Which Laravel Starter Kit to Use for Your Next Project

Deciding which Laravel starter kit to use is one of the most consequential architectural choices you make when starting a new PHP application. While every official and community kit handles the basics—login, registration, password resets, and profile management—each one locks in a distinct frontend paradigm, component ecosystem, and state management workflow.

Choosing the wrong kit often leads to a painful mid-project rewrite when your UI outgrows server-rendered templates or when a simple CRUD tool gets bogged down in unnecessary client-side state complexity. This guide breaks down every major Laravel starter kit so you can match the right stack to your team's strengths and product roadmap.

Quick Comparison: Official & Ecosystem Laravel Starter Kits

Here is how the primary Laravel starter kits compare side by side:

1. The Official Laravel React Starter Kit (Inertia + shadcn/ui)

If your product requires complex client-side interactions—such as drag-and-drop kanban boards, real-time collaborative canvases, rich command palettes, or intricate multi-step modals—the Laravel React starter kit is the strongest choice.

Why Choose It

• Massive React & TypeScript Ecosystem: Access every library in the React ecosystem (@tanstack/react-table, framer-motion, recharts, cmdk) while keeping Laravel's backend routing and controllers.
• Full Ownership via shadcn/ui: Pre-built accessible components live directly inside resources/js/components/ui/, allowing complete customization with Tailwind CSS.
• Zero API Boilerplate: Inertia.js eliminates the need to build and synchronize a separate REST or GraphQL API just to feed your React components.

When to Skip It

Skip the React starter kit if your team consists purely of backend PHP developers who want to avoid managing Node build pipelines, TypeScript interfaces, and client-side hydration. If you choose this path, follow our step-by-step tutorial on how to install the Laravel React starter kit.

2. The Official Laravel Livewire Starter Kit (Livewire 3 + Flux UI)

For solo founders and PHP-first engineering teams, the Laravel Livewire starter kit delivers the fastest path from database schema to working application.

Why Choose It

• Stay Entirely in PHP: Write reactive components using standard Blade templates or single-file Livewire Volt components without context-switching between PHP and TypeScript.
• Direct Eloquent Access: Query models, validate inputs, and authorize actions inside the exact same class that renders the UI.
• Polished UI with Flux: Ships with Flux UI primitives styled with Tailwind CSS, providing clean layouts, modals, and dropdowns without writing custom JavaScript.

When to Skip It

Every state mutation in Livewire (unless deferred or handled via Alpine.js) triggers a network round-trip to the server. If your application relies heavily on offline support, high-frequency client interactions, or third-party React libraries, choose an Inertia-based kit instead.

3. The Official Laravel Vue Starter Kit (Inertia + Vue 3)

Vue.js has a long-standing heritage in the Laravel community. The Laravel Vue starter kit pairs Vue 3's <script setup> Composition API and TypeScript with Inertia.js and accessible shadcn-vue (Reka UI) components.

Why Choose It

• Ergonomic Single-File Components: Vue's .vue files cleanly separate template markup, reactive script logic, and scoped styles.
• First-Class Inertia Support: Smooth page transitions, prefetching, and form helpers (useForm) feel native to Vue's reactivity system.

When to Skip It

If you plan to hire frontend specialists from the broader JavaScript market where React dominates, or if you need niche React-only SDKs (such as specialized AI chat UI libraries), the React starter kit offers a wider package ecosystem.

4. Filament: The Unbeatable Choice for Data-Heavy Apps & Admin Panels

While Filament is often categorized as an admin panel builder, many B2B SaaS founders use Filament as their complete application starter kit.

Why Choose It

• Declarative PHP Schemas: Build complex data tables with filters, bulk actions, exports, multi-column forms, and slide-over modals purely in PHP classes.
• Built-In Multi-Tenancy: Filament supports tenant-scoped workspaces (such as organizations or teams) and multiple isolated panels (/admin, /app, /partner) out of the box.
• Massive Time Savings: Cuts CRUD, reporting, and back-office development time by up to 70% compared to hand-coding forms and tables.

When to Skip It

If your application requires a highly bespoke, consumer-grade visual design that deviates drastically from structured dashboard layouts, customizing Filament's markup takes more effort than building custom views in React, Vue, or standard Livewire.

5. What About Laravel Breeze and Jetstream?

As Laravel evolved its official starter kits around React, Vue, and Livewire with modern component libraries, Laravel Breeze and Laravel Jetstream shifted roles:

• Use Laravel Breeze when you want minimal, unopinionated Blade + Tailwind authentication stubs, or when you need an API-only authentication scaffold (php artisan breeze:install api) paired with Laravel Sanctum for a decoupled Next.js or mobile app.
• Use Laravel Jetstream primarily when maintaining existing projects that rely on Jetstream's specific implementation of team management and Sanctum API token permissions. For new team-based SaaS apps, explore our breakdown of Laravel starter kits with team support.

Decision Matrix: Which Laravel Starter Kit Should You Pick?

Still weighing your options? Use this quick decision checklist:

1. "I am a solo PHP developer building a SaaS MVP as fast as possible."
   → Choose the Laravel Livewire Starter Kit (or Filament if it is B2B data-centric).
2. "My team knows React/TypeScript and we want a highly interactive UI."
   → Choose the Laravel React Starter Kit with Inertia.js and shadcn/ui.
3. "We love Vue 3 and want SPA speed without building a REST API."
   → Choose the Laravel Vue Starter Kit.
4. "We are building an internal CRM, ERP, or multi-panel B2B portal."
   → Choose Filament.
5. "We are building a mobile app + Next.js frontend and only need Laravel as an API."
   → Choose Laravel Breeze (API stack) with Laravel Sanctum.

Go Beyond Basic Auth with Production Laravel Templates

Official starter kits solve authentication and basic layout scaffolding, but launching a commercial product still requires Stripe or Paddle billing, role-based access control, onboarding flows, and SEO landing pages.

Browse our curated templates to skip months of boilerplate work:

• Explore All Laravel Templates & Boilerplates
• Compare Full-Stack SaaS Starter Kits
• Browse Admin Panel & Dashboard Templates
• Discover Turnkey Starter Kits
• Read Next: Best Laravel SaaS Starter Kits for Launching Faster