Pest
6.5#8 in unit testingFree planFree planLinuxmacOSSelf-hostedWindows
VisitPest vs PHPUnit
What both publish
| Fact | Pest | PHPUnit |
|---|---|---|
| PHP requirement | Pest 5 requires PHP 8.4 or greater and is built on PHPUnit 13. | PHPUnit 13 requires PHP 8.4 or later. |
| Purpose | Pest is a PHP testing framework for developers and AI agents. | PHPUnit is a testing framework for PHP. |
| Security | The homepage shows a security architecture testing preset, but the opened maker pages did not state a security certification or compliance standard. | The getting-started page links to documentation for verifying PHPUnit PHAR releases. |
| Support policy | Pest says bug fixes for outdated major versions are available for 12 months after the latest version's release, with no fixed resolution time or guaranteed fix for every issue. | PHPUnit 13 bugfix support is listed through February 4, 2028, and its end-of-life date is to be determined. |
Pest plans
- PestFree
PHPUnit plans
- PHPUnitFree
Pick Pest if…
Pest suits PHP developers and coding agents, from small personal projects to enterprise applications. Its browser and evaluation tools may be useful to teams testing web interactions or LLM responses.
Pick PHPUnit if…
PHP developers looking for a framework to write and run tests may find PHPUnit suitable. Its assertions, test doubles and coverage reports support a range of testing needs.