Laravel Cloud Pricing & Features: A Deep Dive into the Reddit Discussion
March 11, 2025
Povilas Korbas shared a [Reddit thread], and I’ve analyzed it.
The Reddit discussion on Laravel Cloud focuses on price.
It also talks about target users and features.
Laravel Cloud Pricing vs. Alternatives
- Laravel Cloud costs $240/year plus usage fees ($5+/month).
- Many developers find expensive.
Laravel Cloud offers convenience and auto-scaling.
- But VPS options are cheaper and more flexible.
Alternative VPS providers offer cheaper options:
- Hetzner: €3.79/month
(2 cores, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD, 20TB bandwidth)
- DigitalOcean: $12/month
(1 core, 2GB RAM, 50GB SSD, 2,000 GB of data transfer)
- OVH: $5.50/month
(2 vCores, 2GB RAM, 40GB SSD, 500 Mbps unmetered)
Target Audience Debate
Some say:
- it's for businesses that need scaling and easy setup.
Others think:
- it's too pricey for hobbyists and useless for companies with tech teams.
Comparison to Other Laravel Services
Many think:
- Forge, Envoyer, Vapor, and Cloud should be one service, not separate.
Auto-Scaling and Ease of Use
Some like:
- Laravel Cloud for easy auto-scaling,
- but it lacks customization and AWS account control.
Lack of Critical Features
Some users highlight missing or limited features such as:
- Slow application hibernation wake-up times
(8-18 seconds)
- No stable MySQL support yet
(only in developer preview)
- No support for adding PHP extensions
- Publicly exposed databases
(a security concern)
Key Arguments For:
- Saves time for developers.
- Auto-scaling works instantly.
- Sets up in under two minutes.
- Hibernation cuts costs for testing.
- Good for businesses
(who can't hire technical staff)
Cons
- Too pricey for hobbyists
- Slow wake-up
(8-18 sec)
- Limited customization
- MySQL still in testing
Overall Sentiment
- About 70% of users think it's too expensive
- About 30% think it's worth the price for convenience
Who it's for
- Small to medium businesses
- Solo developers building paid apps
- Not for personal projects or large enterprises
Sources:
- https://www.reddit.com/r/laravel/comments/1j1d6l9/first_impression_of_laravel_cloud/