Forge deploys applications. WPShift runs WordPress hosting.
Both provision servers in your own cloud account, and Forge supports WordPress perfectly well. But Forge is a deployment tool for any stack, and hosting a WordPress business needs more than deployment.
Free plan available. Paid plans include a 7-day trial. Server costs are separate.
What WPShift includes
Hosting is more than a server. Mailboxes, backup storage and DNS come with every plan, including the free one. Not one of the products on this page bundles mail with your sites.
- Mailboxes on your own domainsReal inboxes with webmail, on every plan including the free one. None of the products compared here offer this: hosts point you at Google Workspace, and server panels do not handle mail at all.
- Off-server backup storageBackup storage is included on every plan, held away from the server it protects, with the allowance set by your plan. Or point it at your own S3-compatible storage and use none of it.
- DNS hostingFree DNS on every plan. Point your domain at WPShift and manage its records next to the sites and mailboxes that use them, while the domain stays with your own registrar.
- AI CopilotAn assistant that reads your own servers, sites and operation records and waits for your approval before it acts. Available on the higher plans.
How the two models differ
Mailboxes on your own domainIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftIncluded on every plan, including the free one, with the mail DNS records managed alongside them.
Laravel ForgeNot among the features on their pricing page. Forge manages servers and deployments; mailboxes are bought elsewhere.
Backup storageIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftIncluded on every plan, off the server, with the allowance set by your plan, or your own S3-compatible bucket.
Laravel ForgeDatabase backups are listed as a feature. Storage for them is not part of the subscription.
What it is built aroundIncluded with WPShift
WPShiftWordPress, and only WordPress. Plugins and themes, staging clones, cache rules that already understand carts and logged-in sessions, PHP versions per site.
Laravel ForgeAny modern web stack. Their FAQ names Laravel, vanilla PHP, WordPress, Statamic, Node, Nuxt and Next. WordPress is one of several rather than the thing it is shaped around.
Who the server belongs to
WPShiftYour cloud account.
Laravel ForgeYour cloud account (they name DigitalOcean, AWS and Hetzner among others), or a Laravel VPS that Forge provisions directly.
Deployment model
WPShiftSites are installed, cloned and imported from the dashboard. There is no git-deploy step in the WordPress workflow.
Laravel ForgeGit-based deployment with zero-downtime releases from GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket. This is the core of the product.
Free tier
WPShiftUp to three WordPress sites, with mailboxes and backup storage included.
Laravel ForgeNo free plan is listed on their pricing page.
How each one charges
WPShift
A plan with site and server allowances that also covers mailboxes, backup storage and DNS, plus your provider’s bill for the server.
WPShift pricingLaravel Forge
Flat-rate tiers with unlimited servers and sites above the entry plan. Forge states you pay the subscription and whatever your cloud provider charges.
Laravel Forge pricingWhen Laravel Forge is the better choice
- Your fleet is not only WordPress. The moment Laravel apps or Node services share the estate, Forge is the better tool and it is not close.
- You deploy from git and want zero-downtime releases as the normal way of shipping. That is Forge’s core workflow and it is not ours.
When WPShift fits better
- Everything you run is WordPress and you want the panel to know it: plugins, themes, staging clones, WooCommerce-aware caching, PHP per site.
- You want hosting rather than only servers: mailboxes on your domains, DNS, backup storage, uptime and PageSpeed history, all included rather than assembled.
- The people using it are not all developers. A WordPress-shaped dashboard asks less of them than a general deployment panel does.
Questions
Can Laravel Forge host WordPress?
Yes. Their own FAQ names WordPress as a supported stack. The question is whether a general deployment panel or WordPress-specific hosting suits what you run, and whether you want mail, DNS and backup storage included or bought separately.
What if I run WordPress and Laravel side by side?
Then use Forge, or use both. There is no advantage in forcing a mixed estate through a WordPress-only tool, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
Other comparisons
- WPShift vs FlyWPThe closest comparison, and where the two stop being alike.
- WPShift vs KinstaA managed host that does not do email, against a server of your own that does.
- WPShift vs RunCloudA general PHP control panel against WordPress hosting with mail included.
- WPShift vs WP EngineA managed platform that leaves out mail and DNS, against hosting that includes them.
Try it before you leave Laravel Forge
Copy a site to a WPShift-managed server and check it on a temporary address. Your current setup keeps serving the live site until you move DNS.
Free plan available. Paid plans include a 7-day trial. Server costs are separate.