# Laravel Cloud alternative for PHP hosting

> 

## Laravel Cloud alternative at a glance

**fortrabbit is the independent Laravel Cloud alternative.** Laravel Cloud is the official PaaS made by Laravel Holdings — slick, well-integrated, but framework-locked to Laravel and built for teams happy to be in the Laravel ecosystem stack end-to-end. It's also venture-backed and US-based, with pricing that targets well-funded projects.

If you're looking at Laravel Cloud but want fewer dependencies on a single vendor for both framework and infrastructure, fortrabbit gives you the same git-push deployment workflow, comprehensive Laravel install guides, EU data residency, and predictable pricing — and you can take any PHP project with you, not just Laravel. We've been running Laravel apps in production since the framework's early days. Plans start at €2.50 per month; the trial doesn't require a credit card.

## Laravel Cloud vs fortrabbit — feature comparison

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Feature
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Laravel Cloud
    </th>
    
    <th>
      fortrabbit
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Framework support
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Laravel only
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Any PHP
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Deployment
    </td>
    
    <td>
      git push
    </td>
    
    <td>
      git push, atomic
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Managed MySQL
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Integrated
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Native
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      SSH / SFTP
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Limited
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Full SFTP + SSH
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Region
    </td>
    
    <td>
      US default
    </td>
    
    <td>
      EU (Germany)
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Pricing model
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Usage-based
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Per-app, monthly
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Free tier
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Yes, limited
    </td>
    
    <td>
      30-day trial, no card
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Support
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Tiered
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Human chat, all plans
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Company
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Laravel Holdings, VC
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Independent, bootstrapped
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Lock-in
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Framework + platform
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Standard PHP, portable
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

## Pricing comparison

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Use case
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Laravel Cloud
    </th>
    
    <th>
      fortrabbit
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Small site / dev
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Free tier, limited
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €5 / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Production app
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        $20–$80 / mo
      </strong>
      
       est.
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €30 / mo
      </strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Scaled app
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        $100–$500+ / mo
      </strong>
      
       est.
    </td>
    
    <td>
      <strong>
        €60–€120 / mo
      </strong>
      
       depending on tier
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Numbers are illustrative — Laravel Cloud's usage-based model varies by traffic, compute time, and hibernation. See <content-link href="/pricing" text="fortrabbit pricing">



</content-link>

 for the current matrix.

## Migrating from Laravel Cloud to fortrabbit

1. **Provision the app on fortrabbit.** Pick a region (EU) and a plan. The trial is enough to validate the move.
2. **Add the MySQL component.** Export from Laravel Cloud's managed database, import via fortrabbit's SSH tunnel — see <content-link href="/guides/general/mysql-import" text="MySQL import guide" prefix="docs">



</content-link>

.
3. **Connect your git provider.** Install the fortrabbit GitHub App (or connect GitLab / Bitbucket) and link your existing repo to the new fortrabbit app — see <content-link href="/platform/deployment/intro" text="deployment intro" prefix="docs">



</content-link>

. Pushes to your branch trigger an automatic deploy; Composer install runs as part of it.
4. **Move environment variables.** Laravel Cloud env vars map 1:1 to fortrabbit env vars — set in the dashboard or via the CLI.
5. **Configure queues and scheduled tasks.** Use fortrabbit's <content-link href="/guides/laravel" text="Laravel guides" prefix="docs">



</content-link>

 for queue workers and cron.
6. **Move file storage.** rsync uploads and assets into your fortrabbit app's persistent storage via SFTP / SSH.
7. **Cut over DNS.** Add the domain in the fortrabbit dashboard, update the CNAME, and watch the certificate issue automatically via Let's Encrypt.

## Why teams switch

- **No vendor stack lock-in.** Framework and platform are decoupled — you can take your code anywhere.
- **Predictable bills.** Per-app monthly pricing, no usage-meter surprises.
- **Owner-run support.** You talk to the engineers who run the platform.
- **Independence.** Bootstrapped since 2012, no shareholder pressure to upsell.

For background on Laravel Cloud itself, see our <content-link href="/hosting-guide/providers/paas/laravel-cloud" text="hosting guide entry">



</content-link>

.

<content-button property="dashboard" route="/signup" text="Start a free trial — no credit card">
<content-button property="www" route="/pricing" text="See pricing" variant="secondary">



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