# PhpStorm

17 Hacker News commenters recommended PhpStorm and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Developers recommend it for code navigation, auto-completion, indexing and built-in database tools, though it is paid and can be slow and memory-hungry.

## Why people recommend it

- Built-in database tools and DQL support (3 comments): "Most JetBrains IDE's include the database tools actually, we use Phpstorm and PyCharm, and they come with fully-fledged database connection support" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46547693)) "I still use PHPStorm for checking diffs, database access, reviewing PRs, and the debugger." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49981882)) "DQL which is an SQL-like language that's pretty well integrated in phpstorm" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49195540))
- Widely used, well-regarded IDE (3 comments): "PHPStorm is still the default IDE for many developers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49978670)) "that's really a great IDE" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45840253)) "PHP Storm is a proper IDE" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48204185))
- Excellent indexing and code navigation (2 comments): "I love what it can do, especially when it comes to code discovery and auto-completion." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48204106)) "PHPStorm's indexing is incredible." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48144990))
- Used daily by long-time customers (2 comments): "I've been a happy customer of PHPStorm for years and it continues to improve." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49977857)) "use PhpStorm almost daily" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49800523))

## What people warn about

- Uses lots of memory and runs slow (2 comments): "I'll occasionally have PHPStorm use up all available memory, but it tends to go away after a restart of the app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48186200)) "is super slow and hogs ram like crazy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49019758))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [JetBrains IDEs](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jetbrains-ides.md): 233 recommend
- [IntelliJ IDEA](https://hackerapproved.com/p/intellij-idea.md): 206 recommend
- [Microsoft Visual Studio](https://hackerapproved.com/p/visual-studio.md): 165 recommend
- [Delphi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/delphi.md): 126 recommend
- [Xcode](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xcode.md): 100 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.jetbrains.com/phpstorm/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "PhpStorm", https://hackerapproved.com/p/phpstorm/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).