nostr:npub1mw4xlygtqrx0x35wwd9jv75ve3yz33tqadlsarjrg6m78awyp37swdp6t6 nostr:npub108pv4cg5ag52nq082kd5leu9ffrn2gdg6g4xdwatn73y36uzplmq9uyev6 nostr:npub108zt8c43ulvdwnax2txurhhr07wdprl0msf608udz9rvpd5l68ascvdkr5 I dont think thats an A-B comparason.
You can 100% build Javascript that doesnt require npm. You probably don't want to do that unless you are doing something VERY basic
The same is true with PHP. At some level of complexity, you are going to need to use externally written code. PHP SUCKS for this. The best solution i found was using composer, which is infinitely more shit than npm
I would go as far as to say, PHP doesn't really have a good niche atm other than being quick and dirty