ASP.NET vs PHP: Guide to Choose the Right Technology

ASP.NET & PHP are the two of the many prominent programming languages used by developers to build quality applications. As both are efficacious, choosing one becomes no less than an arduous task. Entrepreneurs and developers get all over the map, comparing ASP.NET vs PHP when choosing one of the two for their project development.

PHP and ASP.NET have broad user bases, and a large number of developers use them. While PHP is a general-purpose programing language that developers rely on to a broad extent, ASP.NET, on the other hand, is an open-source (free) and cross-platform framework for building enterprise-level web apps and services powered by .NET and C#.

Since both ASP.NET & PHP are quite popular programming languages, we know how complex it may be for you to choose one of them. Considering this fact, we’ve created this article containing a detailed comparison of ASP.NET vs PHP to assist you in selecting the one which is right for you.

Let’s Read Between the Lines!

What’s PHP

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is an open-source programming language geared towards web development and can be embedded into HTML. The programing language offers a simple coding technique allowing, especially beginners, to use it conveniently. Furthermore, PHP is quite a useful language for professional programmers as well— as it provides all the advanced features and functionalities.

Features of PHP

Pros & Cons of PHP

Let’s look at the positives and negatives of using PHP!

Pros

Streamlined development is one of the key pluses of using PHP. The market demands faster development, and the technology that meets this expectation is the first choice of developers. PHP ensures not only rapid development but also robust security.

Security is one of the key attributes of PHP and is primarily used by developers for security purposes. Let’s have a look at some more benefits of using PHP.

Cons

PHP, undoubtedly, is a well-known programming language preferred for its pros; however, there are some stumbling blocks of it. Cons, for instance, slower execution and lacking competencies to fix specific issues, are some drawbacks of using PHP. Mentioned below are some of them.

What’s ASP.NET?

Built by Microsoft, ASP.NET is one of the top-rated, open-source, and server-side web development frameworks that allow developers to build robust, dynamic, and high-performance web solutions. Asp.Net frameworks are written in .NET that supports .NET, JavaSctipt, Visual Basic, and languages like Perl and Python. Moreover, ASP.NET is compatible with the previous version of asp.net MVC.

Features of ASP.NET

Pros & Cons of ASP.NET

Here are some of the positive and negative aspects of ASP.NET mentioned below that you need to consider for a better understanding.

Pros

The flexibility to add and remove features when required, ease of setting up, compatibility with other .NET frameworks, being platform-agnostic and open-source capabilities are some of the pros of using ASP.NET. Here are some more advantages you should consider looking at.

Cons

ASP.NET has numerous pros; however, it isn’t free of drawbacks. The programming languages have some stumbling blocks when it comes to making changes, lack of supporting tools, lack of basic features, documentation gaps, etc. Troubleshooting these issues requires an ASP.NET developer to utilize external tools and methods. Here are some more cons that you may come across when using ASP.NET.

End-to-End Comparison Between ASP.NET vs PHP

ASP.NET vs PHP: Performance

There’s a common misconception that the language of a framework determines how it will perform; that’s not the truth. The way a framework works is determined by the quality of coding, which means the ASP.NET or PHP development firm you choose matters the most. The performance of ASP.NET is better compared to PHP; however, the PHP developer may disagree with this thought, as a multitude of great websites has been built using PHP.

No matter what, no source can deny the fact that ASP.NET provides parallel programming that allows chunks of code to run simultaneously. On the other hand, PHP doesn’t provide the same functionality.

PHP vs ASP.NET: Market Share

The uses and market share differentiate PHP & ASP.NET to a massive extent. As per W3Techs, of all the websites with a particular and known server-side programming language, PHP powers 78.9% of them, whereas merely 9.7% are powered by ASP.NET.

When we glance through the resources about the entire web, PHP powers around 8.335% of websites, whereas 2.733% of them are powered by ASP.NET.

Need it to be more clear? Let’s glance at another survey conducted by SimilarTech based on all the existing websites.

Source : SimilarTech

According to SimilarTech, ASP.NET supports 1,913,085 websites worldwide, while 5,834,831 of them are backed by PHP.

Website Built Using Asp.Net & PHP

As we explored many aspects of both of the technologies, let’s have a look at some of the websites built using ASP.NET & PHP.

Websites built with ASP.NET

Websites built with PHP

Note: There are some websites from both lists that are immensely powerful and performance-rich, but most of the well-known websites are powered by PHP.

ASP.NET v/s PHP: Security

Another variety between ASP.NET v/s PHP is the alternatives for security that they provide. However, both of them offer features for security; ASP.NET offers built-in security features, for example, SQL injection. ASP.NET performs work for you automatically, while PHP only provides you with the tool, and you need to do the task on your own.

Therefore, when it comes to choosing between PHP and ASP.NET development based on security, ASP.NET should be the right choice. PHP also provides developers with tools to structure apps securely, but most of them carelessly avoid doing the same, resulting in the production of vulnerable applications.

PHP vs .NET: Community Support

PHP is an open-source technology, and it has a larger community compared to ASP.NET. On the other hand, Asp.Net also consists of highly dedicated developers supportive to the community. Despite not being that large a community like PHP, however, as asp.net has a limited number of members, they are highly dedicated to the community.

PHP, however, constantly comes with appropriate solutions required to fix the challenges faced during web development; the benefit of ASP.NET over PHP is that they are a community of developers dedicated to programming rather than being large in numbers.

Be it PHP or Asp.Net, both consist of vibrant communities that post essential information regularly to online platforms. In case you’re on the lookout for answers to your issues, you will be likely to find both of these technologies beneficial for you.

Dot.Net vs PHP: Cost

When it comes to comparing ASP.NET vs PHP on the basis of expense, PHP is more likely to win the race. PHP, indeed, is a winner because it’s open source. On the other hand, asp.net charges some fee for hosting. However, the charge isn’t that high when compared to an open-source technology (PHP); .net is costlier and makes users skeptical about using ASP.NET.

PHP vs Dot.Net: Scalability & Ease of Maintenence

Be it PHP or .NET, both of them have no remarkable differences in terms the scalability and ease of maintenance. ASP.NET, as well as PHP are both appropriately scalable languages. Furthermore, the ease of maintenance and scalability will mostly depend on the guidelines and standards, programming practices, and experience of your developers.

Conclusion: ASP.NET vs PHP: Which is Better?

When it comes to making a selection between two popular and high-performing technologies like ASP.NET and PHP, it becomes a tough task to perform. Considering this dilemma, we included everything needed in choosing one that is right for you.

We discussed everything relating to asp.net and PHP, for instance, what’s PHP and asp.net, their features, pros, and cons, and made a detailed comparison based on various parameters. Codzgarage is the top-rated custom software development company, offering a wide range of development services including web and mobile application development, migration/upgradation, consulting, and support. Contact us if you need a consulting service or want to build a new application or upgrade the existing one.