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Developer Tools · head to head

PhpStorm vs Steampipe

PhpStorm logo

PhpStorm

Developer Tools

JetBrains IDE for PHP web development

From
$24/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Steampipe logo

Steampipe

Developer Tools

Query cloud APIs, SaaS tools and code with SQL, with no extract or load step

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Steampipe has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PhpStorm requires an ongoing paid subscription with no free tier for commercial use.; Steampipe aGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it.
  • They diverge on capability: PhpStorm covers PHP-aware coding assistance, Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PhpStorm and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where PhpStorm and Steampipe differ
AttributePhpStormSteampipe
Starting price$24/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
Free tierNoYes
Platformswindows, mac, linuxmacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web
Founded2000Unknown

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 PhpStorm

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

Only in Steampipe

  • SQL over live APIs
  • Wide plugin set
  • Embedded Postgres
  • Compliance benchmarks
  • Joins across providers
  • Hosted option

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 Steampipe
  • Debugging PHP code with Xdebugnot Steampipe
  • Working across PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in one projectnot Steampipe
  • Managing databases alongside application codenot Steampipe

Steampipe

  • Security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly exportnot PhpStorm
  • Compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is askednot PhpStorm
  • Inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one querynot PhpStorm
  • Engineers who would rather write SQL than learn each provider command line toolnot 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.

Steampipe

  • AGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it.
  • Dashboards, benchmarks and mods were removed from Steampipe entirely at version 1.0 in October 2024 and now live in a separate product, so pre-2024 documentation and tutorials describe commands that no longer exist.
  • Live querying is bound by cloud provider API rate limits and keeps no persistent store by default, which is why a separate DuckDB-backed product exists for log volumes and why large accounts return slowly.
  • The company is fifteen people and bootstrapped, maintaining four command line tools plus a hosted service plus two further products, and the newer tools have thin community traction relative to that surface area.
  • Hosted tiers include only three users regardless of tier, with additional Enterprise users charged separately, so a team of thirty costs an order of magnitude more than the headline figure before compute and storage are counted.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Steampipe

Free
  • Steampipe CLIFree
    • AGPL-3.0
    • All plugins
    • No user or query limits
  • Pipes DeveloperFree
    • One user
    • 400 compute minutes
    • 3GB storage
  • Pipes Team$49/month
    • Three users
    • 2,000 compute minutes
    • 20GB storage
  • Pipes Enterprise$249/month
    • Three users
    • 10,000 compute minutes
    • 100GB storage

Which should you pick?

Choose PhpStorm if

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

Choose Steampipe if

  • You need sql over live apis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
  • You also want wide plugin set.
Steampipe review

Questions people ask

Is PhpStorm or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. PhpStorm starts at $24/month and Steampipe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PhpStorm or Steampipe?
Steampipe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $24/month for PhpStorm and Free for Steampipe.
Does PhpStorm or Steampipe run on more platforms?
PhpStorm runs on windows, mac, linux. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
Can I use Steampipe for free?
Yes. Steampipe has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PhpStorm starts at $24/month.
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 Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can PhpStorm do that Steampipe cannot?
PhpStorm covers PHP-aware coding assistance, Integrated debugger, Front-end tooling, Database tools. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

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
Steampipe: When did Steampipe become AGPL?

May 2021, about four months after the project went public. It is a settled licence rather than a recent change, and predates the Business Source Licence wave it is often confused with.

PhpStorm: Is there a free trial?

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

Source
Steampipe: Where did the dashboards and benchmarks go?

Into Powerpipe. They were deprecated in March 2024 and removed from Steampipe at version 1.0 in October 2024, so the check, dashboard, mod and variable commands are gone.

PhpStorm: What platforms does PhpStorm support?

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

Source
Steampipe: Is it fast on a large cloud estate?

Not always. Queries call provider APIs at request time, so rate limits rather than query planning set the pace, and there is no persistent store by default.

Steampipe: Does the AGPL affect internal use?

Running it internally for your own analysis is fine. Putting a web interface in front of it that other people use is where the network clause becomes a question for your legal team.

Steampipe: Is a bootstrapped vendor a risk?

It cuts both ways. There is no investor pressure toward a licence change or an exit, and there are also fifteen people supporting a large product surface.

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