Laravel Vapor

Laravel Vapor is a serverless deployment platform for Laravel applications, powered by AWS Lambda. It provides auto-scaling web and queue infrastructure, and supports zero-downtime deployments and rollbacks. Vapor manages environment variables and secrets, as well as databases, Redis caches, SQS queues, networks and CloudFront CDN. Its reporting covers application, database and cache metrics, with alerts for poor performance. Teams can invite collaborators and assign permissions, including restrictions on deleting databases or caches. Custom domains and DNS management are supported, and Vapor manages certificate issuance and renewal. Documentation describes Slack notifications and Sentry integration. Projects and resources deployed or created through Vapor require an active linked AWS account, and applications must be compatible with PHP 7.3+ and Laravel 6.0+. The Sandbox plan allows one project and 10 deployments but excludes API Gateway versions, load balancers, firewalls and custom domains. Unlimited Monthly is listed at $39 a month and Unlimited Annual at $399 a year; AWS cloud costs are not included.

Vapor brings deployment, infrastructure management and application monitoring together for Laravel projects. Check AWS account requirements, framework compatibility and the separate AWS cloud costs before selecting a plan.

Laravel Vapor suits teams deploying Laravel applications on AWS Lambda that want managed deployment infrastructure and related services. It is also relevant to teams that need collaborator permissions and deployment rollbacks.

Overview

Laravel Vapor is a serverless deployment platform for Laravel applications running on AWS Lambda. It is best suited to Laravel teams that want deployment, scaling and infrastructure management in one place. Its main appeal is Laravel-focused breadth, but AWS charges sit outside the subscription and Sandbox projects have meaningful restrictions.

Key features

Vapor autoscaling is tuned for Laravel web and queue infrastructure, while zero-downtime deployments and rollbacks give teams practical release controls. Environment-variable and secret management keep configuration alongside deployment. These tools suit teams operating Laravel services with changing workloads; Vapor is not a general-purpose deployment platform for other frameworks.

Vapor manages databases, Redis caches, SQS queues, networks and CloudFront CDN, and supports custom domains and DNS management with certificate issuance and renewal. This can consolidate routine infrastructure work for projects using those services, but it still depends on an active AWS account, and cloud charges are separate from the Vapor fee.

Application, database and cache metrics, along with alerts when performance is poor, help teams monitor key parts of a deployment. Slack notifications and Sentry integration are described in Vapor documentation. Team permissions can also prevent members from deleting databases or caches, a useful safeguard for collaborative projects.

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, staging environments and CI/CD deployment are supported. Backup retention is 3 days, so teams needing longer retention should account for that limit.

Pricing

The freemium model starts with Sandbox, which has 1 project and 10 deployments. That is a constrained entry point for a small evaluation or project, not an unlimited free tier; Sandbox projects cannot use API Gateway versions, load balancers, firewalls or custom domains.

Unlimited Monthly costs $39 a month, billed $39 /month, for unlimited projects and deployments. Unlimited Annual costs $399 a year, billed $399 /year, with the same unlimited project and deployment allowances. Both paid plans exclude AWS cloud costs, so the subscription is only part of the operating expense. Annual billing is the lower-cost option for a team prepared to commit for the year; monthly billing avoids that longer commitment.

Platforms

Vapor is available on web and through an API. Its deployment target is AWS Lambda, and use requires linking an active AWS account.

Who it's for

Vapor is a strong fit for teams already building on Laravel and AWS that want scaling, deployment controls, managed services and monitoring in the same workflow. It is less suitable for applications outside its PHP and Laravel compatibility requirements, teams that do not want an AWS dependency, or Sandbox users who need custom domains or the other excluded infrastructure features.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Laravel-tuned autoscaling, zero-downtime deployments and rollbacks bring useful operational controls to the same platform.
• Pros: Managed data services, domain and certificate support, metrics and team permissions cover a broad range of recurring deployment tasks.
• Cons: An active AWS account is required, and AWS cloud costs are additional to every paid subscription.
• Cons: Sandbox is capped at 1 project and 10 deployments and excludes several infrastructure features; backup retention is 3 days.

Alternatives

For another web-framework option, see Web Frameworks. SmartClient offers a free LGPL core framework as well as a commercial edition with additional enterprise capabilities, making it an option for readers comparing framework licensing and enterprise features. Buffalo, Django, Express, FastAPI, Fastify, Flask and Gin are free alternatives for readers considering a different framework.

Verdict

Choose Laravel Vapor if your team is committed to Laravel and AWS and wants deployment, scaling and related infrastructure managed together. Its main reason to look elsewhere is the combination of required AWS account, separate cloud charges and Sandbox restrictions, especially for projects that need a different framework or more flexibility from a free tier.