Alternatives · Web Hosting
Laravel Forge alternatives
As of Nov 12, 2026, the highest-graded Laravel Forge alternative is GridPane (2.4 GPA). It's also the best free one.
Laravel Forge compared with 5 alternatives: Ploi, RunCloud, SpinupWP, GridPane and DigitalOcean.
Laravel Forge is a paid product, starting at $12 per month (Hobby, monthly billing). 3 of the 5 alternatives are free or have a free plan. 2 more offer a free trial.
Listings checked up to Nov 12, 2026 · Where the facts come from
Black Friday: is there a Laravel Forge sale?
At a glance
| Tool | Price | Free plan | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laravel ForgeThis tool | From $12/mo | No | Web |
| Ploi | Free plan · from $10/mo | Yes | Web |
| RunCloud | Free trial · from $9/mo | Trial only | Web |
| SpinupWP | Free trial · from $12/mo | Trial only | Web |
| GridPane | Free plan · from $19/mo | Yes | Web |
| DigitalOcean | Free plan · from $4/mo | Yes | Web |
Price against what you get
Laravel Forge starts at $12 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. None of the 5 alternatives on this chart both scores higher and starts lower.
Ploi, RunCloud and DigitalOcean start lower without scoring higher.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
How each one differs from Laravel Forge
Ploi
Server and site management panel for PHP and Laravel apps
- Ploi starts at $10 per month (Basic, up to 5 servers).
- Ploi has a free plan, which Laravel Forge lacks.
- Ploi does not cover workflow automation, which Laravel Forge does.
Suits: Laravel and PHP developers running their own servers
RunCloud
Web server control panel for PHP sites on your own cloud servers
- RunCloud starts at $9 per month (Essentials, billed monthly).
- RunCloud also covers page speed.
- RunCloud does not cover workflow automation, which Laravel Forge does.
Suits: Developers and agencies who rent their own servers for PHP and WordPress sites
SpinupWP
WordPress server management for servers you rent yourself
- SpinupWP starts at $12 per month (Essentials, 1 server).
- SpinupWP also covers page speed.
- SpinupWP does not cover workflow automation, which Laravel Forge does.
Suits: Developers and agencies who rent their own servers for WordPress
GridPane
WordPress server control panel with a free core plan
- GridPane starts at $19 per month and up (PeakFreq).
- GridPane has a free plan, which Laravel Forge lacks.
- GridPane also covers managed WordPress and page speed.
- GridPane does not cover workflow automation, which Laravel Forge does.
Suits: Agencies hosting many WordPress sites on servers they control
DigitalOcean
Cloud servers, app hosting and managed databases for developers
- DigitalOcean starts at $4 per month (Droplet), billed per second.
- DigitalOcean has a free plan, which Laravel Forge lacks.
- DigitalOcean also covers databases.
- DigitalOcean does not cover workflow automation, which Laravel Forge does.
Suits: Developers who want plain virtual machines with a predictable monthly cap
Limits worth knowing in Laravel Forge
- Forge is a paid service with no free plan or trial listed on its pricing page.
- You also pay your cloud provider, or Laravel VPS charges, for the servers themselves.
- Hobby includes only 1 external server; unlimited external servers start with Growth at $19 a month.
- The pricing page has a Monthly and an Annual toggle; the annual figures could not be read, so only monthly prices are listed.
Common questions
What are the alternatives to Laravel Forge?
The alternatives to Laravel Forge in this directory are Ploi, RunCloud, SpinupWP, GridPane and DigitalOcean. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Laravel Forge.
Is there a free alternative to Laravel Forge?
Yes. Ploi, GridPane and DigitalOcean have a free plan alongside paid ones.
When were these prices checked?
Every listing on this page was checked on Nov 12, 2026, against the pages it cites. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.