Laravel Cloud is purpose-built for Laravel. Forte is built for the whole product.
Laravel Cloud is a strong managed home for Laravel applications. Forte can run that same Laravel app while bringing the rest of your startup stack into one platform.
Or go straight to the cost comparison.
Choose by product shape
Laravel Cloud optimizes the Laravel infrastructure path. Forte starts with containerized compute, then adds the product systems a startup otherwise has to assemble around it.
Choose Laravel Cloud
A focused platform is valuable when your architecture, team, and operating model all follow the same framework conventions.
Choose Forte
Keep the framework you like while gaining room for other services, runtimes, and customer-facing product systems.
A straightforward look at how Forte compares to Laravel Cloud.
| Laravel Cloud | Forte | |
|---|---|---|
| Application runtime | Laravel 9+ on PHP 8.2–8.5 | Any container, including Laravel and PHP |
| Laravel support | Purpose-built Laravel runtime and conventions | Runs a standard containerized Laravel application |
| Deployment model | Repository import with managed builds and deployments | GitHub deployments from a branch or published release |
| Managed databases | MySQL, serverless Postgres, and Valkey | Postgres and MongoDB connected to your services |
| Customer authentication | Implemented in your application or another service | Built-in users, sessions, social sign-in, and MFA |
| Payments | Implemented in your application with a payment provider | Built-in subscriptions and payments, powered by Stripe |
| Object storage | Available as a metered application resource | Managed content and file storage in the same platform |
| Observability | Infrastructure metrics, logs, and deployment history | Metrics, logs, and request-level debugging by request ID |
| Bandwidth | Usage allowances, then $0.10 per GB | No egress fees for APIs, web traffic, or content |
| Platform subscription | $5–$200 per month plus usage | No subscription fee—pay for what you use |
| HIPAA BAA | Private Cloud only, from $2,500 per month | Available with no minimum spend |
| Product scope | Laravel application infrastructure | Application infrastructure plus product services |
Shipping timeline
Two capabilities Laravel Cloud introduced in August 2026 have been in production on Forte since early 2026.
Support for Java, Node.js, Python, and other frameworks
Request analytics showing the highest-traffic endpoints and the distribution of response status codes.
Laravel stays Laravel
Forte deploys standard containers. Your repository still owns the Laravel version, PHP runtime, extensions, web server, queues, and scheduled commands. The framework does not need to be rewritten around Forte.
Platform scope
Laravel Cloud directly manages Laravel infrastructure: deploys, compute, supported databases, cache, queues, scaling, logs, and metrics. Forte covers application infrastructure too, then keeps more of the customer-facing product stack in the same operational surface.
Laravel infrastructure lives together. Customer authentication, payments, and deeper request tracing remain application code or separate services.
Direct platform focus
Laravel runtime, deployments, data resources, queues, scaling, and infrastructure monitoring
Infrastructure and product services share one account, deployment context, security model, and debugging surface.
Laravel Cloud covers part of the product. Other services provide the rest. Each one adds an account, a bill, and another system to maintain.
Multiple services
With Laravel Cloud
Laravel hosting, Postgres & cacheLaravel Cloud
Subscriptions & paymentsBuild it yourself with Cashier + Stripe
Request-level debuggingSentry TeamIntegration code, credentials, dashboards, and failure handling stay with your team.
Forte puts these parts in one platform
With Forte
One operational view for deployments, users, payments, databases, and request-level debugging.
Pricing context
Laravel Cloud has competitive application hosting prices. The meaningful comparison changes when a startup also needs customer identity, payments, storage, and production debugging.
Laravel Cloud
Plan fee + metered resources
Starter begins at $5 per month with $5 in usage credit. Growth is $20 and Business is $200 per month, each plus usage. Bandwidth overages are listed at $0.10 per GB after included allowances.
Forte
Product platform pricing
Compute and database usage sit alongside included authentication, payments tooling, storage, monitoring, and debugging—with no seat fees and no network egress fees.
HIPAA workloads
$2,500/mo minimum
On Laravel Cloud, a BAA requires Private Cloud, which starts at a $2,500 per month platform fee plus compute and database costs.
$0 minimum
Forte signs BAAs on standard usage-based pricing. No platform fee, no minimum spend, no separate tier to negotiate.
There is no honest universal monthly winner: traffic, data, uptime, and the external services a team chooses all change the total. Model the systems the product actually needs.
Bring a Laravel app to Forte
The exact cutover depends on data volume and production requirements. The application path stays conventional and reversible.
Point Forte at the GitHub repository and choose the branch or release workflow that should deploy.
Use the application's Dockerfile to install PHP dependencies, run Laravel, and start any worker processes the product needs.
Copy application settings and secrets into Forte without changing the keys your Laravel application already reads.
Connect the existing database or migrate to managed Postgres or MongoDB, then run the application's normal migrations.
Verify the release, queues, scheduled work, and health checks before pointing the production domain at Forte.
Questions teams ask