A straightforward comparison of StackPilot App, Laravel Forge, and Ploi. Where each tool excels, what we're better at, what we don't do yet.
This page is for informational purposes only. StackPilot App is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Laravel Forge or Ploi.io. Competitor pricing as of June 2026 and subject to change.
Forge and Ploi route your deployments through their cloud infrastructure. StackPilot App is a desktop app - SSH goes directly from your machine to your server. No middleman. No third party holding your keys. If their status page is red, your deploys aren't.
Forge: $12-$39/mo. Ploi: $10-$36/mo. Both bill every month, forever - and can raise the price whenever they like. StackPilot App is a one-time purchase you own. Higher on day one, free every day after: Solo pays for itself in ~11 months, Pro in ~13. Then it's pure savings.
A subscription never ends - and the price is theirs to raise after the next funding round or acquisition. A one-time licence is something you own. It costs more on day one and nothing every day after.
No card on file. No auto-renewal, no dunning emails, no losing your tooling because a payment slipped.
No price hikes. What you pay today is what it cost - no surprise increase after they get acquired.
No metering anxiety. Add servers and sites without watching a monthly counter tick upward.
But most developers don't need unlimited anything—they need reliable deployments, simple management, and predictable costs.
Why pay monthly for capacity you'll never use? With StackPilot App, you pay once and focus on shipping software instead of subscriptions.
$ USD · tooling only · StackPilot pricing live from our API · competitor pricing as of June 2026
Where Forge and Ploi may fit better: If you're managing hundreds of servers and optimizing purely for the lowest monthly cost, their unlimited-server subscription model can be a strong fit. StackPilot App takes a different approach: pay once, keep your infrastructure credentials local, and own your deployment tooling outright. It's built for developers who value ownership, privacy, and long-term control over another recurring subscription.
VPS hosting not included - you pay your provider (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, etc.) directly in all cases. This compares tooling cost only. Competitor tiers chosen to match each workload's server/seat count; figures in USD.
Bigger one-time licences for shops managing real fleets. At this size Forge and Ploi are flat-rate too - so this isn't about beating their monthly price. It's about owning your tooling outright: direct local SSH, your keys never leave your machine, no rug-pulls, no recurring bill.
No embellishments. If we're behind, we say so. If they're better, we say so.
| Feature | StackPilot App | Laravel Forge | Ploi.io |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | One-time payment $129 - $3,499 | $12 - $39 / month | $10 - $36 / month |
| Platform | Desktop app macOS today · Windows in public beta | Browser SaaS | Browser SaaS |
| Execution model | Direct SSH from your machine | Routed via Forge servers | Routed via Ploi servers |
| Credential storage | Local only - your keychain | Stored on Forge cloud | Stored on Ploi cloud |
| Server limit | Up to 50 per licence (tiered) Bigger fleet? Contact us. | Unlimited (flat-rate plans) | Tier-based (5 / 10 / unlimited) |
| Offline support | Cached data viewable SSH still needs network | No - browser required | No - browser required |
| Zero-downtime deploys | Symlink-based atomic releases | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud server provisioning | AWS, DigitalOcean, Vultr | Yes | Yes |
| Git webhooks (auto-deploy) | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-device sync | Coming Q3 2026 | Yes (any browser) | Yes (any browser) |
All upcoming features may ship as paid add-ons. Your one-time payment covers what's shipped today. Major new features are separate purchases. See licensing terms.
StackPilot App connects to any server over SSH. Run both tools in parallel. No DNS changes. No downtime. Switch at your pace.
Install the desktop app, click "Add Server", enter the IP and SSH key you already use. StackPilot App connects directly - no DNS or agent required to start.
Create the same sites in StackPilot App pointing to the same directories. Run a test deploy to confirm. Both tools run in parallel during this phase.
StackPilot App generates a unique webhook URL per site. Replace the Forge/Ploi webhook in your repo settings. Auto-deploys now flow through StackPilot App.
Once you've verified a few successful deploys end-to-end, cancel the Forge or Ploi sub. Most users finish in one afternoon.
The native Windows build is released but still in public beta - great for most workflows, still hardening. If you need it battle-tested right now, Forge/Ploi in the browser may fit better for the moment.
StackPilot App is per-machine. If you switch laptops constantly or work from a Chromebook, a web tool naturally has the edge.
Licences cap at 10-50 servers depending on tier. Larger fleets - talk to us first rather than hit an unexpected limit.
Pay once, run locally, keep your credentials on your own machine.
