Benchmarking PHP 8.4 and Node.js 22 Across Real Backend Workloads

This article compares PHP 8.4 and Node.js 22 using identical benchmark environments and real backend workloads. Node.js consistently leads in high-concurrency and I/O-heavy scenarios, while PHP performs surprisingly well in CPU-bound tasks and developer productivity. The broader takeaway is that architecture, database efficiency, and maintainability matter more than synthetic runtime benchmarks alone.