PHP 7 vs HHVM: Which Backend Engine Delivers Faster Performance?

What is HHVM?

In 2008 Facebook started a project to convert PHP scripts into C++ so they could be compiled and run on web servers, aiming to save server resources as its user base grew rapidly. By 2010, with increasing server demand, Facebook released HHVM, which uses Just‑In‑Time (JIT) compilation to turn PHP code into bytecode, then into optimized machine code for fast execution.

What is PHP 7?

PHP 7 was the community’s response to HHVM, promising roughly double the performance of PHP 5. The planned PHP 6 was abandoned due to slow progress and problems, so the next major release was named PHP 7. While PHP 5 vs PHP 7 is an obvious speed upgrade, the real comparison of interest is between PHP 7 and HHVM.

Key Differences and Similarities

Before deciding which is better, it helps to understand their fundamental differences and commonalities.

1. Code Parsing

PHP 7 uses the standard PHP parser, a free, open‑source engine that directly parses and runs code on the server, generating HTML for the client. HHVM first translates PHP into HipHop bytecode, then into machine code, applying optimizations to improve execution speed.

2. Writing Code

Both runtimes accept the same PHP source code, but using HHVM requires installing the HHVM binary and invoking it via the command line.

Performance Tests

Recent benchmarks show that while HHVM generally outperforms older PHP versions, PHP 7 can be slightly faster in certain scenarios. Kinsta’s tests reported:

1. WordPress 4.1.1 – PHP 7 handles over twice the requests per second compared to PHP 5.6, but HHVM processes 624 requests/second versus PHP 7’s 604. 2. Drupal 8 – PHP 7 delivers more than a 37% efficiency advantage over HHVM.

Companies Using HHVM

Beyond Facebook, Wikimedia and e‑commerce site Etsy run PHP applications on HHVM.

Wikimedia’s massive traffic (nearly 500 million monthly users) benefits from HHVM’s ability to load multiple SPU cores, reducing CPU load from 50% to 10% and halving average response times.

Etsy, with 54 million users, found HHVM could handle 280 requests per second, whereas PHP 5.4’s performance degrades sharply after 190 requests per second.

Future of PHP 7 and HHVM

PHP 7’s stable release was scheduled for November 2015, and its early benchmarks have attracted interest from many companies. HHVM, however, appears to be losing momentum; while some enterprises still use it, the speed advantage over PHP 7 is modest, prompting many to transition back to PHP.

Facebook continues to develop HHVM, recently adding macOS support, and believes HHVM can still outperform PHP 7 in many cases, including WordPress workloads.

Why HHVM and PHP 7 Matter to E‑Commerce Owners

Shop owners must choose based on their platform. For WordPress sites, reviewing the latest HHVM vs PHP 7 benchmarks helps decide which solution minimizes page load time, server response time, and CPU usage.

Reasons to Choose HHVM

Dynamic translation often yields higher performance, especially for WordPress.

Efficient memory usage under heavy request loads.

Growing compatibility with modern PHP frameworks and applications.

Open‑source, allowing community contributions and modifications.

Reasons to Choose PHP 7

In some cases, PHP 7 is faster than HHVM, such as on Drupal 8.

No need to install or configure HHVM.

Legacy PHP 5 code generally runs unchanged after migration.

Developed by the established PHP community, ensuring stability and long‑term support.

HHVM vs. PHP 7: Make Your Choice

Both runtimes outperform older PHP versions. Decide promptly and migrate to the solution that best optimizes your site’s performance, as a sluggish website can damage reputation and be hard to recover.