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Microsoft .NET Framework vs Zend PHP Engine comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft .NET Framework
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zend PHP Engine
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Microsoft .NET Framework is 5.4%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend PHP Engine is 1.4%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft .NET Framework5.4%
Zend PHP Engine1.4%
Other93.2%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Qasim - PeerSpot reviewer
Has enabled building responsive multi-threaded applications while supporting rapid deployment workflows
Microsoft .NET Framework has already made significant improvements by becoming open source. Many developers are contributing to Microsoft .NET Framework, not just Microsoft itself. They have ported it to many platforms and allow a healthy ecosystem of open source tools. They have moved from Visual SourceSafe to supporting Git with Microsoft Visual Studio. Their IDE, Visual Studio Code, is open source and multi-platform. There are many third-party tools available, including AI-based tools such as Cursor and Bolt, which are forks of Visual Studio Code. Based on my understanding, I don't have any suggestions for improvement as they are already doing an excellent job.
SatyendraGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature.  A general scripting language should be further developed and should be embedded into it. I have been Zend PHP Engine for nine years.  Multiple people are using the solution.  Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"It is a stable solution."
"As we are a software company, we find that accessing resources using this technology is easier compared to the others."
"The web development and Microsoft Windows service development capabilities are among the most valuable features offered by the Microsoft .NET Framework. This language platform is highly user-friendly, with plenty of online examples and information available, as well as a robust development environment."
"Microsoft Platform is the only viable solution when I wish to do something that is not supposed to be cross-platform."
"Ease of use, the richness of the libraries and basically very good development tools."
"I like that ASP.NET is used for the framework and the core web services."
"Basically, .NET is simply is the easiest programming language to use, based on my experience."
"Microsoft .NET Framework’s most valuable features are web application development, RESTful services development, security, performance, and less memory footprint."
"The Zend Framework provides an easy, open source way to produce coding based on the needs of our customers.​"
"We have not encountered issues with scalability as long as we effectively use caching to optimize performance of our web applications as well as a proper use of database connectivity."
"Zend PHP Engine is more secure than any other framework, and I usually prefer Zend PHP Engine for big applications."
"Scaling up is an important factor for large projects, and with PHP 7 and its performance improvements, this becomes even easier.​"
"​Zend Engine is the core of PHP. It makes PHP fast, efficient, and basically, the language of choice for web applications."
"It offers good support for various types of classes, along with many open source libraries that we can readily utilize in our application development process. This gives us a lot of options when it comes to custom development solutions, without having to worry about licensing or other programming-related issues."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the speed at which it compiles and sends the dynamic cache."
"The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature."
 

Cons

"The product is nearing its sunset, and we think that by 2028, we won't get support anymore"
"Improvements are needed in .NET development, particularly in a backend scenario."
"The solution needs to update its security periodically because there are many security concerns."
"This solution is best used with some training."
"There is room for Microsoft .NET Framework to improve cloud platform capabilities."
"The integration with DevOps tools, such as Azure DevOps, Jira, and GitLab, would be a valuable addition."
"The solution could improve by optimizing the memory for better performance."
"Microsoft has its own product called Blazor, but I don't think it's quite as powerful yet as React or Angular. That's an area for improvement."
"Integration of MVC with ORM tools for PHP is okay, but lacking a short list of decent ORM tools for PHP to choose from; there is ample room for improvement in both areas."
"A general scripting language should be further developed and should be embedded into it."
"Zend PHP Engine needs to improve the loading time of its libraries and make it faster."
"The biggest problem with PHP is you have to write lot of conditions or have to use a framework."
"Although it offers a complete environment to develop and deploy PHP applications, it has some limitations. For example, when the volume of data increased exponentially, I had problems scaling the system."
"The solution can be quicker."
"SQL queries have always been an issue with PHP, especially if you use large tables, which require caution from the side of the developer.​"
"The main area that Zend needs to improve is to support asynchronous programming tasks, which is facilitated in PHP 7, but not at the same degree as HHVM.​​"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In the interim, there's no need to purchase videos for viewing. Microsoft has made significant moves in the .NET space, starting with their response in Visual Studio Code and now providing Visual Studio entirely for free. This is a notable shift from the past when we used to pay substantial amounts for technical subscriptions. Previously, a group of ten developers could cost several thousand dollars annually for licensing. However, the current trend is to offer these tools for free to maintain their dominance in the developer market. The market dynamics have changed, and now developers can freely download Visual Studio, making it a preferred choice over other paid options."
"There is a Community Edition that can be used free of charge, but the licensing cost for the Enterprise version is quite high."
"Microsoft .NET Framework is a free, open-source solution."
"Microsoft .NET Framework is licensed under the Windows License."
"The pricing could be cheaper."
"For the moment I can only give the product a rating of five out of ten since only some of the customers will be satisfied, those that have the financial resources for hosting a platform on Windows Server."
"The product’s pricing is a bit high."
"The solution is a bit costly when compared to open source products or open gear licenses."
"Zend PHP Engine is not an expensive solution."
"No problem with pricing and licensing, as tools are open source. You have to consider training cost, mindset setup cost, as part of the TCO."
"Its pricing depends on the number of users."
"The solution is open source and you just pay for the server cost."
"The Zend PHP engine is open source technology, so there's no need for us to worry about licensing or other costs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
15%
Real Estate/Law Firm
13%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft .NET Framework?
Microsoft .NET Framework continually innovates, particularly in Visual Studio, which focuses on improving languages, debugging, and .NET functionality.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft .NET Framework?
I don't know about pricing. I'm paying for Visual Studio, even though I'm not using the new version yet. Prices can always be better, but I think for the environment provided, the prices are accept...
What needs improvement with Microsoft .NET Framework?
Since the version I'm using is many years old, they have been continuously improving. They are always adding features to the language and framework, but I cannot comment from a very old version on ...
What do you like most about Zend PHP Engine?
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature.
What needs improvement with Zend PHP Engine?
Integrating AI tools would make PHP more competitive, as other tools already have AI features.
 

Also Known As

MS .NET Framework
PHP Engine
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Curtin University, Rockwell Automation, Aruba Networks, Insurity Inc., City of Barcelona, Pennsylvania DCNR, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, A1 Telekom Austria AG, Eastman Chemical Company
Cisco
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft .NET Framework vs. Zend PHP Engine and other solutions. Updated: November 2025.
873,085 professionals have used our research since 2012.