4
The errors are cause because the file is being parsed as PHP while you are feeding it HTML characters. This will cause a fatal error: unexpected "<" at line xxx.
5 characters of code vs. 7 characters of code as Catz suggests, either way, it will work.
On such a small scale, 2 characters of code are meaningless, but if you are in the habit of echo'ing out HTML on a large scale, you're going to increase the load on your server because it has to load more characters into memory to do the same job.
Now, an exception is when you have a lot of PHP variables mixed in with your HTML. In those situations, the echo method can be more efficient.
As a rule of thumb, it's always best to use as little code as possible to get the job done, provided you've satisfied all conditions for security, stability, and functionality.
Just my opinion, for what it's worth.
Insanity can be defined as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
Stupidity is not a crime. Therefore, you are free to go.