Before I jump into claiming that one language is better than the other, there is something I need to clarify. I don't want to turn the PHP vs JavaScript discussion into comparing apples and oranges, so I should explain the main difference between JavaScript and PHP.

PHP is a programming language for back end development only. JavaScript, in turn, was initially designed as a front end development language. But with the introduction of Node.js in 2009, JavaScript became full stack.

The commonly cited claim that “JavaScript is only for front end development, and PHP is for back end” is just not true. Today, you can develop the entire app with JavaScript, both client side and server side. The question is, which language is more effective for your particular project?

Therefore, if you're trying to decide between PHP and JavaScript, the discussion is reduced to which language you want to use for back end development