Compare software

Laravel Herd vs DDEV: catalog facts
Laravel Herd	DDEV
Freemium Free for the core environment; Herd Pro is a paid upgrade with extra features.	Free Free and open source under the Apache-2.0 license, funded by sponsorships.
Windows, macOS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Native binaries with no Docker or VM required Switch PHP versions quickly	Sets up PHP and Node.js environments quickly Project configuration can be version controlled and shared
Database services, mail and log tools are part of the paid Pro tier Focused on PHP and Laravel rather than other stacks	Requires a Docker provider to be installed first macOS setup recommends at least 8GB of RAM
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: Apache-2.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.