# XAMPP Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra

> With the help of Capterra, learn about XAMPP Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Server Management products and more.

Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/246810/XAMPP

---

# 

 XAMPP Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons

Last updated on March 13, 2026

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team.

[Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews)

XAMPP

## What is XAMPP?

XAMPP is a platform that allows developers and designers to build web apps in a local environment and also verify that projects work properly before pushing them to the main server. The system is named after its compatibility and functionality: X is for cross-platform (Linux, Windows, and Mac), while AMPP refers to its support for Apache HTTP (server), MariaDB (MySQL database), and also PHP and Perl (languages). OS-specific versions like LAMP (Linux) and MAMP (Mac) are also available. XAMPP offers two lightweight Apache distribution packages: one with a single executable file and another without. The installer package runs like any other application, but the version without is a full archive, so users must configure it manually. The software allows users to build dynamic applications and provides a graphical SQL interface (phpMyAdmin). It is one of the most common systems used by WordPress developers, as the blogging platform was built on the LAMP web stack, including PHP and MariaDB.

## What is XAMPP used for?

[Server Management](https://www.capterra.com/server-management-software/)

Top alternative

Featured

Overall rating

Based on 33 user reviews

Reviews sentiment

Positive

97%

Neutral

3%

Negative

0%

Contact vendor  
for pricing

Free trial  
not available

Free version not included

Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products...

Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings...

Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings...

Do you work for XAMPP?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://www.apachefriends.org/index.html&name=XAMPP)

## Compare with a popular alternative

Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status.

### XAMPP

4.7 (33)

VS.

[4.2 (253)](https://www.capterra.com/p/13803/N-central/reviews/)

Starting Price

Contact vendor

Starting Price

$1.75

Other

Free Trial

Free Version

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

Ease Of Use

4.5 (33)

Ease Of Use

4.0 (253)

Value For Money

4.8 (24)

Value For Money

3.9 (239)

Customer Service

4.2 (21)

Customer Service

3.9 (242)

## XAMPP alternatives

[4.3 (201)](https://www.capterra.com/p/163344/N-sight/reviews/)

Starting price

$99.00

Per User, Per Month

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

90%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

[4.7 (294)](https://www.capterra.com/p/184229/NinjaOne/reviews/)

Starting price

Contact vendor for pricing

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

97%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

[4.5 (449)](https://www.capterra.com/p/144309/Atera/reviews/)

Starting price

$129.00

Per User, Per Month

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

93%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

Highest Rated

[4.9 (238)](https://www.capterra.com/p/180609/Action1-RMM/reviews/)

Starting price

Contact vendor for pricing

Pricing Options

Free Trial

Free Version

User Rating

99%

of reviewers

rated it above 4 stars

[View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/246810/XAMPP/alternatives/)

## FAQs about XAMPP

Overview

### Which roles and teams benefit most from XAMPP?

XAMPP is most used by web developers, software engineers, and technical consultants who need a fast local server stack for building, testing, and debugging PHP and database-driven applications. Startup founders, CTOs, and project leads benefit from quick prototyping, while educators and freelance creators use it for teaching, demos, and client website development.

Answer based on 32 reviews

Overview

### What company size and industries is XAMPP built for?

XAMPP is built mainly for small businesses and software-focused teams, with 84% of reviewers from small companies and 25% each in Computer Software and Information Technology and Services. It also fits IT agencies, freelancers, enterprises at 12%, and midsize businesses at 3%, primarily for server management.

Answer based on 32 reviews

Features and Usability

### What are the key features of XAMPP?

XAMPP offers alerts and notifications for status updates, event logs for tracking system activity, and server monitoring for observing server performance and availability. These core features support routine administration by recording events, flagging changes, and displaying monitoring data in one package.

Integrations

### Which third-party tools and platforms does XAMPP integrate with?

XAMPP integrates with MySQL and Bitnami, with reviewer mentions also pointing to Apache, Tomcat, Mercury, MariaDB, PHP, Perl, and phpMyAdmin as part of common development setups. These integrations center on local web development, database management, application testing, and package deployment.

Answer based on 13 reviews

Getting Started and Support

### What training and onboarding options does XAMPP offer?

XAMPP provides documentation for teams that need written reference material during setup and use. Documentation can support self-paced learning, help users check installation steps, and serve as a guide for reviewing features and configuration details.

Getting Started and Support

### What customer support options does XAMPP offer?

XAMPP provides chat support for users who need help with setup or troubleshooting. Support experience appears limited to this channel, so users looking for quick assistance may rely on chat for direct contact when issues arise.

Ease of use

### Is XAMPP easy to set up and use?

XAMPP makes local web server setup straightforward for many developers, especially beginners, students, and small project teams. Its control panel, bundled Apache, PHP, and MariaDB tools, and familiar phpMyAdmin interface reduce setup effort. Still, first-time users can need guidance, and more complex environments like multiple PHP versions feel limiting.

Answer based on 11 reviews

## Pricing

Value for money

4.8 (24)

Value for money

4.8 (24)

4.8

Based on 24 reviews

## Integrations

[

Bitnami](https://www.capterra.com/p/198513/Bitnami/)

## Support, customer service and training options

Customer Service

4.2 (21)

Support

-   Email/Help Desk
-   FAQs/Forum
-   Knowledge Base
-   Phone Support
-   24/7 (Live rep)
-   Chat

Training

-   In Person
-   Live Online
-   Webinars
-   Documentation
-   Videos

Deployment

-   Web
-   Android
-   iPhone/iPad

Typical users

-   Freelancers
-   Small businesses
-   Mid size businesses
-   Enterprises

Customer Service

4.2 (21)

4.2

Based on 21 reviews

## User reviews

Overall rating

4.7

Based on 33 reviews

Filter by rating

5(24)

4(8)

3(1)

2(0)

1(0)

Mentioned topic

Sorted by most recent

AR

Anne Ruth D.

Front End Developer

Information Technology and Services

### "free, reliable, and gets out of your way"

4.0

Overall Rating

4.0

4.0

Ease of Use

4.0

4.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

4.0

4.0

Likelihood to Recommend

8/10

June 11, 2026

solid overall honestly. xampp just does its job without making it a whole thing. for local development especially wordpress builds it is pretty much the go to and for good reason. yes the UI looks like a relic from another era but once you get past that the actual functionality is dependable and has never really let me down on a project. for something that costs nothing it delivers way more than it has any right to.

Pros

the setup process is genuinely painless which is not something you can say about a lot of dev tools. apache, mysql, php all bundled together and ready to go without having to configure everything from scratch manually. the fact that it is completely free is also kind of insane for what you get. starting and stopping services is just a button click which keeps the whole workflow clean and fast. works on both windows and mac without any weird issues which matters when you are switching between machines.

Cons

the interface looks like it has not been touched since 2009 and that is being generous. it works fine but it does feel a little rough compared to basically everything else on your screen. not a dealbreaker at all but a UI refresh would go a long way. also not the most beginner friendly if you run into actual errors since the documentation can feel a bit all over the place.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

Vasilis K.

Web Developer

Information Technology and Services

### "A reliable local server solution for macOS"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

3.0

3.0

Likelihood to Recommend

8/10

January 25, 2025

My overall experience with XAMPP is really good. I use it to run a local server for developing Wordpress websites for my clients.

Pros

It's very easy to setup, reliable and also it's free to use.

Cons

That's a minor issue but I could say that the interface feel too outdated.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

AN

Anonymous User

Owner of ShadowPlayersDev

Information Technology and Services

### "Server management with XAMPP"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

4.0

4.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

0.0

0.0

Likelihood to Recommend

9/10

April 9, 2024

I've been using XAMPP for quite a long time and in all these years I didn't experience any issues at all, it's really useful and provides all necessary features for database management.

Pros

Easily store data, smooth search/filter feature, supports SQL commands and an user-friendly interface.

Cons

The installion can be kind of tricky because if you install it inside the "Program files" folder, the application gives some errors due to missing permissions.

Review source

Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

AM

abir M.

développeur informatique

Professional Training & Coaching

### "Xampp facilite le développement Web"

3.0

Overall Rating

3.0

3.0

Ease of Use

3.0

3.0

Features

4.0

4.0

Customer Service

0.0

0.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

February 1, 2024

Pros

L'importation et l'exportation des bases de données facilitent le transport de ces dernieres au cas de besoin.

Cons

Des fois Apache fait des pannes et on doit éteindre et réinintialiser le Xampp pour que ça marche.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

ZC

Zie C.

Responsable Projet et Developpement

Computer Software

### "Votre serveur local avec XAMPP"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

4.0

4.0

Likelihood to Recommend

9/10

December 9, 2023

J'aime surtout l'outil SendMail qu'il intègre, qui permet de configurer l'envoie des mails en locale

Pros

J'utilise XAMP en tant que serveur de développement local

Cons

Il est difficile d'ajouter plusieurs versions de PHP simultanément

Switched from

[Microsoft Visual Studio](https://www.capterra.com/p/80230/microsoft-visual-studio/)

[PhpStorm](https://www.capterra.com/p/186624/PhpStorm/)

[Visual Studio Code](https://www.capterra.com/p/186634/Visual-Studio-Code/)

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

FG

Franscislyne G.

Developpeur

Computer Software

### "XAMPP un serveur local opensource"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

4.0

4.0

Customer Service

4.0

4.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

November 26, 2023

XAMPP est très simple d'utilisation et intègre de nombreux outils externes

Pros

XAMPP est un serveur de test local, pour développer et tester vos projets PHP, il inclue MySQL pour les bases de données

Cons

Bien que XAMPP soit un excellent serveur, il est difficile d’intégrer plusieurs versions PHP

Switched from

[FileZilla](https://www.capterra.com/p/231513/FileZilla/)

[WinSCP](https://www.capterra.com/p/234587/WinSCP/)

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

Lucila Z.

Freelancer

Design

### " ha mejorado mi experiencia en el desarrollo web"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

4.0

4.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

October 13, 2023

Pros

¡XAMPP es sorprendente! ya que ha mejorado mi experiencia en el desarrollo web. Me encante su facilidad de configuración y la integración perfecta de Apache, MySQL, y PHP lo que hace que la creación de sitios sea un proceso fluido. Además. tiene una interfaz intuitiva que simplifica la gestión de servidores locales, permitiéndome centrarme en la codificación.

Cons

hasta el momento no he tenido complicaciones importantes muy por el contrario a sido una integración acertada en mi trabajo.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

Joao Pedro O.

System Administrator

Automotive

### "XAMPP | Best Web Server by Far"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

5.0

5.0

Features

5.0

5.0

Customer Service

5.0

5.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

October 13, 2023

Pros

User FriendlyEasy to configure and install

Cons

If you want to configure a smtp server inside it, sometimes was a little complicated to make it works.Not so good to host Microsoft WEB Application.

Review source

Incentivized review: software users are invited to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive for their time and effort. All incentivized reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

AN

Anonymous User

Consultor Técnico

Internet

### "Xampp"

4.0

Overall Rating

4.0

4.0

Ease of Use

4.0

4.0

Features

4.0

4.0

Customer Service

4.0

4.0

Likelihood to Recommend

9/10

October 5, 2023

Siempre en términos generales ha sido muy positiva, durante varios años que llevo utilizándola, y siempre me ha resultado una herramienta muy útil y fiable. Para pruebas en entorno local es lo que recomiendo 100%

Pros

Sin duda la facilidad de uso y su versatilidad. Fácil de instalar y configurar para casi todos los públicos y además es es multiplataforma. Tiene una amplia gama de herramientas y módulos a configurar. Para crear y probar es localmente es de lo mejor sin duda y además existe mucha documentación de ayuda

Cons

Para configuraciones complejas puede llegar a ser algo corto pero no es esa su labor ya que para ello existen otras aplicaciones. Por ponerle un pero ya que por lo demás hace muy bien su función.

Reasons for choosing XAMPP

por su facilidad de uso, lo bien que realiza su trabajo, la documentación y por que es gratuito mejor imposible

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

Roshish S.

Flutter Developer

Information Technology and Services

### "Simple and gets the work done"

5.0

Overall Rating

5.0

5.0

Ease of Use

4.0

4.0

Features

4.0

4.0

Customer Service

0.0

0.0

Likelihood to Recommend

10/10

October 4, 2023

Pros

I used this for my projects during my undergrad. It was simple to setup and I had PHPmyadmin running in no time. Simple user interface made it quite easy to start all the required services.

Cons

Sometimes, the software crashes and does not close properly as well.

Review source

Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication.

[View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/246810/XAMPP/reviews/)

## Top-rated software of 2026

### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.