CloudStick is a server control panel for developers and agencies that lets you manage cloud servers on AWS, DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, and Hetzner without using the command line. Plans start at $9/month — the Basic plan covers 1 server with unlimited websites; Pro at $19/month and Business at $49/month cover unlimited servers.

Will features I pay for ever get moved to a higher plan?

No. CloudStick is committed to keeping all features you currently pay for within your existing plan. New features may be added to higher tiers, but existing plan features will never be removed or require a forced upgrade.

What happens to my servers if I cancel CloudStick?

Your servers remain fully operational after cancellation. CloudStick does not host your servers — it manages them. If you cancel, you lose access to the CloudStick dashboard, but your servers continue running on your cloud provider.

Is there a free trial for CloudStick?

Yes. CloudStick offers a 7-day free trial on all paid plans with no credit card required. You can explore every feature and upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time during or after the trial.

Can I migrate from Laravel Forge to CloudStick without downtime?

Yes. CloudStick's migration team handles the complete transfer from Laravel Forge — DNS records, SSL certificates, databases, app files, and Nginx configuration. Most customers are fully live on CloudStick within 2 hours using a zero-downtime blue-green handoff process.

Forge is built by the Laravel team — does CloudStick handle Laravel as well?

Yes. CloudStick has native Git deployment, Supervisord queue management, environment variable management, and CronJob scheduling — everything needed for a production Laravel app. CloudStick also manages WordPress, Node.js, and PHP apps on the same server, with a built-in AI assistant that Laravel Forge does not offer.

Does CloudStick require a credit card to start?

No. CloudStick offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required. You only enter payment details when you upgrade to a paid CloudStick plan starting at $9/month per server.

What happens to my servers if I cancel CloudStick?

Your servers keep running. CloudStick is a management layer, not a hosting provider. Cancel your CloudStick plan and your VPS or bare-metal server continues operating on your cloud provider — you simply lose access to the CloudStick management dashboard.

CloudStick · vs · Laravel Forge

The best
alternative to
laravel forge.

CloudStick is a Laravel Forge alternative starting at $9/month per server. Get an AI that diagnoses server issues in seconds, 24/7 live engineer support, 40 GB of free backup storage, and a full WordPress manager — all things Laravel Forge lacks or does not include.

AI server assistant — Forge has no equivalent

Deploy in 22 seconds on average — Forge averages 75s

$9/month per server · 40 GB free backup · no per-site fee

Start Free →Compare Features

CLOUDSTICK · LIVE

BENCHMARKS

DEPLOY TIME — LARAVEL + NGINX STACK

CloudStick21.1s

Laravel Forge~75s

3.6×

Faster

99.99%

Uptime

90s

First server

Where CloudStick
pulls ahead.

Forge is powerful but built for PHP engineers. CloudStick brings that power to every team member.

CAPABILITY

CLOUDSTICK

LARAVEL FORGE

Ease of use

AI-assisted UI

Developer-only dashboard

Deploy speed (avg)

~22 seconds

~75 seconds

AI server assistant

WordPress support

Full manager + Magic Link

Manual Nginx config only

24/7 live chat support

GitHub Discussions · no SLA

Zero-downtime deploys

Growth plan only

Free migration

White-label panel

Business plan

The fine print,
printed plainly.

No asterisks. No "contact sales". Every capability, side-by-side.

/01Core Infrastructure

CLOUDSTICK

LARAVEL FORGE

Connected servers

Unlimited (paid plans)

Tiered by plan

Websites per server

Unlimited

Cloud providers

Any (AWS, GCP, DO, Vultr, Linode, Hetzner…)

Selected partners + custom

Multiple PHP versions

Visual database manager

SSH terminal via dashboard

/02Deployment & Automation

CLOUDSTICK

LARAVEL FORGE

One-click app installer

Laravel & PHP only

Git deployment

Average deploy time

~22s

~75s

Zero-downtime deploys

Pro plan only

Supervisord / queue jobs

CronJob manager

/03Security & Reliability

CLOUDSTICK

LARAVEL FORGE

Server firewall management

Free SSL

Wildcard SSL

Business plan only

SSH key management

Automated security updates

Free backup storage

Up to 40 GB

Paid add-on

/04Team & Support

CLOUDSTICK

LARAVEL FORGE

Team / collaborator seats

Up to 10

Business plan only

24/7 live chat

No guaranteed SLA

Support channel

Live chat + email

GitHub Discussions only

White-label panel

Business plan

Free migration assist

Priority support

Business plan

Pricing at a glance.

CLOUDSTICK

LARAVEL FORGE

Starting price

$9 / mo

$12 / mo (Hobby)

Free trial

7-day trial · no card

No free trial

Unlimited servers

Pro + Business

Business plan ($39/mo)

Per-site fee

None

White-label panel

Business plan

Included backup storage

Up to 40 GB

S3/Spaces required

When the 502 arrived
at 02:47 on a Sunday.

Real support, real hours, real engineers.

CLOUDSTICK SUPPORT

RESOLVED 3m 42s

"502 bad gateway — Laravel app down after a deploy. Queue workers not responding."

02:47 · Sunday

"On it. PHP-FPM pool exhausted — restarting and bumping pm.max_children now."

02:48 · Alex, Sr. Engineer

"Back up. Workers draining the queue. I've tuned the pool config to handle your traffic spike."

02:51 · Alex, Sr. Engineer

LARAVEL FORGE SUPPORT

COMMUNITY FORUM

"502 bad gateway — Laravel app down after a deploy. Queue workers not responding."

02:47 · Sunday

Post your question in the community forum and another user may be able to help. Forge support is handled via GitHub discussions.

System message

— no official response —

38,400

Servers managed

across 47 countries

99.99%

Uptime SLA

tracked and guaranteed

2.1M

Deploys / month

avg 22s each

< 9 min

Median support reply

including nights and weekends

“

Forge is brilliant if you live in the terminal. We don't anymore. CloudStick gave our whole team server access without the 3am Slack messages asking someone to SSH in.

Priya MenonVP Engineering · Tidewater SaaS

Switch in minutes,
not days.

CloudStick's migration team handles the whole move from Laravel Forge — DNS, SSL, databases, apps, and Nginx config. You watch. We work.

Start Migration Free

MIGRATION TIMELINE

0:00Connect new server

Any VPS or bare-metal, any provider

0:04Import sites & apps

Drag-and-drop or SSH credentials

0:31SSL provisioned

Wildcard or single-domain, automatic

1:12DNS cut-over ready

One-click propagation check

1:58Live on CloudStick

Old panel access auto-revoked

Questions you
might ask.

Anything else? Chat with the team — we reply in under 9 minutes.

Ready to leave
Laravel Forge?

7-day free trial. No credit card. No lock-in. Our migration team moves you from Forge in under 2 hours.

Start Free →Talk to an Expert

Start For Free Today

Ready to launch your server? Start for free. No credit card required. Setup takes less than 3 minutes.

Deploy Your Server Book a Demo

The bestalternative tolaravel forge.

Where CloudStickpulls ahead.

The fine print,printed plainly.

Pricing at a glance.

When the 502 arrivedat 02:47 on a Sunday.

Switch in minutes,not days.

Questions youmight ask.

Ready to leaveLaravel Forge?

The best
alternative to
laravel forge.

Where CloudStick
pulls ahead.

The fine print,
printed plainly.

When the 502 arrived
at 02:47 on a Sunday.

Switch in minutes,
not days.

Questions you
might ask.

Ready to leave
Laravel Forge?