echo vs. print in PHP

echo() and print() are not functions but language constructs in PHP. They are both used to output strings and there are very minor differences between echo and print in PHP.

Comparison chart

	Echo (PHP)	Print (PHP)
Parameters	echo can take more than one parameter when used without parentheses. The syntax is echo expression [, expression[, expression] ... ]. Note that echo ($arg1,$arg2) is invalid.	print only takes one parameter.
Return value	echo does not return any value	print always returns 1 (integer)
Syntax	void echo ( string $arg1 [, string $... ] )	int print ( string $arg )
What is it?	In PHP, echo is not a function but a language construct.	In PHP, print is not a really function but a language construct. However, it behaves like a function in that it returns a value.

Speed of echo vs print in PHP

The speed of both echo and print statements in PHP is roughly the same. Using one over the other is not likely to yield any performance improvement in your application. Theoretically, echo is more efficient because it does not return any value.

Function vs Language Construct

Unlike most PHP string functions, echo and print aren't functions but language constructs. Therefore it is not required to use parentheses when using echo or print.

Parameters and syntax of print vs echo

When used with parentheses (like a function call), both print and echo take only 1 argument. For example,
echo("Don't panic!");
However, when used without parentheses, echo can take several arguments. For example,
echo "Don't", " ", "panic", "!";