---
title: "PHP 7.0"
description: "PHP 7.0 is a 2015 release whose new engine roughly doubled performance. Learn about scalar type declarations, return types and why this version mattered."
url: "https://nodea.io/en/glossary/php-7-0"
lang: "en"
updated: "2026-07-13"
---

# PHP 7.0

> PHP 7.0 is a 2015 release of the PHP language whose rebuilt engine roughly doubled performance over PHP 5.6. It introduced scalar type declarations and return-type declarations.

**PHP 7.0** is a release of the [PHP](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/php) language shipped in December 2015, one of the biggest breakthroughs in the language's history. The numbering jumped straight from 5.6 to 7.0 (version 6 was never finished), and the headline change was a new engine that delivered up to twice the performance on the same code.

## Why PHP 7.0 mattered

PHP 7.0 combined a huge performance leap with new language features:

- **a rewritten engine** — lower memory usage and nearly twice-as-fast script execution;
- **scalar type declarations** — the ability to enforce argument types (int, float, string, bool);
- **return type declarations** — explicitly stating what a function returns;
- **the null coalescing operator (??) and the spaceship operator (\<=\>)** — more concise conditions and comparisons.

Introducing type declarations moved PHP closer to strongly typed languages, improving code readability and making it easier to catch errors during development.

## Practical applications

Support for PHP 7.0 ended in 2018, so it is now an archival version. At launch, however, adopting it brought tangible benefits: site owners saw faster load times and lower server load. For [hosting](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/hosting) and VPS services, this meant the ability to handle more traffic on the same hardware. Applications still running on PHP 7.0 today should be updated to a supported branch, such as [PHP 7.1](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/php-7-1) or later, to stay secure and compatible with current libraries.

### Why performance mattered so much

The performance leap of PHP 7.0 was not merely a technical curiosity — it had a real effect on costs and user experience. Executing scripts roughly twice as fast meant the same server could handle more concurrent requests, and pages loaded noticeably quicker. At a time when load speed was starting to influence search rankings and conversion rates, this was one of the most cost-effective upgrades a site owner could make.

### Why was moving to PHP 7.0 so important?

PHP 7.0 was built on a completely rewritten engine, so the same applications ran up to twice as fast while using less memory. For high-traffic sites this meant real savings on server resources and better response times without any code changes.

## Related

- [PHP](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/php)
- [PHP 5.6](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/php-5-6)
- [PHP 7.1](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/php-7-1)
- [OPcache](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/opcache)
- [Hosting](https://nodea.io/en/glossary/hosting)

---

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