&#62; <i>Languages aren't "fast" or "slow", it's programs that can be fast or slow.</i><p>We can say that "C++ is faster than PHP", because most, if not all, programs using the same algorithms will run faster when written in C++ and compiled to native code.<p>&#62; <i>If a higher-level language lets you implement a smarter algorithm, your program will run faster.</i><p>PHP is generally easier to master than C++, but both are high level enough to provide adequate tools to write efficient algorithms with comparable amount of effort, provided one is competent with the language at hand.