As an ardent Vim user, I'm exploring the features of PHPStorm.

PHPStorm-vs-Vim.md

Features that PHPStorm has that Vim doesn't.

• Better support for finding things (files, classes, methods, symbols, etc.)
• Basic Vi keybinding support (grafted on)
  • Vi binding does not support count (e.g. 2gT)
  • Vi binding does not support surround (Vim plugin style)
• Powerful refactoring tools
• In-page syntax support (show Javascript in an HTML page)

Features that Vim has that PHPStorm doesn't.

• Free as in beer and free as in freedom.
• Vim philosophy
• Filetypes (dotted namespaces)
• Per-filetype configurations
• More plugins
• The amazing customizability of Vim.

Plugins

• Renamer (load files into the editor and rename them before saving)

Things they share

• Debugging

  • PHPStorm: integrated
  • Vim: via plugin

• Snippets

  • PHPStorm: support is excellent, easy to create
  • Vim: (Ultisnips plugin) fairly easy to edit

• Templates

  • PHPStorm: good support
  • Vim: easier to create if you know how

• Syntax Checking

  • PHPStorm: configure path to phpcs
  • Vim: Syntastic plugin