PHP vs ASP.NET: Know The Difference Between Two?

Any web developer’s main aim is to provide top-quality, highly scalable, and durable web applications. Therefore, they’re required to select the best technology stack to meet these objectives. There are several technology stacks available out there, such as PHP, ASP.NET, Ruby on Rails, and Python. But having said that, PHP and ASP are the most popular technologies that hold the lion’s share in the web development market. 

Also, the battle between PHP or ASP.NET, which is better? Has intrigued web developers for a long time. Each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses that support a wide range of web projects. 

PHP is an open-source server-side scripting language mainly utilized for website development, whereas ASP.NET is a framework designed by Microsoft for developing dynamic web applications.

In this blog, we’ll compare ASP vs. PHP based on different parameters such as performance, flexibility, scalability, frameworks, cost, libraries, database integrations, and so on in order to help you make a well-informed decision for your web project.

What is PHP?

PHP, or Hypertext Processor, is an open-source framework we use to develop websites. Rasmus Lerdorf developed it in 1994. This framework stands out from other most sought-after programming languages as it can be effortlessly blended into HTML code, which streamlines the process of creating dynamic web pages.

But that’s just the beginning. PHP is also popular for its clean design and user-friendliness. It is highly versatile and compatible with a variety of databases. That’s why it is considered perfect for different website development projects.

Apart from this, it has an enormous community, i.e., large amounts of resources, libraries, and PHP frameworks that are made available for users to assist them in improving the speed of their website development process.

Under this, there are different subcategories like Laravel and many more. Most developers find Laravel as the best PHP framework. We have also covered the same topic in the “Why Is the Laravel PHP Framework Best?” blog. Take advantage of reading it!

For higher site’s efficiency and speed, you may rely on our PHP hosting services that many developer’s communities prefer. 

Also, we will not cover this framework’s history because in our previous blogs PHP vs JavaScript, we covered it.

Additional information will be available here. So, don’t get out of this blog. PHP stands out from other languages because it is easy to embed into HTML code. It interprets the PHP code on a web server to form a whole or part of an HTTP response. Regarding ASP vs PHP, PHP is ahead because of its simplicity in computer language.

And let’s be very honest with you regarding market share! PHP holds the majority as compared to ASP.NET.

But wait! Don’t declare PHP the winner in the PHP vs ASP.NET match. Let’s discuss its competitor ASP.NET.

What is ASP.NET?

ASP.NET is an open-source, server-side framework built by Microsoft for developing dynamic websites, applications, and services. The full form of ASP is Active Server Pages, and .NET stands for Network Enabled Technologies. It is built with CLR (Common Language Runtime). Therefore, programmers write ASP code easily without using any .NET language. ASP.NET is a framework for building web applications, services, and dynamic content-driven websites. It is part of the Microsoft .NET platform and we recommend opting for ASP.NET Hosting, which makes all Windows software and applications compatible with the framework.

ASP.NET is used to build dynamic websites, web applications, and services. Being an open-source server-side web application framework, CRMs and enterprises find it a perfect choice for building websites.

Microsoft created it in 2002 to meet the scalability demands of enterprises. ERP applications, Console applications, and Enterprise level CRMs are easy to build with ASP.NET. Developers get the best UI and provide built-in caching features through it.

The good part is that it supports all programming languages.

Now, let us discuss more head-to-head about these programming languages.

PHP vs. ASP.NET: Understanding Their Differences

1. Cost

There is only one area where PHP has an advantage over ASP.NET. Microsoft owns ASP.NET and charges a web hosting fee, whereas PHP is open-source and free.

If you are already leaning toward outsourcing your ASP.NET development, the fees should be reasonable enough to discourage you from doing so.

ASP vs. PHP: Cost Comparison

Open-source nature of PHP, no licensing fees, and increasing availability of experts help in reducing its cost. ASP.NET, on the other hand, with expected licensing charges and increased demand for skilled developers, provides industry-level features and integration capabilities inside the Microsoft environment. Determining particular development project needs and far-reaching goals will assist you in determining the best fit and affordable option among PHP and ASP.NET.

Additionally, PHP can be run on Mac, Windows, or Linux machines, whereas ASP.NET development services can only be run on Windows computers. You can use the Mono project to run ASP.NET for Macs and Linux users.

2. Scalability

A PHP web application is as scalable as an ASP.NET web application. Hiring skilled developers is more important than choosing a language that will scale. Your business’s state should be considered in this regard. PHP is preferred over ASP.NET if you’re a DIY Entrepreneur interested in developing with Drupal.

Hiring a lead developer or a team to build your website is best done by deferring to the best available talent. If your company already uses one or the other language, it shouldn’t matter whether that talent works in PHP or ASP.NET.

Even though PHP is more clunky than ASP.NET if you hire PHP programmers, this will show itself as a weakness in your website’s overall framework. It’s also important to note that ASP.NET belongs to the NET development pool.

ASP vs. PHP: Scalability Comparison

The efficiency and quick execution nature of PHP, together with ASP.NET’s performance-improving features, play an important role in boosting their respective performance improvements. PHP and ASP both provide scalability; therefore, thorough analysis and checking are necessary to assure improved performance for your web development projects.

3. Support

Are you looking for technical support in both PHP and ASP? PHP has a vast community of developers from vibrant cultures and languages in this parameter. Your every problem answer will be available in the PHP community.

ASP.NET also possess the same, where dedicated developers and support contributors willingly assist users in different forums. All kinds of ASP.NET challenges will be resolved.

Get assured answers and solutions to overcome challenges. And if you have queries related to the web hosting operations, PHP hosting and Windows hosting service providers are available at your service 24×7.

4. Speed & Performance

A common misconception about website performance and speed is that the language in which you code determines your site’s speed.

Performance differences between PHP and ASP.NET websites, however, are very small.

Every web application queries a database and outputs the results to the web server – and ultimately to the end user’s browser.

To achieve the desired result, the coding language communicates with the database and web servers.

ASP vs. PHP: Speed & Performance Comparison

By considering various factors such as massive documentation, community support, and seamless integration offered by PHP, together with Laravel, provides increased performance benefits.

PHP vs. NET Core performance provides libraries and frameworks, with PHP and ASP.NET offering different alternatives like MVC and Core, together with enormous community support for your development project.

Related: PHP vs JSP: Differences Every Web Developer Must Understand

PHP and ASP web development can access file systems, find images, and display pages on a web server equally. Database servers, end-user computers, bandwidth, etc., all affect the speed of these performances.

It is a common misconception that ASP.NET is a more elegant language than PHP in web development.

It is true that ASP.NET does not allow as many irregularities in its code while still being able to run (which technically makes it an easier language for beginners to learn), but there are very few business benefits from being able to write “prettier code”.

Despite the fact that many expert PHP coders might reject the idea of building a website in PHP, popular websites such as MailChimp and Facebook written in PHP should dispel any notion that PHP websites perform less than ASP.NET sites.