Skip to content

Opal vs PHP

Based on 1 and 948 real audits

View Opal details | View PHP details
MetricOpalPHPWinner
Performance2646PHP
Accessibility8289PHP
Best Practices9687Opal
SEO9291Opal
Security7264Opal
TTFB436ms381msPHP
Composite7374PHP
Performance
Opal
26
PHP
46
Accessibility
Opal
82
PHP
89
Security
Opal
72
PHP
64
SEO
Opal
92
PHP
91
Composite
Opal
73
PHP
74

PHP outperforms Opal in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (74 vs 73). Opal leads in best practices, SEO, security.

When to choose Opal

Choose Opal when your primary concern is best practices and security. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

When to choose PHP

Choose PHP when your primary concern is server response time and performance. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 1 audited Opal sites and 948 audited PHP sites in the BeaverCheck database. Every audit runs the same 100+ checks — Lighthouse performance, security headers, accessibility, SEO, server response time — against a real URL. No vendor input, no sponsorship, no affiliate links. Read the full methodology →

Small sample: one or both technologies have fewer than 10 audited sites. Treat these numbers as directional — medians stabilize around 20–30 audits per side.

FAQ

Which is faster, Opal or PHP?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, PHP sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (46 vs 26 on average).
Which has better security, Opal or PHP?
Opal sites score higher on security analysis (72 vs 64 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Opal or PHP?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor PHP (89 vs 82). Both technologies can be made fully accessible with care — the difference reflects common patterns in the sampled sites, not inherent platform limits.
Which is better for SEO, Opal or PHP?
Opal sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (92 vs 91 on average), which cover meta tags, crawlability, mobile friendliness, and structured data. Content strategy and backlinks still matter more than platform choice for ranking.
Which has faster server response (TTFB), Opal or PHP?
PHP sites show lower Time to First Byte (381 ms vs 436 ms on average). TTFB depends heavily on hosting and CDN setup rather than the technology itself, but the sampled sites suggest a meaningful difference in common deployment patterns.
Should I choose Opal or PHP for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. PHP scores higher on overall composite score while Opal may excel in metrics you care about most. Run a free BeaverCheck audit on a real site using each to compare the metrics relevant to your use case.
Audit your own site

Send Feedback