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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
15th
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 January 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Microsoft .NET Framework is 4.6%, down from 5.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend PHP Engine is 1.7%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft .NET Framework4.6%
Zend PHP Engine1.7%
Other93.7%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Qasim - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at Diyar United Company
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
External Consultant (Digital Tool Developer and Intervention Specialist) at IQVIA
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

"The APIs are completely effective."
"The .NET Framework simplified operations dealing with the allocation and deallocation of memory spaces and the additional processing resources."
"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."
"The most valuable features are the Domain Controller and the WBFS Manager."
"It facilitated the streamlined scheduling process by amalgamating inputs from various sources, including location data and other systems."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The .NET Framework is easier to use because it provides a wide range of libraries."
"The solution has assisted our organization in the full-stack development process. The tool can be deployed on all types of devices, including mobiles and desktops. The MAUI capabilities of the solution have been the most beneficial feature for our organization's development needs."
"The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature."
"This solution is really easy for me to use."
"Scaling up is an important factor for large projects, and with PHP 7 and its performance improvements, this becomes even easier.​"
"Zend PHP Engine is more secure than any other framework, and I usually prefer Zend PHP Engine for big applications."
"The cache modules that Zend provides have been able to optimize and accelerate the loading of the pages when there was exponential growth in data volume and quantity of requests. At the same time, the monitoring console allowed us to have a real-time understanding of the resources and to make decisions when they were at the limit."
"The Zend Framework provides an easy, open source way to produce coding based on the needs of our customers.​"
"​Zend Engine is the core of PHP. It makes PHP fast, efficient, and basically, the language of choice for web applications."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the speed at which it compiles and sends the dynamic cache."
 

Cons

"The cloud features must be improved."
"I would like to see a better response time from the technical support."
".NET Is still heavy or dependant on other Microsoft libraries and frameworks."
"Microsoft could improve .NET Framework by providing more resources to help users understand the solution."
"Their system is very vast. I have spent 12 years here, and I can definitely say there is still a lot of scope for improvement."
"In the next release, I am looking for more advanced technologies such as socket communication and enhanced features like realtime chat with the clients."
"Like in C#, Microsoft .NET Framework should provide code reusability options for all kinds of development processes."
"The .NET open source community could be larger."
"The solution can be quicker."
"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."
"A general scripting language should be further developed and should be embedded into it."
"In terms of improvement, it doesn't support concurrent processing. When we want to process anything on a concurrent basis, we have to divide it into a number of things, like a queue, or we have to run it using Cron jobs. We would like to have the capability to run any thread or process in parallel."
"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.​​"
"Integrating AI tools would make PHP more competitive, as other tools already have AI features."
"Its object oriented programming language needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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 and support for this solution are free for everyone."
"The support is an extra cost when purchasing the license. The price of the solution is overall reasonable and paid annually or every three years. Additionally, they have a monthly license. The cost is approximately $1,000 per user."
"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."
"Considering the bigger picture, opting for the Microsoft ecosystem can be beneficial and it is priced well. When relying on entirely open-source solutions, you may encounter challenges associated with dealing with multiple vendors and potentially compromised security measures. However, it is important to note that Microsoft could enhance its performance when it comes to addressing critical security concerns."
"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."
"The Zend PHP engine is open source technology, so there's no need for us to worry about licensing or other costs."
"The solution is open source and you just pay for the server cost."
"Zend PHP Engine is not an expensive solution."
"Its pricing depends on the number of users."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
16%
Real Estate/Law Firm
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Government
7%
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?
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...
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: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.