Laradock vs Laragon

What is Laragon?

Laragon is a free, portable, Windows-native local development environment. It installs Apache or Nginx, PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, and more directly on Windows, automatically creates a virtual host and a pretty .test domain for every project you drop into its www folder (no manual hosts-file editing), and adds one-click "Quick App" installers for WordPress, Laravel, Symfony, and other stacks. It is widely considered the fastest and most polished of the classic Windows PHP bundles (XAMPP, WAMP, Laragon).

This page compares that Windows-native approach to Laradock's containerized one.

Laragon is the best-in-class version of the "install everything on Windows" approach: fast, auto-configured, genuinely pleasant to use. Laradock is a different category entirely: instead of installing software on your OS, it runs the same stack in disposable, cross-platform Docker containers.

TL;DR: pick Laragon if you are on Windows and want the fastest, most polished native one-click setup. Pick Laradock if you need cross-platform consistency, more than a handful of services, or an environment that resembles a Linux production server.

Setting up with Laragon

1. Download and run the Laragon installer (or the portable ZIP, no installer needed).
2. Open Laragon, click Menu → Quick app → Laravel (or WordPress, Symfony, and others), give it a name.
3. Click Start All; your project appears instantly at http://my-app.test, virtual host and pretty URL handled automatically.

Adding a plain project: drop its folder into C:\laragon\www, click Reload, and it gets its own .test URL. PHP versions, MySQL/MariaDB versions, and Node are swappable from the Menu → PHP / MySQL version pickers, which download the version if it is missing.

The same thing with Laradock

cd my-app
git clone https://github.com/laradock/laradock.git
cd laradock && cp .env.example .env
docker compose up -d nginx mysql redis workspace
docker compose exec workspace bash

Your site is served at http://localhost. The trade: Laragon's one-click app installers become explicit docker compose up -d {service} commands, and virtual hosts are configured through nginx site files instead of being fully automatic, in exchange for the same setup working identically on Linux and macOS, plus 100+ services beyond Laragon's built-in set.

Side by side

	Laragon	Laradock
Platform	Windows only (portable or installed)	Linux, macOS, Windows
Runs as	Native Apache/Nginx, PHP, MySQL on Windows	Docker containers
Setup	Download, run, click "Start All"	git clone + docker compose up
Virtual hosts	Fully automatic, no hosts-file editing	Manual nginx site config (or automatic with Traefik/Caddy)
One-click app installs	Quick App menu (WordPress, Laravel, ...)	docker compose up -d {service}, 100+ options
PHP/DB version switching	GUI version picker, auto-downloads	.env variable + rebuild
Isolation between projects	Shared native services across all projects	Full (containers per project)
Production parity	None (native Windows)	High (Linux containers)
Price	Free (Laragon Pro paid tier for extras)	Free, MIT

Choose Laragon if...

• You are on Windows and want the fastest, most beginner-friendly native setup available.
• You like a GUI with one-click app installers and zero hosts-file fiddling.
• Your stack fits comfortably inside Laragon's built-in service list.

Choose Laradock if...

• You need the same setup to also work on Linux or macOS, for you or your team.
• You want your local environment to resemble a real Linux production server.
• You need services beyond Laragon's built-in set (queues, search engines, local LLMs, monitoring), each just one up command away.

Already on Laragon? Migrating takes minutes

1. Export your database via Laragon's bundled HeidiSQL or phpMyAdmin: right-click your database → Export → SQL file.
2. Stop Laragon: click Stop All in the Laragon window so ports 80/3306 free up.
3. Add Laradock next to your code (inside WSL or Git Bash, since Laradock's setup commands are Unix-shell based): git clone https://github.com/laradock/laradock.git && cd laradock && cp .env.example .env
4. Start your stack: docker compose up -d nginx mysql redis workspace
5. Import the database: docker compose exec -T mysql mysql -uroot -proot default < ../backup.sql
6. Update your app's config: database host becomes mysql (not localhost), user default, password secret (see mysql/defaults.env).
7. Your site now answers at http://localhost instead of my-app.test (wire an nginx site config if you want a custom domain back).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Laragon free?

Yes, Laragon's core is free. Laragon Pro is an optional paid tier that adds extra tools and remote/cloud isolation features.

Does Laragon work on macOS or Linux?

No, Laragon is Windows-only. For a cross-platform alternative with the same one-download simplicity, Laradock runs identically on Windows, macOS, and Linux via Docker.

Does Laragon use Docker?

No, Laragon installs Apache/Nginx, PHP, and MySQL/MariaDB directly on Windows as native services; it does not use containers. That is the core difference this page compares.

Can I run multiple PHP versions in Laragon?

Yes, Laragon's PHP version picker can download and switch between multiple PHP versions, but only one is active globally at a time across all projects, unlike Laradock's per-project container isolation.

How do I move a Laragon project to Docker?

Export your database through Laragon's built-in HeidiSQL or phpMyAdmin, then follow the migration steps above; it takes about 10 minutes.

See the full landscape, including DDEV, Sail, Herd and XAMPP: Laradock vs Others. Ready to try it? Getting Started takes about five minutes.