Laravel Herd
Native PHP and Laravel development environment for macOS and Windows, with a free tier and paid Pro.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 2
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Laravel Herd
Laravel Herd sets up a local PHP development stack on your computer without Docker or Homebrew juggling. One installer gives you PHP, nginx, DNS for .test domains, Node with nvm, Composer and the Laravel installer, and the app lets you switch PHP versions per project, secure sites with HTTPS and share settings through a herd.yml file. It is aimed squarely at Laravel developers but serves other PHP apps too, and it replaces Laravel Valet for many people. The free version covers the core stack. Herd Pro, a yearly licence, adds one-click services such as MySQL, PostgreSQL and Redis, a local mail catcher, debugging and profiling tools, and email support; a team plan bundles several licences. It is built by Beyond Code with the Laravel team and runs on macOS and Windows. Because it runs natively rather than in containers, environments are less reproducible across a team than Docker-based tools like DDEV.
Best for: Laravel and PHP developers on Mac or Windows who want a fast local setup without Docker.
Pros and cons
What works
- Full PHP, nginx, Node and Composer stack in one installer
- Per-project PHP versions and one-click HTTPS
- Free tier is enough for many solo projects
- Native, so sites run without container overhead
Why people leave
- Databases, Redis and mail tools need the paid Pro licence
- No Linux version
- No trial of Pro, only a money-back period
Top Laravel Herd alternatives
See all 2- 1
DDEV59.6Free, open-source and Docker-based, so every teammate gets the same environment on any OS.
- 2
Docker Desktop51.2Roll your own containers when you need exact production parity rather than a native stack.
Why people left Laravel Herd
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Laravel Herd: common questions
Is Laravel Herd free?
Laravel Herd has a free plan and paid plans. Free plan: Yes, no license needed (checked on Laravel Herd's own site).
Is Laravel Herd open source?
No, Laravel Herd is not open source. Open-source alternatives include DDEV.
What platforms does Laravel Herd run on?
Laravel Herd is available for macOS and Windows.
What are the best alternatives to Laravel Herd?
The highest-ranked Laravel Herd alternatives right now are DDEV and Docker Desktop. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.