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Business Intelligence · head to head

Amazon QuickSight vs PhpStorm

Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Business Intelligence

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month
Free plan
No
Visit Amazon QuickSightFull review
PhpStorm logo

PhpStorm

Developer Tools

JetBrains IDE for PHP web development

From
$24/month
Free plan
No
Visit PhpStormFull review

The short version

  • Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/mo, PhpStorm at $24/mo.
  • Only Amazon QuickSight lists SPICE In-memory Engine; only PhpStorm lists PHP-aware coding assistance.
  • Where Amazon QuickSight falls short: reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month.
  • Where PhpStorm falls short: requires an ongoing paid subscription with no free tier for commercial use.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon QuickSight and PhpStorm actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon QuickSight and PhpStorm differ
AttributeAmazon QuickSightPhpStorm
Starting price$3/month$24/month
Pricing modelPer-userSubscription
PlatformsAWSWindows, macOS, Linux
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools
Founded20062000

Identical on both: free tier (No).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon QuickSight

  • SPICE In-memory Engine
  • ML Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Pay-per-session
  • Redshift
  • S3
  • Athena

Only in PhpStorm

  • PHP-aware coding assistance
  • Integrated debugger
  • Front-end tooling
  • Database tools
  • Version control integration
  • Docker and remote deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Business intelligencenot PhpStorm
  • Dashboard creationnot PhpStorm
  • Data visualizationnot PhpStorm

PhpStorm

  • Building PHP web applications with Laravel or Symfonynot Amazon QuickSight
  • Debugging PHP code with Xdebugnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Working across PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in one projectnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Managing databases alongside application codenot Amazon QuickSight

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • Author and Author Pro roles charged at $24 and $40/month
  • $250/month infrastructure fee required if Pro users or Q&A enabled
  • SPICE storage charged at $0.38/GB monthly (10 GB included)
  • Pixel-perfect reports start at $500/month for 500 monthly units
  • Alerts charged at $0.05-$0.50 per 1,000 metrics evaluated

PhpStorm

  • Requires an ongoing paid subscription with no free tier for commercial use
  • Heavier and slower to start than lightweight code editors
  • Some advanced framework-specific tooling requires additional configuration or plugins
  • Renewal pricing rises for lapsed subscriptions after the grace period

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month
  • Reader$3/mo
    • Dashboard viewing only
  • Reader Pro$20/mo
    • Enhanced reader capabilities
  • Author$24/mo
    • Dashboard creation and editing
  • Author Pro$40/mo
    • Advanced authoring features

PhpStorm

$24/month
  • Individual$24/mo
    • Personal use license
    • Access to PhpStorm
    • Free for students and open-source maintainers
  • Organization$34/mo
    • Business use license
    • Access to PhpStorm
    • Volume and renewal discounts

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon QuickSight if

  • You need spice in-memory engine.
  • You work on AWS.
  • You also want ml insights.
Amazon QuickSight review

Choose PhpStorm if

  • You need php-aware coding assistance.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want integrated debugger.
PhpStorm review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon QuickSight or PhpStorm better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month and PhpStorm at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon QuickSight or PhpStorm?
Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month and PhpStorm at $24/month.
Does Amazon QuickSight or PhpStorm run on more platforms?
Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS. PhpStorm runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
What is Amazon QuickSight best used for?
Amazon QuickSight is most often used for business intelligence, dashboard creation, data visualization. Of those, business intelligence and dashboard creation are not what PhpStorm is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon QuickSight do that PhpStorm cannot?
Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Embedded Analytics. PhpStorm covers PHP-aware coding assistance, Integrated debugger, Front-end tooling, Database tools.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon QuickSight: What does Amazon QuickSight cost per user?

QuickSight pricing varies by user role. Readers start at $3/month, Reader Pro at $20/month, Authors at $24/month, and Author Pro at $40/month. All prices are per user per month.

Source
PhpStorm: How much does PhpStorm cost?

PhpStorm is sold via JetBrains Toolbox subscription starting around $24/month for individuals and $34/month for organizations, with free licenses for students and open-source maintainers.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: Does QuickSight charge an infrastructure fee?

Yes, QuickSight charges an infrastructure fee of $250/month per account if the account has at least one Pro user, has Q&A enabled via topics, or has dashboard Q&A enabled.

Source
PhpStorm: Is there a free trial?

JetBrains offers a free trial of PhpStorm so developers can test it before subscribing.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: What are QuickSight's session capacity pricing options?

Session capacity pricing starts at $250/month for 500 sessions. Annual plans range from $20,000/year for 50,000 sessions to $258,000/year for 1,600,000 sessions, with volume discounts reducing unit costs from $0.50 to $0.16 per additional session.

Source
PhpStorm: What platforms does PhpStorm support?

PhpStorm is a desktop IDE available on Windows, macOS, and Linux via JetBrains Toolbox.

Source
Amazon QuickSight: How much does additional SPICE storage cost?

Additional SPICE storage beyond the included 10 GB costs $0.38 per GB per month. Authors receive 10 GB included, but Readers do not.

Source
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