Laravel Forge vs ServerPilot (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ServerPilot grades higher than Laravel Forge: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Laravel Forge grades higher on platforms. ServerPilot grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
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
ServerPilot
Control panel for PHP and WordPress servers at any cloud provider
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 ServerPilot if
- Fits if you run PHP or WordPress sites on a VPS and want hourly billing with no contract
- Works for people who want the panel price to stay flat when they upsize the server
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your apps run Node.js, Python or anything outside PHP and static sites
- Tight if you want monitoring, as the log viewer and resource metrics start at $10 a server
- Watch out: MySQL and app request metrics need First Class at $20 a server
- Watch out: the 14-day trial covers basic functionality only, and servers are billed by your provider
How we grade them
| 1.8GPALaravel ForgeWeak | 2.0GPAServerPilotFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$5 a server plus $0.50 an app each month, so one server with one app is $5.50, level with the $5.00 cheaper-quarter line. The cloud server is billed separately. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial on the pricing page. | CA 14-day trial with no card, covering basic functionality only. After that a card or PayPal is needed. |
| 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. | CServer setup, free SSL, a firewall and one-click WordPress. Apps are PHP or static sites only, and the log viewer and metrics start at Business, with MySQL metrics at First Class. |
| 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 your own server with root access and add apps to it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with DigitalOcean, AWS, Hetzner and a documented REST API. | CWeb only, with a short list of integrations: WordPress, Laravel, Nginx, Apache and Let's Encrypt. It works with servers from any provider. |
| Best for | managing Laravel and PHP servers | a hosted panel for PHP and WordPress 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 ServerPilot. 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. ServerPilot starts at $0.50 a month and scores 2.0.
Laravel Forge scores higher, and starts $11.50 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other web hosts on the chart, 3 score higher than Laravel Forge for less, and 1 scores higher than ServerPilot 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.
- ServerPilot also covers dashboards and page speed.
At a glance
| Laravel Forge | ServerPilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $12 per month (Hobby, monthly billing) | $5 per server + $0.50 per app per month, billed hourly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial, no credit card required; it covers basic functionality until a card or PayPal is added. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Laravel | ServerPilot |
| Price read from | laravel.com | serverpilot.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
ServerPilot
- Servers are not included; the cloud provider bills them separately.
- Apps are PHP applications or static sites, so other runtimes are outside what the pricing page defines as an app.
- Log viewer and resource metrics need Business at $10 a server, and MySQL metrics need First Class.
- The 14-day trial covers basic functionality; paid features start once a card or PayPal is added.
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.
ServerPilot
- Any server provider
- Servers from any provider can be managed as long as you have root access, and the vendor says you keep ownership of them.
- Apps and WordPress
- Apps are PHP applications such as WordPress and Laravel, or static sites, isolated from one another, with a one-click WordPress installer and multiple PHP versions.
- Server stack
- Nginx fronts Apache, with HTTP/3, a default firewall, automated updates and Let's Encrypt SSL certificates.
- Monitoring
- Business adds a log viewer and server resource metrics; First Class adds app request and MySQL health metrics.
- Migrations
- Sites and databases can be transferred between servers.
- Hourly billing
- Server and app charges accrue by the hour and are billed after each month ends, and a server's plan can be changed at any time.
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.
ServerPilot
Economy$5
per server / month, plus $0.50 per app, billed hourly
Server management, free SSL, firewall, one-click WordPress and email support, without monitoring or priority support.
Business$10
per server / month, plus $1 per app, billed hourly
Adds a log viewer, server resource metrics and priority support.
First Class$20
per server / month, plus $2 per app, billed hourly
Adds app request metrics and MySQL metrics, with high priority support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Laravel Forge or ServerPilot?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ServerPilot is cheaper to start with: $0.50 a month, against $12 a month for Laravel Forge. Laravel Forge starts at $12 per month (Hobby, monthly billing), and ServerPilot starts at $5 per server + $0.50 per app per month, billed hourly.
Which has a free plan, Laravel Forge or ServerPilot?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Laravel Forge nor ServerPilot has a free plan. ServerPilot has a free trial.
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.