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Developer Tools · head to head

Atlantis vs PhpStorm

Atlantis logo

Atlantis

Developer Tools

Runs Terraform plan and apply from pull request comments, self-hosted and free

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PhpStorm logo

PhpStorm

Developer Tools

JetBrains IDE for PHP web development

From
$24/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Atlantis has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Atlantis there is no company, no service level agreement and no paid support at any price, and the six maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, which some risk committees will not accept for a component holding production cloud credentials.; PhpStorm requires an ongoing paid subscription with no free tier for commercial use.
  • They diverge on capability: Atlantis covers Pull request plans, PhpStorm covers PHP-aware coding assistance.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Atlantis and PhpStorm actually diverge.

Attributes where Atlantis and PhpStorm differ
AttributeAtlantisPhpStorm
Starting priceFree$24/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedwindows, mac, linux
FoundedUnknown2000

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer Tools).

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 Atlantis

  • Pull request plans
  • Comment driven apply
  • Workspace locking
  • Policy checking
  • Multi-platform webhooks
  • Custom workflows

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.

Atlantis

  • Making Terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approvernot PhpStorm
  • Removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keysnot PhpStorm
  • Getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platformnot PhpStorm
  • Enforcing Conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can runnot PhpStorm

PhpStorm

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

Where each one falls short

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

Atlantis

  • There is no company, no service level agreement and no paid support at any price, and the six maintainers are volunteers with day jobs, which some risk committees will not accept for a component holding production cloud credentials.
  • The security surface is inherently sharp, because it is an internet-reachable webhook endpoint that executes applies with privileged credentials, gated by pull request comment authorisation that is coarse next to a real policy engine.
  • It is stateful, holding a working directory and lock database on local disk, so high availability and horizontal scaling are awkward and you own upgrades, webhook plumbing, secret rotation and the host itself.
  • It lacks the features that distinguish the commercial alternatives, with no native drift detection, no cost estimation, no managed state interface and no policy engine beyond the Conftest integration.
  • Terragrunt and monorepo layouts are not first-class, requiring hand-written custom workflows and repository configuration that becomes a growing maintenance burden as the number of repositories increases.

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

Atlantis

Free
  • AtlantisFree
    • Apache-2.0, no usage limits and no seat count
    • No commercial edition and no paid support tier
    • Community support through GitHub and the CNCF Slack channel

PhpStorm

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Atlantis if

  • You need pull request plans.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want comment driven apply.
Atlantis review

Choose PhpStorm if

  • You need php-aware coding assistance.
  • You work on windows, mac, linux.
  • You also want integrated debugger.
PhpStorm review

Questions people ask

Is Atlantis or PhpStorm better?
Neither clearly leads. Atlantis starts at Free and PhpStorm at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Atlantis or PhpStorm?
Atlantis has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Atlantis and $24/month for PhpStorm.
Does Atlantis or PhpStorm run on more platforms?
Atlantis runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. PhpStorm runs on windows, mac, linux.
Can I use Atlantis for free?
Yes. Atlantis has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PhpStorm starts at $24/month.
What is Atlantis best used for?
Atlantis is most often used for making terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approver, removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keys, getting pull request driven infrastructure without paying a per-user subscription for a hosted platform, enforcing conftest policies as a blocking check before an apply can run. Of those, making terraform review meaningful by putting the actual plan output in front of the approver and removing local applies and the credential sprawl that comes with every engineer holding production keys are not what PhpStorm is typically brought in for.
What can Atlantis do that PhpStorm cannot?
Atlantis covers Pull request plans, Comment driven apply, Workspace locking, Policy checking. PhpStorm covers PHP-aware coding assistance, Integrated debugger, Front-end tooling, Database tools.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Atlantis: Is there a company behind Atlantis?

No. It runs as a series of LF Projects under the Linux Foundation and is maintained by volunteers. There is no vendor to buy support from and no service level agreement.

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
Atlantis: Is it a CNCF project?

No. It uses a channel in the CNCF Slack, which is often misread as membership, but the project sits under LF Projects rather than the CNCF.

PhpStorm: Is there a free trial?

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

Source
Atlantis: Does it work with OpenTofu?

Yes, there is a dedicated integration guide alongside Terraform, and it also has configuration for working with hosted Terraform backends.

PhpStorm: What platforms does PhpStorm support?

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

Source
Atlantis: What does it not do that a paid platform does?

Drift detection, cost estimation, a managed state and run interface, and a real policy engine. Atlantis does pull request plan and apply well and stops there.

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