TL;DR, here’s the provider I pick

If you are in a hurry, here’s my recommendation: I’m kinda old school, so DigitalOcean for the VPS plus Laravel Forge for server management is what I use for this blog.

As a second choice, Kinsta is the most modern way to host web apps nowadays. You never have to worry about servers, it autoscales, and you only pay for what you use.

Lastly, I’d go with Cloudways for a more classic managed Laravel hosting (but they also offer autoscaling now too).

Available discounts

Before you continue, here are current offers from the providers in this guide:

• DigitalOcean: Get $200 in credit for 60 days.
• Cloudways: Use code “CW30FOR3” or “DEVOPS30” for 20% off for 3 months.
• Kinsta: Free trial includes $20 in server resources in your first month.

The best Laravel cloud hosting providers by price

At first glance, some options look cheap because you manage the server yourself. Others cost more but handle security, updates, and scaling, which lets you invest time and energy in other tasks. To compare fairly, here are three simple categories.

Managed platforms (they host and manage for you)

VPS providers (you manage or use a server manager)

The best Laravel cloud hosting providers

Cloudways

Cloudways is a fully managed platform for Laravel. It’s a solid alternative to running your own stack with Laravel Forge.

Cloudways lets you choose the underlying provider for each server: AWS, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, plus Linode and Vultr. You can run different apps on different providers within one account, but a single app does not combine multiple providers into one.

• Who it’s for: Teams and solo devs who want managed Laravel hosting without touching OS updates and security hardening.
• Starting price: From $11/month on DigitalOcean Standard (or $14/month on Premium).
• Notable features: One‑click deployments, automated backups, staging, built‑in caching, and global choices of data centers through its cloud partners. For WordPress users, Cloudways Autonomous (WordPress‑only) runs on Kubernetes and can autoscale for big traffic spikes.
• Deal: Use code CROZAT for 10% off for 3 months (verify at checkout).

Try Cloudways

DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean Droplets are fast, simple Linux VMs that spin up in seconds. I pair DigitalOcean with Laravel Forge, and this is my current setup for this site.

• Who it’s for: Developers who want control and great value, and who are comfortable using a server manager like Laravel Forge.
• Starting price: $4/month (512 MB). This is fine for small projects, but resources are tight.
• Notable features: Predictable pricing, 99.99% uptime SLA, free Cloud Firewalls and Monitoring, and a global network with 17 data centers. Droplets include a monthly outbound data transfer allowance (starting at 500 GiB). Inbound transfer is free, and outbound overage is $0.01/GiB.
• Nice extras: Premium CPU‑Optimized, Memory‑Optimized, and Storage‑Optimized Droplets, plus simple team management.

Try DigitalOcean

Vultr

Vultr offers competitive performance and pricing for Laravel apps. It’s easy to use with Laravel Forge and gives you lots of location options.

• Who it’s for: Builders who want a straightforward VPS with strong global coverage.
• Starting price: $5/month (1 GB).
• Notable features: 32 global locations, modern AMD and Intel CPUs, and NVMe SSD storage.
• Tip: If you like to place servers near users, Vultr’s location list is hard to beat.

Try Vultr

Kinsta

Kinsta offers Application Hosting that supports Laravel out of the box. You deploy from Git, and Kinsta builds your app with Nixpacks/Buildpacks, then runs it on Google Cloud Platform.

• Who it’s for: Teams that want simple Git‑based deploys on a managed, developer‑friendly platform.
• Starting price: $5/month.
• Notable features: GCP‑backed infrastructure with 25+ data center regions, containerized apps, metrics, and optional autoscaling via Kubernetes instances. Great for staging and production.

Try Kinsta

What makes a good cloud hosting provider?

• Reliability: Aim for at least 99.9% uptime. That equals about 8 hours 45 minutes of downtime per year. For 99.99%, it’s about 52 minutes per year.
• Speed: Focus on Core Web Vitals. Aim for LCP ≤ 2.5 s, INP < 200 ms, and CLS < 0.1 at the 75th percentile of your users.
• Location: The closer your server is to visitors, the faster your site feels. If you serve a worldwide audience, place servers in multiple regions and use a CDN or load balancers.
• Network bandwidth: 100 Mbps can work for small sites. For heavier traffic, look for faster network ports when budget allows.
• Hardware: More CPU, RAM, and SSD storage generally means better performance.

How I evaluate hosts for Laravel

• Current PHP versions and easy upgrades
• Security updates and patching cadence
• Git‑based deployment and one‑click rollbacks
• Automated and on‑demand backups
• Logs, metrics, and alerts that are simple to read
• Clear support SLAs and fast responses

Is Laravel good for shared hosting?

You can run Laravel on shared hosting with some work, but I don’t recommend it. If you don’t want to manage servers, use a managed platform that fits Laravel perfectly, like Cloudways’ Laravel hosting page. If budget is tight and you’re okay with DevOps, a $4 DigitalOcean Droplet can work for small apps.

Which database is best for Laravel?

Laravel supports five databases:

• MariaDB 10.3+
• MySQL 5.7+
• PostgreSQL 10.0+
• SQLite 3.26.0+
• SQL Server 2017+

Pick based on your needs and team skills. All providers in this guide support these databases. You can install them on your VPS or use a managed database for easier scaling.

Free Laravel hosting: is it possible?

For production apps, there is no worthwhile free way to host a full Laravel backend. Some platforms offer trials or very small free tiers for apps (for example, Kinsta’s free trial includes $20 in resources in your first month), but truly free, production‑ready Laravel hosting is rare.

If you can go static (HTML, CSS, JavaScript only), these services have free tiers:

• Cloudflare Pages
• Deta Space
• DigitalOcean App Platform (3 free static sites)
• Fly.io
• GitHub Pages
• GitLab Pages
• Firebase Hosting
• Netlify
• Railway
• Render
• Surge
• Vercel

FAQ

Is shared hosting OK for Laravel?

It works in a pinch, but a VPS or a managed platform is better for performance, security, and deployments.

Which database should I pick for Laravel?

MySQL or MariaDB are common and well‑supported. PostgreSQL is great too, especially if you use its advanced features.

Do I need Kubernetes for Laravel?

No. Most apps run well on a single VPS or a managed platform. Use Kubernetes only when you truly need large‑scale orchestration.

Conclusion

Choose a managed platform (Kinsta or Cloudways) if you want speed, backups, and scaling handled for you. Pick a VPS (DigitalOcean or Vultr) if you want more control and lower cost, especially when pairing it with a server manager.

My setup today: DigitalOcean + Laravel Forge. It’s reliable, fast, and easy to maintain.