Laravel has more admin panel packages than any other PHP framework, and the choice matters more than it looks. The package you pick decides your front-end stack for the admin, how much PHP you write per resource, what you pay per site, and who can maintain it after the developer who set it up moves on. Filament has become the default for new projects, but Nova, Backpack and several others are still strong choices for specific teams.
Below are ten Laravel admin panels, with what each is built on, what it costs and the point where each one stops. The first is not a Laravel package at all, which is the point: sometimes the right admin panel for a Laravel app lives outside the codebase.
What to compare in a Laravel admin panel
- Stack: Livewire, Vue, Inertia or Blade, and whether that matches your team.
- License: open source, per-project license or subscription.
- Effort per resource: how much PHP you write for each model's list, form and filters.
- Permissions: policies, roles and row-level scoping.
- Who maintains it: every admin inside the codebase is maintained by your developers, release after release.
The ten Laravel admin panels at a glance
| Panel | Built on | License | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jet Admin | Connects to your Laravel database; no package | Free plan; paid tiers | Admin panels for ops and support without developer time |
| Filament | Livewire, Alpine, Tailwind | Free, open source | New Laravel projects |
| Laravel Nova | Vue, Inertia | Paid license | Teams wanting the official, first-party option |
| Backpack for Laravel | Blade, Bootstrap | Free core; paid add-ons | CRUD-heavy apps with a Blade stack |
| MoonShine | Blade, Alpine, Tailwind | Free, open source | Lightweight admin with little setup |
| Orchid | Blade, Hotwire-style interactions | Free, open source | Business apps with custom screens |
| Sharp | Vue | Free, open source | Content management with a clean UI |
| Twill | Vue | Free, open source | Editorial CMS on Laravel |
| Voyager | Blade, Bootstrap | Free, open source | Existing projects already using it |
| Laravel Admin (open-admin) | Blade, jQuery | Free, open source | Legacy projects |
An admin panel outside the codebase
1. Jet Admin
Jet Admin is not a Composer package. It connects to the MySQL or PostgreSQL database behind your Laravel app and builds the admin panel on it: tables with search and filters, forms, record pages with related data, approval steps and dashboards. You describe the admin you need and Jet generates the screens, then you refine them in a visual editor, or with custom components and code when you need to. Your data stays in your database; Jet keeps no second copy.
The benefit is who maintains it. A Filament or Nova admin is PHP in your repository, so every new field or filter for the support team is a ticket for a developer and a deploy. With Jet, operations people can adjust their own screens, and your developers stay on the product. Roles decide which tables, rows and fields each person sees. Granular permissions, SSO and audit logs are on the Business plan and above; unlimited users are on every plan, including Free.
Where it stops: it works on your data, not your Eloquent models, so model events, observers and accessors do not run. For actions that must go through application logic, call your Laravel API endpoints from Jet instead of writing to tables directly.
Laravel packages
2. Filament
Filament is the most popular Laravel admin panel today. Built on the TALL stack (Tailwind, Alpine, Laravel, Livewire), it generates resources with tables, forms, filters, actions, widgets and relation managers from concise PHP classes. Its plugin ecosystem is large, and it doubles as a framework for building app panels, not only admins.
Where it stops: it is code. Every screen is defined in PHP and maintained by developers, and Livewire's server round-trips can feel slow on very large tables.
3. Laravel Nova
Nova is the admin panel from the Laravel team, built with Vue and Inertia. It offers resources, fields, filters, lenses, actions and metrics, with a polished interface and tight integration with Laravel policies.
Where it stops: it requires a paid license, and customizing beyond its components means writing Vue.
4. Backpack for Laravel
Backpack is a long-running CRUD panel built on Blade and Bootstrap. Its free core covers standard CRUD, and paid add-ons add advanced fields, permissions management and more. Teams who prefer Blade over Livewire or Vue find it comfortable.
Where it stops: many useful features are paid add-ons, and the default look is more utilitarian than Filament or Nova.
5. MoonShine
MoonShine is an open source admin panel built with Blade, Alpine and Tailwind. It aims to be simple to install and configure, with resources, fields and a clean interface.
Where it stops: its ecosystem and community are smaller than Filament's.
6. Orchid
Orchid is an open source platform for building admin panels and business applications on Laravel, with screens, layouts, permissions and filters defined in PHP.
Where it stops: its screen-based model has its own learning curve and a smaller community.
7. Sharp
Sharp is an open source content management framework for Laravel with a Vue interface. It focuses on clean data management UIs for content-driven sites.
Where it stops: it is aimed at content management more than operational back offices.
8. Twill
Twill is an open source CMS toolkit for Laravel, with a strong editorial interface, block-based content editing and media management.
Where it stops: it is a CMS. Operational admin panels for orders or customers are not its focus.
9. Voyager
Voyager was one of the most popular Laravel admin panels, known for its BREAD builder and media manager. Many existing projects still run it.
Where it stops: active development has largely stopped. Start new projects elsewhere.
10. Laravel Admin (open-admin)
The original laravel-admin package and forks such as open-admin provide model-grid and form builders on Blade and jQuery.
Where it stops: it is dated, and maintenance varies by fork. It suits legacy projects rather than new builds.
Which Laravel admin panel to use
- Operations or support need an admin and your developers are busy: Jet Admin.
- You are starting a new Laravel project and want the admin in code: Filament.
- You want the first-party option and are happy to pay: Nova.
- Your team prefers Blade and Bootstrap: Backpack.
- You need a lightweight open source panel: MoonShine or Orchid.
- You are building an editorial CMS: Twill or Sharp.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Laravel admin panel?
For new projects where developers will maintain the admin, Filament is the most common choice. If the admin is for non-developers and your team wants to keep it out of the codebase, a tool such as Jet Admin that connects to your database is often faster to deliver and cheaper to maintain.
Is Filament better than Nova?
Filament is free, very flexible and has a large ecosystem. Nova is paid, first-party and polished. Both are strong; the choice often comes down to preferring Livewire or Vue, and to budget.
Is Laravel Nova free?
No. Nova requires a paid license. Filament, Backpack's core, MoonShine and Orchid are free and open source.
Can I build a Laravel admin panel without writing code?
Not with a Laravel package; all of them are configured in PHP. You can connect a tool such as Jet Admin to your Laravel app's database and build the admin visually. For more background, see PHP admin panel architecture options.
Start with who maintains it
If your developers will own the admin for years, Filament or Nova is a sound choice. If the admin is really for your operations team, and you would rather they could change it themselves, connect your Laravel database to Jet Admin and build it without adding to the codebase.