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Laravel vs Vault

Laravel logo

Laravel

Web Development

The PHP framework for web artisans

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vault logo

Vault

Cloud

Manage Secrets and Protect Sensitive Data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Laravel performance overhead from abstractions, middleware pipeline, and multiple layers can slow applications compared to minimal frameworks; Vault vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • They diverge on capability: Laravel covers Eloquent ORM, Vault covers Secrets management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Laravel and Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where Laravel and Vault differ
AttributeLaravelVault
Pricing modelfreemiumopen-source
PlatformsWeb, CLILinux, Windows, Mac, Cloud
CategoryWeb DevelopmentCloud
Founded20112015

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Laravel

  • Eloquent ORM
  • Artisan CLI
  • Blade templating
  • Middleware
  • Caching
  • Queue system
  • Event broadcasting
  • MySQL

Only in Vault

  • Secrets management
  • Audit logging
  • API access
  • High availability
  • Replication
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • Ansible

Both cover

  • Authentication
  • Authentication
  • Authorization
  • Encryption

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Laravel

  • Web application developmentnot Vault
  • API developmentnot Vault
  • E-commerce platformsnot Vault
  • Content managementnot Vault
  • Enterprise applicationsnot Vault

Vault

  • Centrally storing and rotating secrets, API keys and database credentialsnot Laravel
  • Issuing short-lived dynamic credentials to applications instead of static passwordsnot Laravel
  • Encryption as a service and PKI certificate issuancenot Laravel

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Laravel

  • Performance overhead from abstractions, middleware pipeline, and multiple layers can slow applications compared to minimal frameworks
  • Dependency management is complex with many interdependent packages requiring careful version coordination

Vault

  • Vault 1.15.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1, not an OSI open source licence, with IBM Corporation as licensor
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vault to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vault
  • Each version only converts to MPL 2.0 four years after that version is published, and the Change Date is tracked per version
  • Replication, HSM support, namespaces, performance standby nodes, FIPS builds, control group authorisation, multi-factor authentication, secrets sync and lease count quotas all require a Vault Enterprise licence
  • A Vault Enterprise licence must be applied to the cluster before any Enterprise feature can be used

Pricing, plan by plan

Laravel

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full framework
    • Artisan CLI
    • Eloquent ORM
  • Laravel Forge$12/month
    • Server management
    • Deployment automation
    • SSL certificates
  • Laravel Vapor$39/month
    • Serverless deployment
    • Auto-scaling
    • AWS integration

Vault

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Secrets management
    • Encryption as a service
    • Identity management
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced features
    • Premium support
    • Dedicated updates

Which should you pick?

Choose Laravel if

  • You need eloquent orm.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI.
  • You also want artisan cli.
Laravel review

Choose Vault if

  • You need secrets management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
  • You also want audit logging.
Vault review

Questions people ask

Is Laravel or Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Laravel starts at Free and Vault at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Laravel or Vault?
Laravel starts at Free and Vault at Free.
Does Laravel or Vault run on more platforms?
Laravel runs on Web, CLI. Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Cloud.
Can I use Laravel for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Laravel best used for?
Laravel is most often used for web application development, api development, e-commerce platforms, content management. Of those, web application development and api development are not what Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Laravel do that Vault cannot?
Laravel covers Eloquent ORM, Artisan CLI, Blade templating, Middleware. Vault covers Secrets management, Audit logging, API access, High availability. Both handle Authentication, Authentication, Authorization, Encryption.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Laravel: Is Laravel free and open source?

Yes, Laravel is completely free and open source under the MIT License. You can use, modify, and distribute it without restrictions.

Source
Vault: Is HashiCorp Vault free to use?

Yes, Vault is available as a free, open-source project. The community version includes secrets management, certificate generation and rotation, encryption services, and credential management. Vault Enterprise is a commercial offering with additional features.

Source
Laravel: What are the key features Laravel provides?

Laravel includes an ORM (Eloquent), database migrations, authentication, authorization, caching, queues, email, testing, and deployment tools. It supports multiple databases and provides starter kits for full-stack and API development.

Source
Vault: What are the differences between open-source Vault and Vault Enterprise?

Open-source Vault is free and self-hosted. Vault Enterprise includes additional features and commercial support. HashiCorp also offers Vault Dedicated on the HashiCorp Cloud Platform as a fully managed cloud option.

Source
Laravel: Can I deploy Laravel on any server?

Yes, Laravel can be deployed on any PHP server. You can use shared hosting, VPS, or managed platforms like Laravel Cloud, which starts at $5/month with auto-scaling and git-like branching.

Source
Vault: Can I try HashiCorp Cloud Platform Vault without payment?

Yes, HashiCorp offers a free trial option for HCP Vault Dedicated. New users also receive a $500 credit to use across HashiCorp Cloud Platform services.

Source
Laravel: Does Laravel have testing and local development tools?

Yes, Laravel includes Dusk for browser testing, PHPUnit for unit tests, and Herd (free for basic use) for local development environments with built-in PHP, Composer, and Nginx support.

Source
Vault: What does Vault manage and protect?

Vault provides identity-based secrets management for users, machines, services, and AI agents. It automates authentication and authorization for access to secrets, passwords, certificates, encryption keys, and other sensitive data across your infrastructure.

Source
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