Lerd vs other tools
Lerd is a shared local stack: one nginx, PHP-FPM per PHP version and one instance of each service, run as rootless Podman containers, that every project drops into. Each tool below takes a different route, and each has its own page with the full comparison.
| Tool | OS support | Licence | How it runs | Project config in the repo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lerd | Linux, macOS, Windows (WSL2) | MIT | Shared stack, rootless Podman | .lerd.yaml, optional |
| Laravel Herd | macOS, Windows | Proprietary, paid Pro tier | Shared stack, native binaries | herd.yml, optional |
| Laragon | Windows | Proprietary, paid licence | Shared stack, native binaries | None |
| Laravel Sail | Linux, macOS, Windows | MIT | Per-project Docker Compose | docker-compose.yml, required |
| DDEV | Linux, macOS, Windows | Apache 2.0 | Per-project containers | .ddev/config.yaml, required |
| Lando | Linux, macOS, Windows | GPL-3.0 | Per-project containers | .lando.yml, required |
| Laradock | Linux, macOS, Windows | MIT | Per-project Docker Compose | laradock/ folder, required |
Lerd vs Laravel Herd
Herd is a shared stack of native binaries for macOS and Windows, free with a paid Pro tier for databases, mail and other services. Herd's own FAQ says Linux support is being worked on but is not ready. Lerd covers the same workflow on Linux and macOS, open source, with every service free. See Laravel Herd for Linux, which also covers Herd 2.0.
Lerd vs Laragon
Laragon is a portable Windows stack with .test URLs, auto virtual hosts and bundled databases, and needs a licence from version 7. It has no Linux build. Lerd gives the same workflow on Linux and macOS, and on Windows through WSL2. See Laragon for Linux, with a migration guide.
Lerd vs Laravel Sail
Sail is Laravel's official per-project Docker Compose setup, each project with its own containers and services. Lerd runs one shared stack instead, and its sail plugin moves a Sail project across, database and S3 files included, in one command. See Laravel Sail alternative.
Lerd vs ddev
DDEV runs containers per project behind a shared router, configured by .ddev/config.yaml in the repo, which gives strong isolation between projects. Lerd shares one stack and needs nothing committed. See Lerd vs DDEV.
Lerd vs Lando
Lando builds a per-project stack from a .lando.yml and platform recipes, with integrations for hosts such as Pantheon and Platform.sh. See Lerd vs Lando.
Lerd vs Laradock
Laradock is a set of Docker images behind a docker-compose.yml kept in a laradock/ folder, with a workspace container for tooling. See Laradock alternative for the comparison and migration path.
Moving from an all-in-one stack instead? See XAMPP alternative for Linux and Moving from MAMP.