Laravel Forge vs Ploi (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Ploi grades higher than Laravel Forge: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ploi grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Laravel Forge
Server management and deploys for Laravel, PHP and Node apps
Ploi
Server and site management panel for PHP and Laravel apps
Which one is for you
Pick Laravel Forge if
- Fits if you run Laravel apps and want flat-rate server management
- Works for solo developers with many apps on their own cloud accounts
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan or trial
- Watch out: servers are billed separately
- Tight if you use other clouds: Hobby has 1 external server
- Pricey if you want shared-server discounts, as Laravel VPS discounts start at Growth ($19)
- Watch out: only monthly prices could be read
Pick Ploi if
- Fits if you run Laravel or PHP apps on your own servers
- Works for freelancers who need one free server and site
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 1 server, 1 site and 5 deployments a month
- Watch out: servers are billed separately
- Not for you if you need 24/7 support, as the FAQ says there isn't any
- Watch out: euro prices are converted to dollars at a rate that can move
How we grade them
| 1.8GPALaravel ForgeWeak | 2.2GPAPloiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$12 a month on Hobby, about the category middle ($11), with servers billed separately by your provider or Laravel VPS. Growth is $19 and Business $39. | CBasic is $10 a month for 5 servers, Pro $16 and Unlimited $36, with server costs paid to your provider. Prices are set in euros and converted. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial on the pricing page. | CFree for 1 server, 1 site and 5 deployments a month, plus a 5-day Pro trial with no card. 5 deployments is a cap you'll hit. |
| Features | CServer setup, zero-downtime deploys, queues, databases, SSL and an API. It does the server-management job fully, but that's a smaller job than hosting, and Hobby limits you to 1 external server. | CProvisioning, Laravel-aware sites, queues, cron jobs, load balancing, an API and an MCP server. It does the server-panel job fully, but that's a smaller job than hosting. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You connect a cloud account and set up servers and sites. | CNo store rating on record. You connect a provider and set up servers and sites. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with DigitalOcean, AWS, Hetzner and a documented REST API. | BWeb only, with a mobile app listed, plus DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr and AWS EC2. |
| Best for | managing Laravel and PHP servers | managing PHP and Laravel servers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Laravel Forge and Ploi. How we grade
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. Ploi starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Ploi starts $2 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 3 score higher than Laravel Forge for less, and 3 score higher than Ploi for less.
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
Where they differ
- Laravel Forge also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Laravel Forge | Ploi | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per month (Hobby, monthly billing) | $10 per month (Basic, up to 5 servers) |
| Free plan | None | 1 server, 1 site and 5 deployments per month. |
| Free trial | None listed | 5-day trial of the Pro plan, no credit card required; it then drops to the free plan. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Laravel | Ploi |
| Price read from | laravel.com | ploi.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Ploi
- Ploi does not include server fees; you pay your server provider separately.
- The pricing page prices in euros and shows dollar figures converted at an exchange rate that can vary.
- There is no 24/7 support, according to the pricing page FAQ.
- Team management, backups, monitoring and other features are listed by plan in a comparison table; the free plan stops at 1 server and 5 deployments a month.
Key features
Laravel Forge
- Laravel VPS
- A one-click server option that Forge says is set up in under 10 seconds, with Nginx, PHP, MySQL or Postgres and Redis installed, and a shared web terminal.
- Zero-downtime deploys
- Deploys can be scripted, queued and stacked, and zero-downtime deployments are included for a single server.
- Bring your own cloud
- Servers can also be created at providers such as DigitalOcean, AWS and Hetzner, though on Hobby only one external server is included.
- Databases and queues
- Forge can provision, back up and monitor database clusters, and supervises queue workers without manual Supervisor setup.
- SSL and hosted domains
- Free automated SSL is included, along with on-forge.com hosted domains for launching an app before domain setup.
- API
- A documented REST API covers servers, deployments, databases, firewall rules, backups, monitors and other resources.
Ploi
- Server installation
- Servers are provisioned with NGINX, PHP and Redis/Valkey by default, on providers including DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr and AWS EC2.
- Laravel-aware site management
- The panel detects Laravel apps, and also lists WordPress support, deployments, queues, cron jobs and multiple PHP versions.
- Load balancing and status pages
- Traffic can be spread over several servers, and custom status pages keep customers informed.
- Teams and access
- Servers can be shared with co-workers, and the pricing table lists team management, domain aliases and tenants.
- API and MCP server
- An API and an MCP server let AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor manage servers.
- Mobile app
- The features menu lists an app for managing sites and servers on the go.
Plans
Laravel Forge
Hobby$12
per month, monthly billing
Unlimited Laravel VPS servers, 1 external server, unlimited sites and deployments, managed databases and community support.
Growth$19
per month, monthly billing
Unlimited servers, 5% discount on Laravel VPS and standard support, plus the other features of Hobby.
Business$39
per month, monthly billing
Unlimited servers, 15% discount on Laravel VPS and advanced support.
Ploi
Free$0
Up to 1 server and 1 site, with 5 deployments a month.
Basic$10
per month, billed monthly
Up to 5 servers, unlimited sites and deployments, and 60 API requests a minute.
Pro$16
per month, billed monthly
Up to 10 servers, unlimited sites and deployments, and 120 API requests a minute.
Unlimited$36
per month, billed monthly
Unlimited servers and sites, and 240 API requests a minute.
Ways to pay less
Laravel Forge
No public discounts listed.
Ploi
- Annual discount
10% off with yearly billing
The pricing page says yearly pricing saves 10%: Basic is $108 a year, Pro $172.80 and Unlimited $388.80 in dollars as displayed.
- Education
Student discount
The FAQ says Ploi offers student discounts and points to a requirements page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Laravel Forge or Ploi?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Ploi is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $12 a month for Laravel Forge. Laravel Forge starts at $12 per month (Hobby, monthly billing), and Ploi starts at $10 per month (Basic, up to 5 servers).
Which has a free plan, Laravel Forge or Ploi?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Ploi has a free plan. Laravel Forge does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.