Laravel Forge: price, review, how-to and alternatives (2023)
Table of contents
- What is Laravel Forge?
- Is Laravel Forge free?
- Laravel Forge pricing
- Monthly
- Annually
- Key features of Laravel Forge
- What I like about Laravel Forge
- What I dislike about Laravel Forge
- How to get started with Laravel Forge
- Cloud hosting providers for Laravel Forge by price
- The best cloud hosting providers for Laravel Forge and its alternatives
- Vultr
- DigitalOcean
- Hostinger
- Cloudways
- Kinsta
- Free alternatives to Laravel Forge: are there any?
What is Laravel Forge?
Laravel Forge is a service that automatically provisions optimized PHP servers using the cloud hosting provider of your choice.
Be ready to save a lot of time and focus on building!
Is Laravel Forge free?
No, Laravel Forge isn’t free.
Luckily, it offers a 5-day free trial for you to review it.
That said, you will still need to subscribe to a cloud hosting provider (and I hand-picked some of the best to help you).
Laravel Forge pricing
Monthly
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Hobby | $12 per month |
| Growth | $19 per month |
| Business | $39 per month |
The hobby plan has everything you can ask for.
Unless you need to use multiple servers, this is the way to go.
The only critical thing missing for me would be database backups, but you can set this up yourself with spatie/laravel-backup for instance.
The growth plan is the perfect balance of price and features because you can manage multiple servers, which is very useful when your web applications need to handle a lot of traffic.
The business plan is perfect if you’re actually running a business. $39 is nothing. Database backups can be set up via Forge’s UI and is compatible with pretty much anything (S3, DigitalOcean Spaces, etc.).
Annually
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Hobby | $120 per year |
| Growth | $199 per year |
| Business | $399 per year |
Basically, the annual plans let you save 17%, which is a no brainer if your business depends on it.
Key features of Laravel Forge
- Logs viewer;
- Edit your .env;
- Create Nginx redirections;
- Effortless tasks scheduler;
- Share projects with employees;
- Deploy a new website in minutes;
- Great prices for all budgets;
- Free 1-click SSL certificates;
- Monitor your server and send alerts;
- Install multiple versions of PHP;
- Trigger deployment when after a
git push; - Provision highly optimized and secure PHP web servers;
- Automatic database backups (S3, DigitalOcean Spaces, etc.).
What I like about Laravel Forge
- The UI and UX are top-notch!
- Proficient developers made this service. You can be sure it’s truly fine-tuned for Laravel.
What I dislike about Laravel Forge
- Backups are walled behind the business plan;
- No VPS resizing option. Something Cloudways does;
- No zero-downtime deployments unless you pay for Envoyer.
How to get started with Laravel Forge
- Create an account and subscribe to the desired plan (you get a 7-day free trial no matter what);
- Subscribe to a cloud hosting provider (you will find my recommendations in this article, such as Vultr, my favorite);
- Connect your provider to Laravel Forge (this is where having root access over SSH comes in handy 👍);
- Deploy your application (the documentation will help you get started).
- If you’re still lost and prefer video tutorials, Laracasts also has a free course for Laravel Forge.
Cloud hosting providers for Laravel Forge by price
Being cost-efficient is important. Here, I sorted every hosting provider by price.
| Provider | Lowest monthly price |
|---|---|
| Vultr | $2.50 |
| Hostinger | $3.49 |
| DigitalOcean | $4 |
| Cloudways | $10 |
| Kinsta | $20 |
The best cloud hosting providers for Laravel Forge and its alternatives
Discover my top picks of cloud providers fit to be used along with Laravel Forge.
I also list alternative services to Laravel Forge, which could reduce your cost of operation.
Vultr
Vultr is like the big guys you call when you need the work to be well-done and quickly. It offers a big range of products from basic VPS to powerful dedicated servers and even managed databases.
I can’t recommend it enough.
| Pricing | From $2.50 to $14,000 |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | $200 of free credits |
Vultr is a cloud hosting company that offers a range of cloud hosting solutions to businesses and individuals.
Their services include high-performance cloud servers, scalable block storage, and advanced networking capabilities.
With their easy-to-use interface and straightforward pricing, Vultr makes it simple for anyone to get started with cloud hosting.
One of the standout features of Vultr is their global network of data centers. They have data centers located in strategic locations around the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia.
This allows businesses to host their applications and websites closer to their target audience, reducing latency and improving performance.
Vultr also offers flexible pricing options, including hourly and monthly billing. This allows businesses to only pay for the resources they need, when they need them.
And with their fast provisioning, businesses can deploy new cloud servers in just a few clicks, making it easy to scale up or down as needed.
In addition to their cloud hosting solutions, Vultr also offers a range of developer tools, including APIs and one-click app installations. This makes it easy for developers to build and deploy applications on the Vultr platform.
Key features:
- DDoS protection;
- Automatic backups;
- Awesome UI and UX;
- Great customer service;
- PHP 8.x and MySQL 8.x;
- NVMe SSD-based hosting:
- 27+ global server locations;
- Good prices considering the quality of this service;
- 100% uptime (you get free credits when this promise isn’t fulfilled).
Here's what I love about Vultr…
- World-class cloud hosting in terms of reliability and hardware.
And what's not so good…
- High-end plans are less available globally (but you don’t need high-end plans unless you’re really big);
- There’s a DDoS protection, which is nice to have, but it can easily be overwhelmed. Switch to a better solution as your business scales up.
DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean is one of the best cloud provider. Some of their products can be costly, but you’ll get what you pay for.
They’re also going all-in on serverless and have an app platform as well as managed databases.
| Pricing | From $4 to +$2,000 |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | $100 of free credit |
DigitalOcean is a cloud computing platform that provides developers with an easy-to-use, affordable way to deploy and scale their applications.
With data centers around the world, DigitalOcean offers high-performance cloud hosting solutions that are reliable and secure.
Whether you’re a startup, a small business, or an enterprise, DigitalOcean has the tools and resources you need to build, deploy, and manage your applications.
From web apps to databases to containers, DigitalOcean makes it easy to get your projects up and running quickly.
One of the best things about DigitalOcean is its simplicity.
With a straightforward user interface and intuitive tools, you can quickly create and configure virtual servers, load balancers, and other infrastructure components.
And with flexible pricing plans, you only pay for what you use, making DigitalOcean an affordable choice for developers on a budget.
So if you’re looking for a cloud computing platform that’s easy to use, affordable, and reliable, look no further than DigitalOcean.
Key features:
- SSD-based hosting;
- PHP 8.x and MySQL 8.x;
- 14+ global server locations;
- Advanced users can still manage their own VPS;
- Reliable. I can’t recall a time where my servers were down;
- Deploy any PHP app instead of managing servers with their App Platform.
Here's what I love about DigitalOcean…
- Great hardware;
- Killer user experience and interface;
- Managed databases are great (a little pricey, though).
And what's not so good…
- You cannot scale down from a VPS with a bigger storage;
- Not enough global locations. I can’t set up a VPS in Paris for example.
Hostinger
Hostinger gets you everything you need to get your project off the ground. They offer substantial discounts if you pay for years upfront, which is interesting for people looking to save some money on web hosting.
| Pricing | From $3.99 to $79.99 |
|---|---|
| Annual discount | Up to 70% off |
| Guarantee | 30-day money back |
Hostinger is a fantastic solution for those who want to run their websites smoothly and efficiently.
With VPS hosting, you get more power and flexibility than their shared plans, allowing you to customize your server to suit your specific needs.
Hostinger offers VPS hosting with high-performance servers, unlimited bandwidth, and full root access, which means you have complete control over your server environment.
You can install any software or application you need, and Hostinger’s 24/7 customer support team is always ready to help you with any questions or issues.
With Hostinger’s VPS hosting, you get all the benefits of dedicated hosting, without the high cost.
You can choose from a range of plans that suit your budget and requirements, and easily upgrade or downgrade as your business grows.
Key features:
- Can be quite cheap;
- Backups and snapshots;
- PHP 8.x and MySQL 8.x;
- 99.9% uptime guarantee;
- Easy to scale your VPS up;
- NFS (Network File System) support. Great for working directly on your web server;
- Root access over SSH on virtual private servers and dedicated servers.
Here's what I love about Hostinger…
- Substantial discounts in the long run.
And what's not so good…
- 100 Mb/s networks;
- Two few global locations;
- Not really the latest and greatest hardware (which is enough for small to medium projects, though).
Cloudways
Cloudways is a modern managed web hosting platform that will save developers who build and ship tons of time. You will never have to deal with cloud providers and server provisionning.
And I even managed to get you the “CROZAT“ promo code for 10% off for 3 months… 👀
| Pricing | From $10 to +$3500 |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | 3-day free trial without credit card |
Cloudways is a cloud hosting platform that offers managed hosting solutions for businesses of all sizes.
You can easily host your PHP web applications, and online stores on top cloud infrastructure providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and DigitalOcean.
The platform offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to set up and manage your hosting environment.
Cloudways takes care of all the technical details, including server provisionning (server setup), security, backups, and updates, so you can focus on growing your business.
But one of the great things about Cloudways is its flexibility. You can choose from a variety of hosting plans and infrastructure providers, so you can find the perfect combination that meets your needs.
They also offer a range of advanced features, such as built-in caching, staging environments, and automated backups, which can help improve your website’s performance and security.
Key features:
- 24/7/365 support;
- SSD-based storage;
- Automatic backups;
- Ready-to-use Redis;
- PHP 8.x and MySQL 8.x;
- 1-click free SSL certificate;
- SSH access to the web server right from interface;
- All their hosting providers have guaranteed +99.9% uptime;
- 60+ global server locations (Cloudways cumulates from all their hosting providers);
- No need for you to have an account for each provider, Cloudways handles everything;
- Reliable. They use the best cloud hosting providers on the market such as AWS, DigitalOcean, GCP, Linode, Vultr and more.
Here's what I love about Cloudways…
- Tailored for PHP projects;
- Backups without paying an extra!
- Cloudways works with the best cloud providers, which makes it reliable.
And what's not so good…
- Don’t remove your server in the trial period or it’ll be cancelled;
Kinsta
While the cost can quickly go up with Kinsta, it won’t be a problem for businesses that need to scale thanks to Google’s great infrastructure.
And the use of Dockerfile makes it easy for large teams to have similar local and production environments.
Kinsta is fresh and simple, I like it a lot!
| Pricing | From $20 to anything you want |
|---|---|
| Guarantee | $20 off your first invoice |
Kinsta is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) hosting provider that offers fast, secure, and scalable web application hosting.
With over 55,000 developers and digital entrepreneurs, Kinsta offers 25 locations across five continents that offer the fastest Google C2 machines running on Google’s Premium Tier network.
They provides a developer-focused feature set with support for popular languages and frameworks.
Kinsta offers internal connections, dedicated databases, and a choice of data center locations for maximum speed.
Their dashboard provides an easy way to deploy and manage apps, with unlimited users and support for developers by developers.
The support staff is made up of experts, developers, and engineers that provide fast and multilingual support.
Kinsta offers resource-based pricing, so you only pay for what you use, making it simple, transparent, and predictable.
Key features:
- Easy-to-use dashboard;
- Auto-deploy on Git push;
- Battle-tested infrastructure;
- Premium hardware from Google;
- Easily scale up or down your services;
- Use your Dockerfile to deploy your app;
- Temporary URL until you start using your own domain;
- Environment variables management from the dashboard;
- Free and unlimited team members. Great for large teams;
- Backed with Cloudflare, so you won’t have to fear DDoS attacks;
- 24/7 support in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese from competent developers.
Here's what I love about Kinsta…
- DDoS protection!
- Temporary URLs until you’re ready to go public;
- A clean UI and good UX makes the product a joy to use.
And what's not so good…
- One hosting service and one database for each app, which can quickly make salty invoices.
Free alternatives to Laravel Forge: are there any?
Unfortunately, it seems there are no trustworthy free alternative to Forge.
Remember: if something that costs money to a company is free, it means that YOU are the product.
However, if you are ready to make compromises, you could host static websites (meaning it’s just HTML, CSS and JavaScript) for free on these awesome services:
- Cloudflare pages
- Deta.sh
- DigitalOcean App Platform
- Fly.io
- GitHub Pages
- GitLab Pages
- Google Firebase Hosting
- Netlify
- Railway
- Render
- Surge
- Vercel
