Laravel Vapor

Laravel Vapor is a serverless deployment platform for Laravel applications running on AWS Lambda. It is best for Laravel teams that want deployment, scaling and infrastructure services managed together. The trade-off is AWS dependence: you need an active AWS account, and its cloud costs sit outside Vapor’s subscription.

Overview

Vapor combines Laravel-focused deployment and infrastructure management rather than serving as a general-purpose platform for unrelated frameworks. Its appeal is the range of services and release controls in one place; teams that do not want to build on AWS, or need Sandbox-excluded capabilities, should look elsewhere.

Key features

Autoscaling for web and queue infrastructure is tuned for Laravel, while zero-downtime deployments and rollbacks give teams useful release safeguards. Environment variable and secret management keeps configuration alongside deployments. These tools suit teams managing changing workloads and frequent releases, though they do not remove the requirement to connect an active AWS account.

Vapor manages databases, Redis caches, SQS queues, networks and CloudFront CDN. It also supports custom domains and DNS management, with certificate issuance and renewal handled by the platform. That breadth can simplify coordination across a Laravel deployment, but AWS cloud costs remain separate from the Vapor plan.

Application, database and cache metrics, along with alerts when performance is poor, help teams monitor core services. Vapor documentation describes Slack notifications and Sentry integration. Teams can invite collaborators and assign permissions, including restricting who can delete databases or caches—a useful safeguard for shared environments.

Applications must be compatible with PHP 7.3+ and Laravel 6.0+. Vapor supports PHP 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5, queue workers, managed databases and staging environments. Backup retention is 3 days. Deployments use CI/CD.

Pricing

Vapor is freemium, with a Sandbox plan and two paid unlimited plans. AWS cloud costs are not included in either paid subscription, so the plan price is not the full infrastructure bill.

Sandbox’s one-project and ten-deployment limits make it a constrained starting point, not a fit for teams with multiple projects or frequent releases. The monthly plan removes project and deployment caps without a year-long billing commitment. The annual plan offers the same stated allowances for $399 a year, but requires annual billing. Both paid plans leave AWS costs to the customer.

Platforms

Vapor is available as an API and web platform. Its Laravel and PHP compatibility requirements make it relevant specifically to applications built on those technologies.

Who it's for

Vapor is a strong fit for Laravel teams already using AWS that want Laravel-tuned scaling, deployment controls, managed services and collaboration permissions in one platform. It is less suitable for projects that need Sandbox features such as API Gateway versions, load balancers, firewalls or custom domains, or for teams seeking to avoid AWS account and cloud-cost obligations.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Laravel-tuned autoscaling, zero-downtime deployments and rollbacks bring scaling and release controls together.
• Pros: Managed databases, caches, queues, networks, CDN, domains and certificates cover a broad set of infrastructure needs.
• Pros: Metrics, performance alerts and fine-grained collaborator permissions help teams monitor services and limit risky actions.
• Cons: An active AWS account is required, and AWS cloud costs are additional to subscription prices.
• Cons: Sandbox is limited to 1 project and 10 deployments, and excludes API Gateway versions, load balancers, firewalls and custom domains.
• Cons: The stated backup retention is 3 days, which may not suit teams needing a longer retention period.

Alternatives

For a broader look at this category, browse Web Frameworks. Buffalo, Echo, Express and Koa are free alternatives with free plans; each lists Linux, macOS and Windows support, while Buffalo also lists web. Buffalo, Echo, Express and Koa are options to consider when a free framework is a better fit than a Laravel deployment platform.

Play Framework is a free option for readers seeking an alternative framework. SmartClient is freemium and web-based, with an open-source LGPL edition and a commercial Pro Edition whose price is custom pricing. FastAPI and Flask are free, web-based alternatives for readers considering a different framework.

Verdict

Choose Laravel Vapor if your team builds on Laravel, already works with AWS and wants scaling, deployment controls, managed services and team permissions integrated into one workflow. Its strongest case is that focused combination; look elsewhere if you need Sandbox’s excluded infrastructure features, longer backup retention, or a service whose subscription includes AWS costs.