If you’re just starting out with Laravel it can be overwhelming choosing a development server platform as there are many options to select from. This guide summarizes 8 of the most popular options so you can make an informed decision on which technology might be the best choice for your development needs.
1. PHP’s built in web server
- Pre-req: PHP already installed
- Run via
php artisan serve - No local domains
- No database
- Good for quick prototypes but not very robust
2. Laravel Valet
- Mac specific
- Command line based
- Easy setup with
.testdomains - Fast and lightweight
- Learn more...
3. Laravel Herd
- Mac specific
- Like Valet but even easier
- Has a graphical interface
- Quickly set up new and existing applications
- Easy setup with
.testdomains - One click HTTPS
- No database; suggest pairing with DBngin
- Learn more...
4. Laravel Homestead
- Virtual machine based
- Requires virtualization software like Parallels or VirtualBox, managed by Vagrant
- More advanced setup
- More resource intensive
- Consistency with production server
- Learn more...
5. Docker
- Isolated containers instead of full virtual machines
- Consistency with production server
- Can be resource intensive
- Overhead of understanding how to work with Docker
- Learn more...
6. Laravel Sail
- Command line based
- Docker container customized to work with Laravel
- Learn more...
7. Laragon
- Windows specific
- All-in-one server software
- Includes: Nginx, PHP, MySQL, Redis
- User-friendly with graphical interface
- Lightweight compared to Virtual Machines / Docker
- Learn more...
8. The “Amps”
- XAMPP (Cross-platform), WAMP ( Windows), MAMP ( Mac)
- All-in-one server software
- Not Laravel specific
- Lightweight compared to Virtual Machines / Docker
- Includes: Apache, PHP, MySQL, Redis