Which is the best hosting for Laravel?

Selecting a secure, fast and trusted hosting service is crucial if you have chosen PHP as a programming language and Laravel as an open-source framework.

However, it is difficult for businesses and development teams to shortlist a single Laravel hosting provider among various options.

Therefore, this guide initiates to present one of the best Laravel hosting providers with their core details, interesting aspects and pricing data. Let’s dive into this enlightening guide:

What is Laravel?

Laravel is an open-source web framework that was initially launched in 2011. This framework is based on a model-view-controller (MVC) structure and is typically used for PHP projects.

Moreover, this web application framework is famous among developers because of its powerful and delicate infrastructure. 

With 10.1k repository forks and 29.7k stars on GitHub, Laravel owns good open-source community support. MasterCard, Kmong, Disney and Twitch are prominent users of this PHP framework.  

What are the Advantages of Laravel?

Here are the core benefits of using Laravel:

Security

Laravel is considered a highly secure framework for all kinds of projects. It benefits from the Bcrypt hashing algorithm to safeguard websites from hacking attacks.

Yes, the Bcrypt hashing algorithm doesn’t allow the databases to collect passwords and login details for security reasons.  

On the other hand, programmers can quickly deal with technical vulnerabilities like SQLI, DNS spoofing, cross-site scripting and bugs while using Laravel. 

High Performance

Laravel has the ability to give excellent performance in case of high traffic and ample server loads. Indeed, it has been witnessed that Laravel can robustly deal with requests compared to other web frameworks. By the same token, Laravel can line up the tasks so it can smoothly prioritize essential operations.

This functionality doesn’t only overcome the hosting hardware and cost but also keeps the server up, significantly if your web application expands in future. 

Flexibility

It is highly flexible to build any type or genre of programming application with Laravel. Undoubtedly, developers can easily create a B2B website or an eCommerce store with this framework.

In addition, ready-to-use Laravel libraries assist developers in dealing with complex and scalable projects.

What are the Limitations of Laravel?

Let’s explore the major drawbacks of using Laravel:

Lightweight Framework

Although Laravel lets the developers build and run high-scale applications, but limited built-in libraries and features make programming tiresome. Undoubtedly, Laravel is considered a lightweight framework compared to its rivals. 

High Cost

High cost is another drawback of using Laravel. Indeed, this web framework needs more money to invest. In this regard, the fee of Laravel developers is also high.

According to Glassdoor, the average yearly salary of a medium-level Laravel developer is around $110,445. This figure could go to $175k/year if you hire a senior Laravel developer. 

Limited Support

The inadequate online support for Laravel projects is another disadvantage of using this framework. It is undoubtedly challenging to find resources and community support for Laravel-based applications. This drawback can also slow down the development speed.

Top 10 Laravel Hosting Providers

Several hosting services claim to support Laravel and PHP. But we are sharing the reliable Laravel hosting services here:

1. Back4app

Back4app Container Platform is one of the finest Laravel hosting providers with remarkable speed, outstanding uptime, security and a delicate hosting environment.

Developers come with their script to this hosting platform, and it takes responsibility for app deployment and DevOps tasks. 

It has a vast community of more than 260,000 developers in 200 countries worldwide. In this regard, it has facilitated the development and deployment of 380k+ applications.

Therefore, if you need a trusted hosting solution to deploy your PHP applications with the Laravel framework, you should choose the Back4app Container Platform without hesitation. 

Please read the article How to Deploy a Laravel Website for a comprehensive guide on how to build and host a Laravel app.

Features

Free Tier – The majority of dev teams want to try free offerings before availing of a complete hosting plan. Fortunately, the Back4app Container Platform grants a free tier plan that users can access without enforced advertisements and add-ons and it is a great free Laravel hosting option. 

Open-Source – Businesses employ the hosting services of the Back4app Container Platform because of its open-source nature. This feature of Back4app doesn’t only grant libraries and resources but makes it easy to benefit from open-source databases and runtime environments.

Secure – Security has become the primary concern of dev teams and companies. To fulfill the security needs of Laravel applications, Back4app offers comprehensive safety checks and GDPR compliance.

Highly Flexible – This hosting provider for Laravel is highly flexible and scalable. Developers can conveniently set up their applications here and connect their code through GitHub and deploy on the Back4app Container Platform. Correspondingly, you just need a few clicks to extend the required hosting resources. 

Community Support – Users don’t only find exceptional customer support while using Back4app CaaS, but it also owns an active community. Businesses and developers can approach the Back4app community through Slack, YouTube, Parse Community Forum and Stack Overflow.

Pricing

Let’s dive into four pricing plans of the Back4app Container Platform for Laravel web host.

Free – If you are a beginner and want to deploy your Laravel application by using a free tier, you should adopt this program. It is free and offers users a shared 0.25 CPU, 100 GB data transfer and 256 MB RAM.

Shared – Businesses that are about to launch their minimum viable products (MVPs) and looking for a hosting service can consider using the Shared plan. This program provides GitHub integration, 512 MB RAM, 0.5 CPU and 100 GB transfer to subscribers. The monthly fee of this plan is $5.

Dedicated Hosting – It is an ideal hosting program for production-level Laravel applications. Under this plan, companies need to pay $50/month to access 1 Dedicated CPU, 250 GB transfer and 2 GB RAM. 

Enterprise Edition – On the contrary, if you are going to host enterprise-level Laravel applications on Back4app CaaS, you should contact the sales team to go with a custom plan. 

2. Laravel Forge 

It is easy to guess from the name that Laravel Forge has mainly been designed to deploy PHP Laravel applications and some users say it may be considered the best hosting for Laravel. Indeed, it is hassle-free for dev teams to host Laravel applications on this hosting platform with database backups, simple queues and perfect collaboration. 

Hereof, Laravel Forge has deployed around 558,808 apps painlessly. Especially if you are using cloud computing providers like Vultr, Linode, AWS or DigitalOcean for your projects, you will find excellent support on Laravel Forge. 

Features

Server Support – Whether you need a single server or are willing to access multiple servers to host your Laravel application, you will find all types of server services on Forge. In this regard, Forge offers database servers, cache servers, load balancers, web servers, application servers and worker servers to its clients.

User Isolation – Forge lets the developers host their applications in an isolated environment. Other users can’t approach your application in this environment because it runs on separate servers. In other words, the user isolation property of Forge provides excellent security to applications.

Simple Queues – Developers can generate the desired number of queue workers; in this regard, they don’t need manual superintendence. Similarly, Forge reestablishes the queues in case of failure or crash.

Easy Deployment – Forge is famous among PHP Laravel developers because of its user-friendly interface. You just have to push the repository through Bitbucket, GitHub or any other Git hosting platform to deploy and run the Laravel applications painlessly.

Pricing

Although Laravel Forge offers a free trial to users but we are discussing its three basic pricing models below:

Hobby – This plan permits the dev teams to perform unmetered deployments and host unlimited websites and single servers. Forge costs $12/month for a Hobby plan.

Growth – The dev teams and businesses who want unmetered servers, deployments and sites should consider adopting a Growth plan. This plan costs $19/month from users.

Business – This is the most advanced pricing model of Forge that comes with unlimited sites, deployments and servers. In addition, premium support, server monitoring and database backups are key highlights of this program. The monthly fee of the Business plan is $39. 

3. CloudWays

CloudWays is a fast and trusted hosting provider for Laravel projects that started its journey in 2011. This cloud hosting company works under the supervision of DigitalOcean.

So, if you are using DigitalOcean for different tech stacks, deploying PHP Laravel applications through CloudWays would be seamless. 

G2 positioned CloudWays at the top when it comes to the best hosting solution for SMBs. By the way, this Laravel hosting provider has deployed 570k+ websites since its launch.

Features

Uptime & Speed – It quickly loads pages when you use CloudWays. This platform claims it is 50% less expensive than rivals like WPEngine and SiteGround. Moreover, its uptime is 99%, and you will find apps 10x faster than competitors. 

Flexible – CloudWays is a highly flexible platform to use because users don’t have to proceed through cPanel here. Yes, the simple interface allows the developers to set up and release the servers quickly. To optimize the application’s speed, dev teams can also choose the desired data center from the 60 provided options.

Secure – If you are looking for a secure hosting provider for the Laravel application, CloudWays should be your preference. You will find bot protection, SSL certification, firewalls, 2-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption here.

Customer Support – The customer support of CloudWays is exceptional. Dev teams don’t only find priority live chat support here, but senior software engineers are always available to answer all of your queries. 

Pricing

There is only a 3-day free trial available on CloudWays, and for further access, you will have to go with a paid option. The monthly charges of its basic plan begin from $14. Under this plan, you can avail 1 GB RAM, 1 core processor, 1 TB bandwidth and 25 GB storage. 

However, the most popular program of CloudWays bills $54/month and offers 4 GB RAM, 4 TB bandwidth, 2 core processors and 80 GB storage. 

4. Heroku

Heroku is another credible full-stack hosting platform for deploying Laravel applications. It provides official support for PHP applications so you can host your Laravel project on Heroku without worries. This PaaS platform is considered reliable for all sizes of businesses, startups or dev teams.

Developers just come with their script to Heroku, and it will take care of deployment through its dynos, CI/CD and data services. 

Features

Heroku Dynos – This feature enables businesses to deploy and run their applications without caring for VMs or hardware resources. Indeed, dyno grants a containerized environment to host Laravel applications. Web dynos and worker dynos collaborate to perform the deployment function.

Data Services – Heroku is known for supplying steady and open-source data services. In this regard, dev teams can rely on PostgreSQL, Redis and Apache Kafka.

Heroku OpEx – Heroku facilitates developers with outstanding monitoring and autoscaling properties through OpEx. The delivery of application metrics, runtime analytics, threshold alerts and app webhooks are key features of Heroku OpEx.

Pricing

Subscribers can choose from these six dynos plans to host their application in containers:

Eco – The monthly cost of an Eco plan is $5 for 1k dyno per hour.

Basic – The monthly fee of the Basic program begins from $7, and it is good to host small projects.

Standard – Standard plan divides its offerings into 2 categories: Standard 1X and Standard 2X. Standard 1X costs $25/month and is suitable for lightweight applications. However, you can use Standard 2X for resource-intense Laravel applications. The price of Standard 2X starts from $50/month. 

Performance – If you are going to host high-traffic Laravel applications, you can consider using the Performance plan of Heroku. The starting costs of Performance M and L plans are $250/month and $500/month, respectively. 

Private – This program is the best fit for applications requiring dedicated resources. You can contact the sales team to get custom quotes.

Shield – It is suitable for compliance-centric Laravel applications. Again, you should talk to the sales team to know about the pricing details of this plan. 

5. Kinsta

With 35 worldwide data centers, Kinsta is a reputed cloud hosting provider to deploy advanced Laravel applications.

Kinsta was initially launched in 2013 to replace the conventional hosting status quo. Luckily, this cloud hosting platform achieved its goal and is now facilitating 26,200 businesses around the globe.

Features

Robust Deployment – Developers can utilize GitLab, GitHub or Bitbucket to host their script and connect these repository platforms with Kinsta to deploy applications quickly.

Security – Automated security also differentiates Kinsta from Laravel hosting providers. Yes, Kinsta runs applications in containers and offers DDoS protection and a firewall to safeguard apps. Moreover, you will find free SSL certificates while using this hosting service.

CDN – For smooth delivery of content assets, Kinsta facilitates users with more than 275 CDN points of presence worldwide. So you can conveniently handle the traffic loads. 

Pricing

The Application plan of Kinsta charges $7/month and supplies 0.3 GB RAM and 0.3 CPU. Similarly, the monthly cost of the Database program commences from $18. 

6. AWS 

Amazon Web Services provides a complete package of cloud computing services, including hosting solutions.

In this regard, developers can utilize different products of AWS like Amazon EC2, Amazon S3, AWS Amplify and Amazon Lightsail to host their Laravel applications.

Features

Authentication – If you are looking for a fully-managed and safe authentication for your Laravel application, you can consider AWS CLI and Studio properties. You will find excellent features for both login and signup workflows.

Lightsail Container Service – This feature makes running applications in a secure containerized environment seamless. In Particular, you can deploy Docker images with the help of this functionality.

Fully Managed – AWS authorizes businesses to work on writing quality codes, and it handles all infrastructural needs. This fully managed hosting environment also lowers hardware and maintenance costs.

Pricing

Businesses can start hosting their Laravel applications on AWS with a free tier and later can proceed with a pay-as-you-go pricing model of different hosting solutions. In this regard, you can also use AWS Pricing Calculator to estimate your project billings.

7. DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean is a US-based CSP that was founded in 2011. With 99.99% uptime and over 600,000 customers, it permits the developers to build, run and host all types of applications quickly.

Yes, you can easily deploy eCommerce stores, video games, small websites and complicated applications on this platform.

Features

CPU Droplets – Businesses looking for economical VPS hosting solutions can pick Shared CPU droplets. On the contrary, companies with CPU-intense needs can consider Dedicated CPU Droplets.

Flexible – This CSP lets the developers host Laravel applications on their terms and conditions. Selecting languages, frameworks, and compute sources on DigitalOcean is easy. 

Kubernetes – This feature of DigitalOcean helps in improving business productivity. In this regard, Kubernetes also automates the processing. 

Pricing

The starting cost of Droplets is $4/month, and developers can set up applications within seconds. Correspondingly, the monthly fee for Kubernetes begins at $12.

8. Microsoft Azure

It is another giant cloud computing service provider that commenced its journey in 2008. Indeed, dev teams can trust Azure to host their Laravel applications. Hereof, users must link their GitHub account with Azure and deploy the app within a few clicks. 

Features

Azure Kubernetes Service – AKS enables businesses to smoothly host their Laravel application in an entirely governed and highly scalable environment. In this regard, it doesn’t only back Linux, but you will find great support for Windows and other operating systems.

Reduce Costs – Azure assists the dev teams in finding the right type and size of virtual desktops. Therefore, it becomes less expensive for developers to deploy applications on this platform.

Pricing

The hourly rates of Azure for US developers with 1 core, 0.75 GB RAM and 20 GB temporary storage are $0.02. However, it is better to use Azure Pricing Calculator to get exact figures according to your region. 

9. FastComet

If you are looking for a California-based fully managed cloud hosting provider, you should employ FastComet.

This Laravel hosting provider critically installed 11 data centers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia to improve hosting competency.

Similarly, 99.9% uptime and the presence of 200 CDN points guarantee an exceptional end-user experience.

Features

Optimized Hosting – To optimize the hosting and fasten the loading speed, FastComet utilizes NVMe Solid State Drives, free CDN and cache flushing plugins. This hosting provider also claims a 70% improvement in loading speed with these features.

Customer Support – Exceptional custom support is another critical property of FastComet. Its customer care team resolves queries and tickets as soon as possible.  

Free cPanel – The cPanel of FastComet is not only free to access, but it is seamless to deploy applications here. It is easy to handle for even novice developers.

Pricing

FastComet presents three types of hosting solutions, and we are sharing the best value plans with them:

Shared Hosting – FastCloud Plan is the best plan under this category, charging $4.11/month. With this plan, subscribers can approach 25 GB SSD space and host unmetered applications.

Cloud VPS Hosting – Cloud 2 is a reliable plan, and you will have to pay $53.86/month for this program. 2 CPU cores, 80 GB SSD storage, 4 GB RAM and 4 TB bandwidth are its key highlights. 

Dedicated CPU Servers – This is an ideal approach to fulfilling enterprise-level requirements. Businesses must pay $130.16/month to grab 8 GB RAM, 5 TB bandwidth, 160 GB SSD storage and 4x cores through DS 2. 

10. Vultr

With 32 global data centers, Vultr is another reputed and economical Laravel hosting provider on our list. Especially its user-friendly dashboard and 100% SSD backing make it popular among competitors.

Features

Vultr Kubernetes Engine – Developers don’t have to administer clusters and infrastructure instances when they choose Vultr, and VKE plays a significant role in this regard. Developers can also benefit from Cloud Controller Manager, Container Storage Interface and Condor hereof.

Vast Hosting – You will find hosting solutions for various applications here, including eCommerce sites, WordPress, and SaaS platforms. 

Pricing

For 1 vCPU, 1 GB memory, 25 GB storage and 2 TB bandwidth, Vultr charges $6/month from users.

Conclusion

The selection of the right and suitable hosting solution for Laravel applications is an arduous task. However, our mentioned Laravel hosting providers will assist the businesses, startups and dev teams pick an appropriate option.

FAQ