cURL vs get_headers() Speed Test

curl_vs_getheaders.php

<?php

// Get headers for 100 unique random domains with get_headers() and cURL to determine which is faster.

/*
TL;DR -> cURL is significantly faster.

get_headers (GET) vs cURL:
Execution time : 139.95884609222 seconds  
Execution time : 65.998840093613 seconds

get_headers (HEAD) vs cURL:
Execution time : 114.60515785217 seconds  
Execution time : 66.077962875366 seconds

*/


$urls = [
  "http://familyshare.com/",
  "http://elitedaily.com/",
  "http://www.pickthebrain.com/",
  "http://i100.independent.co.uk/",
  "http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com/",
  "http://www.cheatsheet.com/",
  "https://jet.com/",
  "https://nightwalk.withgoogle.com/en/panorama",
  "http://www.vumble.com/",
  "http://fusion.net/",
  "https://www.zozi.com",
  "http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html",
  "http://how-old.net/",
  "https://www.dosomething.org",
  "https://devart.withgoogle.com/",
  "http://www.ranker.com/",
  "http://the-toast.net/",
  "https://www.futurelearn.com/",
  "https://croaciaaudio.com/",
  "http://www.thesimpledollar.com/",
  "http://giphy.com/giphytv",
  "http://snapzu.com/",
  "https://www.touchofmodern.com/",
  "http://www.howstuffworks.com/",
  "http://www.sporcle.com/",
  "http://www.factcheck.org/",
  "https://www.privacytools.io/",
  "http://tiffanithiessen.com/",
  "http://www.supercook.com/",
  "http://www.livescience.com/",
  "http://www.freshnessmag.com",
  "http://www.abeautifulmess.com/",
  "http://cardboardboxoffice.com/",
  "http://www.takepart.com/",
  "http://www.fixya.com/",
  "http://bestreviews.com/",
  "http://theodysseyonline.com/",
  "http://justdelete.me/",
  "http://adventure.com/",
  "http://www.carryology.com/",
  "http://whattheysee.tumblr.com/",
  "https://unsplash.com/",
  "http://fromwhereidrone.com/",
  "http://www.attn.com/",
  "http://ourworldindata.org/",
  "http://www.melty.com/",
  "http://www.truthdig.com/",
  "https://tosdr.org/",
  "https://thinga.com/",
  "http://forvo.com/",
  "http://tiii.me/",
  "https://snapguide.com/",
  "http://www.tubefilter.com/",
  "http://www.inherentlyfunny.com/",
  "http://www.someecards.com/",
  "https://this.cm/",
  "http://littlebigdetails.com/",
  "http://clapway.com/",
  "http://www.nerdfitness.com/",
  "http://iwantdis.com/",
  "http://Racked.com",
  "http://thesweetsetup.com/",
  "http://www.we-heart.com/",
  "https://www.revealnews.org/",
  "https://featuredcreature.com/",
  "http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/",
  "http://www.thehandandeye.com/",
  "http://www.thenorthernpost.com/",
  "http://www.welzoo.com/",
  "http://www.tickld.com/",
  "http://thinksimplenow.com/",
  "http://www.quietrev.com/",
  "http://www.freshoffthegrid.com/",
  "https://www.generosity.com/",
  "http://addicted2success.com/",
  "http://cubiclane.com/",
  "http://waitbutwhy.com/",
  "http://toolsandtoys.net/",
  "http://googling.co/",
  "http://penelopetrunk.com/",
  "http://iaf.tv/",
  "http://artofvisuals.com/",
  "http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog",
  "http://listverse.com/",
  "http://chrisguillebeau.com/",
  "http://expeditionportal.com/",
  "http://www.marieforleo.com/",
  "http://mostexclusivewebsite.com/",
  "http://www.alphr.com/",
  "http://www.rtings.com/",
  "http://all-that-is-interesting.com/",
  "http://theunbeatnpath.xyz/",
  "http://www.keepinspiring.me/",
  "https://paidtoexist.com/blog/",
  "http://www.lovethispic.com/",
  "http://riskology.co/blog/",
  "http://geyserofawesome.com/",
  "http://www.eugenewei.com/",
  "http://clickotron.com/"
];


$startTime = microtime(true);
  stream_context_set_default(
      array(
          'http' => array(
              'method' => 'HEAD'
          )
      )
  );
  $headers1 = [];
  foreach ($urls as $url) {
    $headers1[] = get_headers($url);
  }
$endTime = microtime(true);
$elapsed = $endTime - $startTime;
echo "Execution time : $elapsed seconds \n";


$startTime = microtime(true);
  $headers2 = [];
  foreach ($urls as $url) {
  	$ch = curl_init();
  	curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL,            $url);
  	curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER,         true);
  	curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_NOBODY,         true);
  	curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
  	curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT,        10);
  	$header2[] = curl_exec($ch);
  }
$endTime = microtime(true);
$elapsed = $endTime - $startTime;
echo "Execution time : $elapsed seconds \n";

?>

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true); needs to be set to make this comparison reliable, because following redirects is default for get_headers() - see https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.get-headers.php#100113

I did few tests on my own and get_headers is in fact faster than curl after making curl to follow redirects.

I did few tests on my own and get_headers is in fact faster than curl after making curl to follow redirects.

@zaporylie is the difference significantly faster?