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Developer Tools · head to head

Cody vs PHP

Cody logo

Cody

Developer Tools

AI coding assistant powered by code search

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
PHP logo

PHP

Web Development

A popular general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited to web development

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cody sourcegraph now publishes a single Enterprise plan starting at $16K, with no free or individual Pro tier listed on the pricing page; PHP distributed under the Modified BSD License, also called the PHP License version 4, per php.net/license/; there is no paid tier or vendor price to compare
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cody and PHP actually diverge.

Attributes where Cody and PHP differ
AttributeCodyPHP
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
CategoryDeveloper ToolsWeb Development
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What people use each for

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

Cody

  • Code completion and intelligent autocomplete in IDEsnot PHP
  • Developer chat with codebase context awarenessnot PHP
  • Automated debugging and error identificationnot PHP
  • Customizable prompts for workflow automationnot PHP

PHP

  • Server-side web developmentnot Cody
  • Content management systemsnot Cody
  • API backendsnot Cody

Where each one falls short

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

Cody

  • Sourcegraph now publishes a single Enterprise plan starting at $16K, with no free or individual Pro tier listed on the pricing page
  • sourcegraph.com/cody redirects to the documentation rather than a Cody product or pricing page
  • AI features are metered as credits included per user, and exceeding the allocation requires buying a higher volume bucket
  • Volume credit buckets are sold as an add-on rather than included
  • A customer success manager and premium support are optional paid extras on top of the Enterprise plan
  • Standard support is 24x5 rather than 24x7, with round-the-clock coverage sold as an upgrade
  • The published $16K figure is a starting price that scales with team size, so the actual cost is quoted rather than listed

PHP

  • Distributed under the Modified BSD License, also called the PHP License version 4, per php.net/license/; there is no paid tier or vendor price to compare
  • PHP 8.2 lost active support on 31 Dec 2024 and enters full end of life on 31 Dec 2026, with only security fixes since, per php.net/supported-versions.php (Aug 2026)

Pricing, plan by plan

Cody

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cody review.

PHP

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PHP review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cody if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cody review

Choose PHP if

  • You want to start without paying.
PHP review

Questions people ask

Is Cody or PHP better?
Neither clearly leads. Cody starts at Free and PHP at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cody or PHP?
Cody starts at Free and PHP at Free.
Does Cody or PHP run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Cody for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cody best used for?
Cody is most often used for code completion and intelligent autocomplete in ides, developer chat with codebase context awareness, automated debugging and error identification, customizable prompts for workflow automation. Of those, code completion and intelligent autocomplete in ides and developer chat with codebase context awareness are not what PHP is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cody: Is Cody free?

Cody offers a free tier for individual developers via VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, and the web app. Unlimited free usage is available for solo developers.

Source
PHP: Is PHP free to use?

Yes, PHP is completely free and open-source software under the PHP Foundation governance. There are no licensing fees or paid tiers.

Source
Cody: What does Cody Enterprise cost?

Cody Enterprise pricing is custom and requires contacting Sourcegraph sales. It is available for Sourcegraph Enterprise customers and must be quoted based on your deployment and usage needs.

Source
PHP: Does the PHP Foundation offer paid support?

The PHP Foundation accepts voluntary donations to support long-term development, but donations are optional and not required to use PHP.

Source
Cody: What LLMs does Cody use?

Cody uses the latest large language models for code completions, chat, and debugging. It leverages Sourcegraph's advanced Search API to pull codebase context from local and remote repositories.

Source
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