle)) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms179
strpos($haystack, $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms240
substr($haystack, 0, strlen($needle)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms154
strcmp(substr($haystack, 0, strlen($needle)), $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms262
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, 0, strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms163
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, 0)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms130
preg_match('/^' . preg_quote($needle, '/') . '/', $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms638

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)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms139
substr($haystack, -strlen($needle)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms133
substr($haystack, -1) === 'n'>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms113
strcmp(substr($haystack, -strlen($needle)), $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms194
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, -strlen($needle), strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms150
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, -strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms129
preg_match('/' . preg_quote($needle, '/') . '$/', $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms1290

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, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms118
preg_replace("/$search/", $replace, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms219
preg_replace("/$search/S", $replace, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms243
strtr($subject, array($search => $replace))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100

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, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms146
strtr($subject, $fromChar, $toChar)2 ms3 ms3 ms2 ms10 ms1435
strtr($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($string, ',')>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
preg_replace('/^,*|,*$/', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms2676
preg_replace('/^,*|,*$/m', '', $string)2 ms2 ms1 ms2 ms7 ms14034
preg_replace('/^,+|,+$/', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms373
preg_replace('/^,+|,+$/m', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms231
preg_replace('/^,+/', '', preg_replace('/,+$/', '', …))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms377

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 ms1 ms1 ms100
preg_split('/,/', $string)>0 ms>0 ms1 ms1 ms164
preg_match_all('/[^,]+/', $string, $matches)>0 ms>0 ms2 ms2 ms273

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); $i++) //by reference>0 ms164
for ($i = 0; $i < count($array); $i++) //by value>0 ms157
for ($i = 0, $count = count($array); $i < $count; $i++)>0 ms117
for ($i = count($array) - 1; $i >= 0; $i--)>0 ms117
for ($i = count($array) - 1; $i >= 0; --$i)>0 ms103
$i = count($array); while ($i--)>0 ms100

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]8 ms100
$array['key']8 ms100

My conclusion: I like associative arrays.

Implode an Array

Method Summary Index
implode(' ', $array)1 ms100
"$array[0] $array[1] $array[2]"1 ms118
$array[0] . ' ' . $array[1] . ' ' . $array[2]2 ms153
sprintf('%s %s %s', $array[0], $array[1], $array[2])2 ms177
vsprintf('%s %s %s', $array)2 ms143

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 ms137
"contains no dollar signs">0 ms100
'$variables $are $not $replaced'>0 ms104
"\$variables \$are \$not \$replaced">0 ms107
"$variables $are $replaced"3 ms1656
$variables . ' ' . $are . ' ' . $replaced4 ms2347
$variables . " " . $are . " " . $replaced4 ms2314

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