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PhpStorm vs Very Good Security

PhpStorm logo

PhpStorm

Developer Tools

JetBrains IDE for PHP web development

From
$24/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Very Good Security logo

Very Good Security

Cybersecurity

Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope

From
$1000/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: PhpStorm requires an ongoing paid subscription with no free tier for commercial use.; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • They diverge on capability: PhpStorm covers PHP-aware coding assistance, Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PhpStorm and Very Good Security actually diverge.

Attributes where PhpStorm and Very Good Security differ
AttributePhpStormVery Good Security
Starting price$24/month$1000/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month
Platformswindows, mac, linuxWeb, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
Founded2000Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 PhpStorm

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

Only in Very Good Security

  • Aliasing proxy
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Network tokenisation
  • Processor optionality
  • Card issuing data
  • Vault and access controls
  • Data residency options
  • Compliance artefacts

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

Very Good Security

  • A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot PhpStorm
  • A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot PhpStorm
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot PhpStorm
  • A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot 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.

Very Good Security

  • VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
  • Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
  • Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
  • Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
  • Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.

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

Very Good Security

$1000/month
  • Starter$1000/month
    • Aliasing proxy
    • Vault storage
    • PCI scope reduction
  • Growth$undefined/month
    • Network tokenisation
    • Multiple processors
    • Data residency options
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom vault architecture
    • Dedicated support and SLA
    • Contractual compliance coverage

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 Very Good Security if

  • You need aliasing proxy.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want pci scope reduction.
Very Good Security review

Questions people ask

Is PhpStorm or Very Good Security better?
Neither clearly leads. PhpStorm starts at $24/month and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PhpStorm or Very Good Security?
PhpStorm starts at $24/month and Very Good Security at $1000/month.
Does PhpStorm or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
PhpStorm runs on windows, mac, linux. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
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 Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
What can PhpStorm do that Very Good Security cannot?
PhpStorm covers PHP-aware coding assistance, Integrated debugger, Front-end tooling, Database tools. Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.

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
Very Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?

No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.

PhpStorm: Is there a free trial?

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

Source
Very Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.

PhpStorm: What platforms does PhpStorm support?

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

Source
Very Good Security: What does it cost?

Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.

Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?

No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.

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