class myfunclass { public function __construct($config) { } } $class = 'myfunclass'; $config = array(); $total = 0; $i = 0; while ($i < 10000) { $i++; $start = microtime(TRUE); $reflection = new ReflectionClass($class); $obj = $reflection->newInstanceArgs(array($config)); $total += microtime(TRUE) - $start; } echo "Reflection took " . $total / 10000 . " seconds on average\n"; $total = 0; $i = 0; while ($i < 10000) { $i++; $start = microtime(TRUE); $obj = new $class($config); $total += microtime(TRUE) - $start; } echo 'new $class ' . $total / 10000 . " seconds on average";