Compare
Looking for a
Laravel Forge alternative?
Laravel Forge and Hanoo both manage servers you own for Laravel and other PHP apps. Here is how their plans compare, what Hanoo does, and when Forge may suit you better.
How Hanoo works
A free plan
Hanoo’s Free Forever plan covers one server and eight applications, with Git deploys, domains and HTTPS, databases, cron jobs and workers. No card required.
An agent that dials out
You connect a server with one command. A small agent connects out to Hanoo over mutually authenticated TLS — no inbound management port, no root password shared.
Typed operations only
The agent accepts only signed, typed operations. There is no remote shell, and every change is attributed to the person who asked for it.
Caddy and PHP 8.0–8.5
Apps are served by Caddy with automatic HTTPS, each with its own PHP-FPM pool, on PHP 8.0 through 8.5 side by side.
AI native
A built-in MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code inspect servers, deploy and roll back with scoped, expiring, audited access.
No lock-in
Everything Hanoo sets up is standard Ubuntu, Caddy and PHP-FPM. Stop using Hanoo and your apps keep running.
Plans compared
| Hanoo | Laravel Forge | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes — 1 server, 8 applications | None listed |
| Entry paid plan | $4 — 3 servers, 50 applications | $12 (Hobby) — 1 external server; unlimited servers on Laravel VPS |
| Mid plan | $8 — 10 servers, unlimited applications | $19 (Growth) — unlimited servers |
| Top listed plan | $15 — unlimited servers, applications and team members | $39 (Business) — unlimited servers, advanced support |
| Zero-downtime deploys | All plans | All plans |
Prices in US dollars per month, billed monthly, excluding tax — read from each vendor’s public pricing page on 31 October 2026. Plans change; check the source before deciding. Sources: Laravel Forge pricing, Hanoo pricing.
Questions
Further reading
When is Laravel Forge the better choice?
Forge is built by the Laravel team, offers one-click Laravel VPS servers it provisions for you, and also hosts Node.js apps such as Nuxt and Next.js. If you need those, Forge is a strong fit.
Can I move a Laravel app from Forge to Hanoo?
Yes. Connect a clean Ubuntu server to Hanoo, create the application from the same Git repository, deploy it, then point your domain at the new server.
Does Hanoo support non-Laravel PHP apps?
Yes — WordPress, Magento Open Source, plain PHP, and any PHP app deployed from Git.
Connect your first server
in minutes.
Start on the free plan with a server you already have. No card, no lock-in, no surprises.
- Free plan
- No card required
- Full root access
- Leave any time — apps keep running