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PHP vs Tilt

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
Tilt logo

Tilt

Developer Tools

Local Kubernetes development loop that rebuilds and live-updates containers on save

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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; Tilt docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PHP and Tilt actually diverge.

Attributes where PHP and Tilt differ
AttributePHPTilt
Pricing modelopen-sourceOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryWeb DevelopmentDeveloper Tools

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

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 PHP

Nothing recorded that Tilt does not also cover.

Only in Tilt

  • Live update
  • Tiltfile as code
  • Unified web UI
  • Selective rebuilds
  • Local and remote clusters
  • Resource dependencies
  • Extensions registry
  • Custom buttons and triggers

What people use each for

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

PHP

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

Tilt

  • A team of ten or more engineers whose application is fifteen microservices on Kubernetes and who currently wait on CI to test a changenot PHP
  • An organisation onboarding new developers who want a single command that stands up the whole stack from a committed Tiltfilenot PHP
  • A platform team giving product engineers a consistent local environment against a shared remote development clusternot PHP
  • A codebase where one repository contains several services and rebuilding all of them on every edit is the main source of lost timenot PHP

Where each one falls short

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

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)

Tilt

  • Docker acquired Tilt in 2022 and the team now splits its time across Compose and Docker Desktop, so feature velocity is modest and the product's long-term priority inside Docker is not guaranteed; treat it as a stable utility, not a growing platform.
  • The Tiltfile is Starlark, a Python dialect, so non-trivial setups become real programs that need reviewing and maintaining, and the person who wrote yours becomes a single point of failure.
  • Live update only works when the running container can accept synced files and restart the process; compiled languages, distroless images and read-only filesystems often force you back to a full image rebuild, which removes the main benefit.
  • It assumes Kubernetes. If your development target is plain Docker Compose or serverless functions, Tilt adds a cluster you did not need and a layer of abstraction with no payoff.
  • There is no commercial support contract, no SLA and no paid tier, so when a Kubernetes version upgrade breaks something you are dependent on GitHub issues and a Slack channel rather than a vendor you can escalate to.

Pricing, plan by plan

PHP

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PHP review.

Tilt

Free
  • TiltFree
    • Apache 2.0 licensed
    • All features, no paid tier
    • Community support via the Kubernetes Slack #tilt channel

Which should you pick?

Choose PHP if

  • You want to start without paying.
PHP review

Choose Tilt if

  • You need live update.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want tiltfile as code.
Tilt review

Questions people ask

Is PHP or Tilt better?
Neither clearly leads. PHP starts at Free and Tilt at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PHP or Tilt?
PHP starts at Free and Tilt at Free.
Does PHP or Tilt run on more platforms?
PHP runs on Web. Tilt runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use PHP for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PHP best used for?
PHP is most often used for server-side web development, content management systems, api backends. Of those, server-side web development and content management systems are not what Tilt is typically brought in for.
What can PHP do that Tilt cannot?
Tilt covers Live update, Tiltfile as code, Unified web UI, Selective rebuilds.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Tilt: Is Tilt free?

Yes, entirely. It is Apache 2.0 open source with no paid tier and no licence fee.

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
Tilt: Who owns Tilt now?

Docker, which acquired it in May 2022. It remains open source and the repository is still actively maintained.

Tilt: Do I need a remote cluster?

No. It works against a local cluster such as kind, minikube or Docker Desktop, and also against a shared remote development cluster if your services are too heavy to run locally.

Tilt: How is it different from Skaffold?

Both automate the build-deploy loop. Tilt puts more weight on the live-update path and a multi-service dashboard; Skaffold is more configuration-driven and closer to Google's tooling.

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