The 7 best Laravel Forge alternatives in 2026
Last updated: · pricing and features checked against each vendor's site
Laravel Forge is the benchmark for deploying Laravel on a VPS — but it costs $12+/month per server, is closed source, and manages your infrastructure from a third-party SaaS. Whether you want to cut the subscription, self-host your tooling, or just prefer a different workflow, these are the seven alternatives actually worth evaluating in 2026 — including where each one is the wrong choice.
- Cipi — best free, self-hosted, CLI-first alternative
- Ploi — best managed SaaS replacement
- Coolify — best open-source Docker PaaS
- Vito Deploy — best open-source web GUI
- Cleavr — Laravel-friendly SaaS with generous features
- RunCloud — best for mixed PHP/WordPress fleets
- Laravel Cloud — best fully-managed, zero-ops option
All 7 Forge alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Price | License | Hosting model | Interface | Laravel Octane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cipi | Free | Open source (MIT) | Self-hosted on your VPS | CLI + API + optional GUI | Yes (FrankenPHP) |
| Ploi | €8–30/mo | Proprietary | SaaS manages your VPS | Web GUI | Yes |
| Coolify | Free (Cloud from ~$5/mo) | Open source | Self-hosted (Docker) | Web GUI | Via custom image |
| Vito Deploy | Free | Open source | Self-hosted GUI server | Web GUI | Manual setup |
| Cleavr | ~$8+/mo | Proprietary | SaaS manages your VPS | Web GUI | Yes |
| RunCloud | $12–18/mo | Proprietary | SaaS manages your VPS | Web GUI | Manual setup |
| Laravel Cloud | Usage-based | Proprietary | Fully managed PaaS | Web GUI | Yes |
Pricing changes often — treat the figures above as indicative and check each vendor before committing. Every tool below links to a detailed head-to-head comparison with Cipi.
1. Cipi — best free, self-hosted, CLI-first alternative
Cipi is the closest thing to "Forge without the subscription or the SaaS".
One command installs a complete production stack — Nginx, PHP-FPM or Laravel Octane (FrankenPHP), MariaDB
or PostgreSQL, Valkey, Supervisor — on any Ubuntu VPS. Apps get isolated system users, zero-downtime Git
deploys via GitHub/GitLab webhooks, Let's Encrypt SSL, queue workers and the scheduler out of the box.
It's CLI-first with a REST API and an MCP server for AI agents; a self-hosted web dashboard is one
optional command away (cipi gui).
Pros
- 100% free and open source — no per-server fee, ever
- Runs entirely on your VPS: no SaaS dependency, full data sovereignty
- Laravel-native: Octane, Horizon, Reverb, queues, scheduler, artisan
- Automation-friendly: composable CLI, REST API, dual MCP for AI agents
Cons
- Requires basic comfort with SSH (the GUI is optional, not the default)
- Ubuntu-only; no multi-cloud provisioning of the VPS itself
- No built-in team accounts or monitoring dashboards like Forge
Best for: developers and small teams who deploy Laravel on their own VPS and want zero recurring cost. See the full Cipi vs Laravel Forge comparison.
2. Ploi — best managed SaaS replacement
Ploi is the most direct commercial substitute for Forge: a polished, EU-based SaaS panel that provisions and manages your servers with one-click Laravel deployments, SSL, databases, cron and load balancers. If what you want is "Forge but different", Ploi is the safest pick — you keep the dashboard workflow and the monthly bill.
Best for: teams that want a managed GUI and don't mind a subscription. See Cipi vs Ploi.
3. Coolify — best open-source Docker PaaS
Coolify is a self-hosted PaaS with a web dashboard that deploys anything that fits in a container — Laravel included — plus databases and one-click services. It's a great Heroku replacement, but it is not Laravel-specific: you manage images and containers rather than a native LEMP stack, which adds overhead on small VPSes and extra moving parts for queue workers, Octane and the scheduler.
Best for: polyglot teams running many containerized services. See Cipi vs Coolify.
4. Vito Deploy — best open-source web GUI
Vito Deploy is an open-source Laravel application that gives you a Forge-style dashboard you host yourself. It provisions servers, deploys sites, manages SSL and databases. You'll typically dedicate a separate server (or app slot) to the Vito panel itself, and the project is younger than the commercial options — but it's free and the workflow feels familiar to Forge users.
Best for: Forge users who want a GUI and open source, and accept hosting the panel separately. See Cipi vs Vito Deploy.
5. Cleavr — Laravel-friendly SaaS with generous features
Cleavr is a smaller SaaS panel with strong Laravel support — zero-downtime deployments, queue workers, scheduled jobs and multi-provider VPS provisioning. It's competitively priced against Forge and Ploi, with the same structural trade-off: your server management depends on a third-party service.
Best for: budget-conscious teams that still want a managed dashboard. See Cipi vs Cleavr.
6. RunCloud — best for mixed PHP/WordPress fleets
RunCloud is a mature server panel popular with agencies that run WordPress and generic PHP alongside Laravel. It handles Nginx, PHP versions, SSL and Git deployments well, but Laravel specifics — Deployer conventions, queue workers, Octane, scheduler — need more manual wiring than on a Laravel-native tool.
Best for: agencies managing mixed PHP workloads on the same servers. See Cipi vs RunCloud.
7. Laravel Cloud — best fully-managed, zero-ops option
Laravel Cloud is the official first-party PaaS: push your repo and it handles infrastructure, scaling, databases and Octane with no servers to manage at all. The trade-offs are usage-based pricing that grows with traffic, less control over the underlying platform, and vendor lock-in — the opposite philosophy of a self-hosted VPS.
Best for: teams that want zero server management and accept variable costs. See Cipi vs Laravel Cloud.
Also worth knowing
Kamal (37signals) and Dokku are excellent free deploy tools if you're committed to containers, while classic panels like cPanel, Plesk and CloudPanel target multi-site hosting rather than Laravel deployment workflows. They solve adjacent problems — worth a look, but they're not direct Forge replacements.
How to choose
Pick Cipi if you want $0 tooling, open source, and full control on your own VPS with a CLI-first workflow. Pick Ploi or Cleavr if you want a managed dashboard and accept a subscription. Pick Coolify or Vito if you want open source with a web GUI and don't mind Docker or a separate panel server. Pick Laravel Cloud if you never want to see a server again — and stay on Forge if its polish, team features and multi-cloud provisioning are worth $12+/month per server to you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to Laravel Forge?
Cipi is the closest free equivalent for VPS-based Laravel deployment: one command installs the full production stack on any Ubuntu VPS, with zero-downtime Git deploys, Laravel Octane, queues, SSL and an optional web GUI — open source under MIT, with no subscription. Coolify (Docker PaaS) and Vito Deploy (web GUI) are also solid open-source options with different trade-offs.
Is Laravel Forge still worth it in 2026?
Forge is worth it if you want a polished managed dashboard, multi-cloud provisioning, team accounts and built-in monitoring, and you accept a monthly per-server fee plus a SaaS dependency. If you are comfortable with a CLI or want to self-host everything, free alternatives like Cipi cover the same core workflow at zero cost.
Can I replace Laravel Forge with an open-source tool?
Yes. Cipi, Coolify and Vito Deploy are all open source and cover provisioning, Git-based deployments, SSL and databases. Cipi is the most Laravel-native of the three — it uses the standard Nginx + PHP-FPM/Octane stack, configures Deployer-style zero-downtime releases, queue workers and the scheduler out of the box, and needs no Docker.
What is the cheapest way to run Laravel in production?
A single VPS (about $5–7/month at Hetzner, DigitalOcean or Vultr) managed by a free deploy tool such as Cipi. You pay only for the server: the tooling, SSL certificates via Let's Encrypt, database and queue workers all cost nothing extra, and one VPS can host several Laravel apps.
Which Laravel Forge alternatives support Laravel Octane?
Cipi runs Laravel Octane on FrankenPHP natively (cipi app create --octane), and Laravel Cloud, Ploi and Cleavr also support Octane. On Docker-based platforms like Coolify you can run Octane by building a suitable container image yourself.
