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Developer Tools · head to head

PhpStorm vs Rill Data

PhpStorm logo

PhpStorm

Developer Tools

JetBrains IDE for PHP web development

From
$24/month
Free plan
No
Visit PhpStormFull review
Rill Data logo

Rill Data

Business Intelligence

Local-first BI on DuckDB and ClickHouse with dashboards defined as code

From
$20/month
Free plan
No
Visit Rill DataFull review

The short version

  • PhpStorm starts at $24/mo, Rill Data at $20/mo.
  • Only PhpStorm lists PHP-aware coding assistance; only Rill Data lists local development.
  • 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 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PhpStorm and Rill Data actually diverge.

Attributes where PhpStorm and Rill Data differ
AttributePhpStormRill Data
Starting price$24/month$20/month
Pricing modelSubscriptionPer user per month plus metered compute
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows
CategoryDeveloper ToolsBusiness Intelligence

Identical on both: free tier (No).

Not yet recorded: founded for Rill Data.

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 PhpStorm

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

Only in Rill Data

  • Local development
  • Dashboards as code
  • Embedded DuckDB
  • Bring your own database
  • Alerts and scheduled reports
  • Embedded analytics

What people use each for

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

PhpStorm

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

Rill Data

  • An analytics team that wants dashboard changes to go through code review rather than being edited in a web UInot PhpStorm
  • Interactive exploration of event-scale data where a warehouse round trip per filter click is too slownot PhpStorm
  • Embedding fast slice-and-dice dashboards into a product where the underlying store is already ClickHouse or Druidnot PhpStorm
  • A data engineer prototyping a metrics layer locally on a laptop before committing to any cloud spendnot PhpStorm

Where each one falls short

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

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

Rill Data

  • The seat price of 20 dollars is misleading as a budget figure: Rill’s own calculator puts a small two-seat project at around 256 dollars a month, with compute making up the great majority
  • Dashboards are defined in YAML and SQL, so business users cannot create or change one without a developer and a Git workflow, which stalls self-service adoption
  • It is built for the explore-a-metric pattern and does not produce pixel-perfect financial or operational reports, so most organisations still need a second reporting tool
  • AI tokens and API calls are quota-limited per seat, with API overage at a cent per call, so programmatic consumers can create an unbudgeted line item
  • As a smaller vendor competing against Looker, Tableau and Power BI, the ecosystem of consultants, templates and trained analysts is thin, which raises the cost of hiring for it

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Rill Data

$20/month
  • Starter$20/mo
    • Per seat, up to twenty seats
    • Three projects
    • Compute at 0.15 USD per compute unit hour
  • Growth$30/mo
    • Per seat, up to one hundred seats
    • Ten projects
    • Compute at 0.20 USD per compute unit hour
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Annual platform licence with negotiated capacity
    • Unlimited seats and projects
    • Dedicated infrastructure

Which should you pick?

Choose PhpStorm if

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

Choose Rill Data if

  • You need local development.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want dashboards as code.
Rill Data review

Questions people ask

Is PhpStorm or Rill Data better?
Neither clearly leads. PhpStorm starts at $24/month and Rill Data at $20/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PhpStorm or Rill Data?
PhpStorm starts at $24/month and Rill Data at $20/month.
Does PhpStorm or Rill Data run on more platforms?
PhpStorm runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Rill Data runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows.
What is PhpStorm best used for?
PhpStorm is most often used for building php web applications with laravel or symfony, debugging php code with xdebug, working across php, html, css, and javascript in one project, managing databases alongside application code. Of those, building php web applications with laravel or symfony and debugging php code with xdebug are not what Rill Data is typically brought in for.
What can PhpStorm do that Rill Data cannot?
PhpStorm covers PHP-aware coding assistance, Integrated debugger, Front-end tooling, Database tools. Rill Data covers Local development, Dashboards as code, Embedded DuckDB, Bring your own database.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Rill Data: Is Rill open source?

The Rill developer binary is open source and free to run locally; Rill Cloud is the paid product.

PhpStorm: Is there a free trial?

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

Source
Rill Data: How much does it actually cost?

Seats start at 20 USD per month, but hosted compute at 0.15 USD per compute unit hour typically dominates the bill. Bringing your own database removes the usage fee.

PhpStorm: What platforms does PhpStorm support?

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

Source
Rill Data: Can business users build dashboards?

Not directly. Dashboards are YAML and SQL under version control.

Rill Data: Which databases can back a deployed project?

DuckDB, ClickHouse, Druid, Pinot, Snowflake and others.

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