vioscaleAI
Comparison

PHPStan vs Psalm

On the evidence we track, Psalm leads this comparison with a composite score of 64/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

PHPStan full profile →Psalm full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
PHPStan58
★Psalm64
Score
vioscaleAI score
PHPStan58 / 100medium · 54%
Psalm64 / 100low · 42%
Pricing
Free tier
PHPStan✓
Psalm✓
Model
PHPStanfreemium
Psalmcommercial
Price level
PHPStanlow
Psalmfree
Starting price
PHPStan€7
Psalm–
Transparent
PHPStan✓
Psalm✓
Integrations
Count
PHPStan3
Psalm–
Security
Gdpr
PHPStan✓
Psalm–
Scorecard
PHPStan5
Psalm4.7
Vulnerabilities
Adoption
Dependent repos
PHPStan2
Psalm15,920
Github stars
PHPStan14,128
Psalm5,896
Activity
Commits last 30d
PHPStan100
Psalm100
Release
Cadence days
PHPStan3
Psalm1
History
PHPStan20 items
Psalm20 items
License
Spdx
PHPStanMIT
PsalmMIT
Language
Primary
PHPStanPHP
PsalmPHP
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
PHPStan8 items
Psalm5 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for code quality tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
Function
PHPStanStatic analyzer
PsalmStatic analyzer
Language scope
PHPStanSingle-language
PsalmSingle-language
Implementation language
PHPStanPHP
PsalmPHP
Capability
Autofix
PHPStan✗
Psalm✓
Config
Config model
PHPStanConfig file
PsalmConfig file
Extensibility
Custom rules
PHPStan✓
Psalm✓
Deployment
Deployment
PHPStanBoth
PsalmCLI-local
Delivery
Editor integration
PHPStan✓
Psalm✓
CI / VCS gating
PHPStan✓
Psalm✓
Insight
Code metrics
PHPStan-
Psalm✓
Performance
Incremental / monorepo aware
PHPStan✓
Psalm-
Licensing
Open-source
PHPStanOSS
PsalmOSS
Commercial
Pricing model
PHPStanFree
PsalmFree

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

PHPStan

PHPStan analyzes PHP code to detect bugs and errors before execution. It enhances code reliability by catching a wide range of issues early in development, similar to type checking in compiled languages.

Independently observed

Psalm

Leader

Psalm scans PHP codebases to discover potential problems and includes Psalter, a tool for automatically fixing identified issues with configurable safety measures and PHP version targeting.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

PHPStan

from €7/moHybridFree tier30-day trial

Free open-source, or 7 EUR/month (individual) / 70 EUR/month (team up to 25 members) for Pro features. 30-day free trial.

  • Open SourceFree
    • Static code analysis
    • Bug detection
    • Type checking
  • Individual Pro7 EUR/month
    • Web UI for browsing errors
    • Continuous analysis (watch mode)
    • Editor integration
  • Team Pro70 EUR/month (up to 25 members)
    • Web UI for browsing errors
    • Continuous analysis (watch mode)
    • Editor integration
as of verify ↗

Psalm

Leader
Open sourceFree tier

Free and open-source. Optional paid support contracts available.

  • Open SourceFree
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
PHPStan✓
Psalm✗
CLI
PHPStan✓
Psalm✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
PHPStan✓
Psalm✗
Self-hosted
PHPStan✓
Psalm✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

PHPStan

3 total
  • Symfony
  • Laravel
  • Doctrine
Independently observed

Psalm

Leader

Not documented yet.

Still deciding?

PHPStan or Psalm: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.