My PHP Performance Benchmarks

PHP version 7.4.33 is running on this server. The benchmarks are done live. Reload the page to get fresh numbers. You are free to use the source for whatever you want. Giving credits to me (Thiemo Mättig) would be nice.

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 (!$var)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms409
if (empty($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 ms1 ms537
if ('' == $var)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms498
if ($var === '')>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms421
if ('' === $var)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms417
if (strcmp($var, '') == 0)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms1131
if (strcmp('', $var) == 0)1 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms2 ms1436
if (strlen($var) == 0)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms486
if (!strlen($var))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms459

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($array) === 0 //by reference>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms205
count($array) === 0 //by value>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms163
$array === []>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
empty($array)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
(bool)$array>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms167

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 ms240
$a === $b>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
!strcmp($a, $b)1 ms1 ms1 ms2 ms1277
strcmp($a, $b) == 01 ms1 ms1 ms2 ms1438
strcmp($a, $b) === 01 ms1 ms1 ms2 ms1617
strcasecmp($a, $b) === 01 ms1 ms1 ms2 ms1761

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, $needle) !== false>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms154
stristr($haystack, $needle)2 ms2 ms2 ms2 ms9 ms5778
preg_match("/$needle/", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms461
preg_match("/$needle/i", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms488
preg_match("/$needle/S", $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms414

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 ms349
strncmp($haystack, 'needle', 6) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms255
strncasecmp($haystack, $needle, strlen($needle)) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms258
strpos($haystack, $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms466
substr($haystack, 0, strlen($needle)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms289
strcmp(substr($haystack, 0, strlen($needle)), $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms463
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, 0, strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms326
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, 0)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms273
preg_match('/^' . preg_quote($needle, '/') . '/', $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms959

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)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms342
substr($haystack, -strlen($needle)) === $needle>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms291
substr($haystack, -1) === 'n'>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms243
strcmp(substr($haystack, -strlen($needle)), $needle) === 0>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms502
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, -strlen($needle), strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms339
substr_compare($haystack, $needle, -strlen($needle))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms309
preg_match('/' . preg_quote($needle, '/') . '$/', $haystack)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms3100

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, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms155
preg_replace("/$search/", $replace, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms244
preg_replace("/$search/S", $replace, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms229
strtr($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, $subject)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms124
strtr($subject, $fromChar, $toChar)1 ms2 ms2 ms1 ms7 ms1436
strtr($subject, array($fromChar => $toChar))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 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($string, ',')>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms100
preg_replace('/^,*|,*$/', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms1 ms1115
preg_replace('/^,*|,*$/m', '', $string)1 ms2 ms1 ms2 ms6 ms7593
preg_replace('/^,+|,+$/', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms208
preg_replace('/^,+|,+$/m', '', $string)>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms183
preg_replace('/^,+/', '', preg_replace('/,+$/', '', …))>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms>0 ms348

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 ms187
preg_match_all('/[^,]+/', $string, $matches)>0 ms>0 ms1 ms2 ms253

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); $i++) //by reference>0 ms209
for ($i = 0; $i < count($array); $i++) //by value>0 ms181
for ($i = 0, $count = count($array); $i < $count; $i++)>0 ms100
for ($i = count($array) - 1; $i >= 0; $i--)>0 ms119
for ($i = count($array) - 1; $i >= 0; --$i)>0 ms120
$i = count($array); while ($i--)>0 ms138

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]2 ms100
$array['key']2 ms102

My conclusion: I like associative arrays.

Implode an Array

Method Summary Index
implode(' ', $array)1 ms2124
"$array[0] $array[1] $array[2]">0 ms104
$array[0] . ' ' . $array[1] . ' ' . $array[2]>0 ms100
sprintf('%s %s %s', $array[0], $array[1], $array[2])1 ms2765
vsprintf('%s %s %s', $array)1 ms3116

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 ms102
"contains no dollar signs">0 ms101
'$variables $are $not $replaced'>0 ms100
"\$variables \$are \$not \$replaced">0 ms100
"$variables $are $replaced">0 ms103
$variables . ' ' . $are . ' ' . $replaced>0 ms100
$variables . " " . $are . " " . $replaced>0 ms128

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
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