Zeltro › A free Laravel Herd alternative for Linux, Mac and Windows

Looking for a Laravel Herd alternative

Laravel Herd runs on macOS and Windows, not Linux, and its databases are part of Herd Pro. Zeltro is a free, open-source local environment for Linux and macOS (Windows through WSL2) with MariaDB, Postgres, Redis and MongoDB included, and Python and Node beside PHP.

Laravel Herd is the smoothest way to run PHP on a Mac or a Windows PC. It is native, it starts instantly, it switches PHP versions with a click, and every folder becomes a .test site. If you are on one of those systems and Herd does what you need, keep it.

People go looking for a Herd alternative for a few reasons: they are on Linux, where Herd does not run yet; they need a database and do not want a $99-a-year Pro license for it; the project is not PHP; or they want the same setup on every machine they own.

Laravel Herd and Zeltro side by side#

As of October 2026:

A Laravel Herd alternative for Linux#

This is the most common reason, and the simplest answer. Herd's own site says of Linux: "We're working on bringing Herd to Linux, but it's not ready to ship just yet."

Zeltro is Linux-first. Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 and 26.04 and the distros built on it, Fedora 43 and 44, and Arch each have a one-line installer that sets up Docker and everything else:

curl -fsSL https://dist.canebaycomputers.com/zeltro/cli/ubuntu | bash
zeltro configure
zeltro new laravel my-app

zeltro new laravel scaffolds the app, creates its database on the shared MariaDB, writes the .env, runs the migrations and starts it. zeltro status my-app prints the address.

A free Laravel Herd alternative, databases included#

Herd's free tier is PHP, nginx, DNS and Node. MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, the mail catcher and the rest come with Herd Pro at $99 a year.

In Zeltro they are simply there. Every project on the machine shares one zeltro-mariadb, one zeltro-postgres, one zeltro-mongo, one zeltro-redis, one zeltro-memcached and a MailHog for outgoing email, and each project still gets its own database and credentials. Personal use is free with no account; a business buys one lifetime license for US$99.99, covering everyone in it.

On a Mac, and on Windows#

On a Mac, Herd is native and Zeltro runs in Docker Desktop, which Zeltro's installer sets up for you:

curl -fsSL https://dist.canebaycomputers.com/zeltro/cli/mac | bash

Native is lighter, and that is a fair point in Herd's favour. What Docker buys you is the same environment on the Mac as on a Linux laptop or a Linux server, and Python and Node apps running beside the PHP ones.

On Windows, Herd is the simpler choice. Zeltro needs Linux underneath, so it runs in WSL2, and that route is still in preview. The Zeltro desktop app for Windows can also drive Zeltro on a Linux box or a Mac over SSH, which works today.

Not only Laravel#

Herd is built for PHP. Zeltro ships three runtimes, PHP 8.3, Python 3 and Node 22, each with every database driver compiled in, and scaffolds 21 frameworks:

zeltro new laravel shop
zeltro new django reports
zeltro new nextjs storefront
zeltro install grafana          # or any of 200+ ready-made apps

They share a network, so the Laravel app can call the Django one at http://reports/ from inside its container, with nothing configured.

Where Herd is better#

• PHP version switching. Herd installs PHP 7.4 to 8.6 and switches per site. Zeltro ships PHP 8.3; another version means naming a different Docker image.
• Native speed and footprint. No VM, no containers.
• .test domains and one-click HTTPS. Zeltro does not touch your hosts file.
• Laravel's own tooling. Herd is made by the Laravel team and fits tightly with Laravel Boost, Tinker, dumps and the rest.

If those matter more to you than Linux, free databases or Python, Herd is the right tool.

Sources#

Checked on 18 October 2026: herd.laravel.com (platforms, Free, Pro and Teams plans). Prices and plans change, so check them before you decide.

Questions

Checked 2026-10-18. Other products change often — if something here is out of date, tell us and it gets fixed.