PHP 8.5 was released in late 2025. Six months later, developers are still asking the same question: “Is it worth upgrading?” To answer this, we benchmarked PHP 8.3.30, 8.4.17, and 8.5.2 under three realistic workloads—light I/O, moderate I/O latency (50ms), and heavy I/O latency (200ms). The results reveal clear patterns, a surprising reversal, and a practical answer to the upgrade question.
In our previous benchmarks, we kept JIT disabled to isolate the impact of runtime architecture on performance. Readers immediately asked: “What happens when you turn JIT on?” Today, we answer that question definitively—by re-running our comprehensive four-environment, three-tier I/O latency test with PHP 8.5’s JIT compiler fully enabled. The results are surprising. JIT not only failed … Read more
In our previous benchmark, Swoole finished last in a light I/O workload, challenging its reputation as a performance monster. Readers immediately asked: “Is Swoole really that slow, or did the test simply not play to its strengths?” Today, we answer that question definitively—by putting all four application servers through escalating database latency and watching the … Read more
In this Swoole vs RoadRunner vs FrankenPHP PHP 8.5 benchmark, we put four application servers to the test. In our previous comparison, we evaluated PHP-FPM, RoadRunner, and FrankenPHP. Readers immediately asked: “Where’s Swoole?” Today, we answer that question by completing the most comprehensive PHP 8.5 application server comparison ever published.
In this PHP 8.5 application server benchmark, we put three runtimes to the test: traditional PHP‑FPM, RoadRunner, and FrankenPHP. Traditional PHP‑FPM has been the reliable workhorse for two decades. However, modern application servers promise higher concurrency, lower latency, and better resource efficiency. How much faster are they in a real‑world Laravel application? We compared all three … Read more
