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PHPUnit vs QUnit

PHPUnit

phpunit.de

QUnit

qunitjs.com

Side by side

FigurePHPUnitQUnit
Price fromFreeFree
Free planYesYes
Free trial——
Open source——
Web—Yes
WindowsYesYes
macOSYesYes
LinuxYesYes
iOS—Yes
Android—Yes
API—Yes
Self-hostedYesYes
Plans published11
Spec score · Unit Testing8.4 (#2)8.4 (#3)
Spec score · Unit Testing Frameworks8.3 (#5)8.3 (#6)
PurposePHPUnit is a testing framework for PHP.QUnit is a JavaScript testing framework originally developed for jQuery and now used by JavaScript libraries and applications.

Plans

PHPUnit

  • PHPUnitFree

PHPUnit pricing →

QUnit

  • QUnitFree

QUnit pricing →

In their own words

PHPUnit

PHPUnit is a free testing framework for PHP, with a command-line runner for running tests and selecting test suites. It covers assertions for return values, exceptions, side effects, output, files, JSON, XML, and error-log output. Tests can be organized through filesystem structure or XML configuration and can use data providers, dependencies, stubs, and mock objects. The framework documents code coverage reports in HTML and JSONL formats, plus JUnit and TeamCity logging configuration. For tests that fail intermittently, PHPUnit supports repeating and retrying runs through attributes and command-line options. Installation is available as a PHAR or as a Composer development dependency. PHPUnit 13 is the current stable major version and requires PHP 8.4 or later. Bug-fix support for that version runs through February 4, 2028; its end-of-life date is undetermined. Documentation is available for versions 8.5 through 13.4. PHPUnit supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted use.

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QUnit

QUnit is a free JavaScript testing framework first developed for the jQuery project. It runs in web browsers, Node.js, SpiderMonkey and Web Worker threads, so developers can test code in different runtime environments. Its APIs allow custom assertions, test runners and reporters. Browser releases have no runtime dependencies, and the project describes Node.js setup as requiring zero configuration and browser setup as minimal. For DOM tests, QUnit resets fixture markup after each test. Its browser reporter presents results and can include expected and actual values, assertion details and failure stack traces. Developers can rerun selected tests or modules and prioritize previously failing tests. Guides cover modules, asynchronous tests, callbacks and assertions, while plugins can add or modify capabilities such as DOM assertions, themes and JUnit XML reports. QUnit integrates with browser automation tools including Karma, Web Test Runner, Testem and WebdriverIO’s QUnit service. QUnit 3.0 is distributed through the jQuery CDN and npm, and is also installable with Yarn. For its ESM version, the compatibility guide lists Node.js 18+ and specified browser versions.

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