What is faster: many ifs, or else if in PHP?

When choosing between multiple if statements and else if statements in PHP, else if is generally faster and more efficient due to early termination of condition checking.

Multiple If Statements

With multiple separate if statements, PHP evaluates every condition regardless of whether previous conditions were true ?

<?php
$score = 85;

if($score >= 90){
    echo "Grade A<br>";
}
if($score >= 80){
    echo "Grade B<br>";  // This will also execute
}
if($score >= 70){
    echo "Grade C<br>";  // This will also execute
}
?>

Grade B
Grade C

Else If Statements

With else if, PHP stops checking conditions once the first true condition is found ?

<?php
$score = 85;

if($score >= 90){
    echo "Grade A<br>";
} else if($score >= 80){
    echo "Grade B<br>";  // Executes and stops here
} else if($score >= 70){
    echo "Grade C<br>";  // Not checked
}
?>

Grade B

Performance Comparison

Conclusion

Use else if for mutually exclusive conditions as it provides better performance through early termination. Reserve multiple if statements only when you need multiple conditions to execute independently.