Dunebox vs Laragon, XAMPP & Herd
All four get you developing PHP locally on Windows. Dunebox's angle: every PHP version, every major database, a mail catcher and the usual web tools — already wired together in one portable folder, and free. Here's an honest side-by-side.
Side by side
What's included, out of the box
All free unless noted. "Pro" means the feature exists but lives in a paid tier; "Manual" means it's possible but you wire it up yourself.
| Feature | Dunebox | Laragon | XAMPP | Herd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Freefreeware, no prompts | Paid licensefree for personal, with prompts | Free | Free+ Pro (paid) |
| Platform | Windows | Windows | Win / macOS / Linux | macOS + Windows |
| PHP versions serving at the same time | ✓5.6 · 7.4 · 8.2 · 8.3 · 8.5, concurrent | Switchprofiles, one active | —one; extra = manual | ✓per site |
| Databases managed, free | ✓MySQL ×3, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis | ✓MySQL / MariaDB | ✓MariaDB | Profree: SQLite |
| Mail catcher built in (Mailpit) | ✓ | ✓ | — | Pro |
Local .test domain + trusted HTTPS |
✓ | ✓ | Manual | ✓ |
| phpMyAdmin / Redis UI built in | ✓both | ✓phpMyAdmin | ✓phpMyAdmin | — |
| Optional wildcard local DNS — no hosts-file edits | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Guided Cron Jobs editor | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Fully portable — no installer, no service | ✓ | Partly | — | — |
| Claude (Code / Desktop) integration | ✓MCP server + skill | — | — | — |
Feature sets and pricing of other tools change over time — always check their sites for the latest. This page reflects what each tool offers in its free form at the time of writing. Dunebox is freeware (free to use); it isn't open source.
In context
Where each tool fits
Dunebox vs Laragon
Laragon is a capable, mature Windows tool with instant .test domains and a bundled mail
catcher. Two differences matter: since v7 it's no longer freeware — personal use is allowed
but it prompts you for a paid license — and it runs one PHP version at a time
(switched via profiles). Dunebox stays free with no prompts, runs all five PHP
versions concurrently (a different one per site), and adds an optional wildcard DNS, context-aware
php/artisan/composer and Claude integration — in one portable folder.
Pick Dunebox for a genuinely free, portable, all-at-once stack with no license prompts.
Dunebox vs XAMPP
XAMPP is the classic free, cross-platform stack — great when you need Apache + one PHP + MariaDB and nothing more. On Windows it shows its age for Laravel work: one PHP version (more means a manual FastCGI setup), hand-written virtual hosts, no built-in HTTPS or mail catcher. Dunebox is built for modern Laravel: five PHP versions at once, per-site trusted HTTPS, databases, Mailpit and tools already connected.
Pick XAMPP if you need Linux/macOS too; pick Dunebox for a modern, Laravel-first Windows workflow.
Dunebox vs Herd
Herd (by Laravel) is fast and polished on macOS and Windows, and runs PHP per site. But on the free tier you get PHP + SQLite, while managing MySQL/PostgreSQL/MongoDB/Redis and the mail catcher require Herd Pro (paid). Dunebox includes every database, the Mailpit mail catcher and the web tools for free, in a portable folder — plus optional wildcard DNS and Claude integration.
Pick Herd for the official Laravel brand; pick Dunebox for the full managed stack at no cost on Windows.
Try the whole stack.
It's freeware.
Download a zip, extract it anywhere, open it once — web server, every PHP version, databases and tools configure themselves. No installer, no Windows service.
Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) · ~2–3 GB · internet on first launch