Should I use Laravel Nova or a free administration panel?
I tested two administration panels, one paid and one free. Who wins?
About a month ago Laravel Nova was introduced. Created by Taylor Otwell (creator of Laravel) Nova is a new tool for Laravel projects.
The community is growing really fast with multiple packages releasing each day but… Nova isn’t free.
So let’s try to understand. Should I use the Nova or a free administration painel in my projects?
For this comparison I used Voyager.
Voyager is a free administration painel created in September 2017 with permanent updates.
Voyager
Vouyager is a free Laravel Admin Package that includes BREAD(CRUD) operations, a media manager, menu builder, and much more.
Pros
- Generating CRUD in panel;
- Supports Multiple Languages in your models;
- Includes Media Manager;
- Free;
Con
- Not very pretty UI;
- There is no tool to implement new functionalities;
- There is no tool to create components;
- Don’t have list filters;
- Don’t exist community packages;
Laravel Nova
Nova is a beautifully designed administration panel for Laravel. Carefully crafted by the creators of Laravel to make you the most productive developer in the galaxy.
Pros
- Community Packages (Tags, Media, etc…);
- Beautiful UI;
- It’s possible implement new functionalities;
- It’s possible create components;
- Custom fields;
- Filters.
Con
- Don’t have CRUD Generator in panel (need create migrations and models);
- Multiple Languages only with package;
- Media Manager only with package;
- Not free.
Conclusion
For a few days I did several tests on these two administration panels, even I exposed this comparison to my work colleagues and the opinion was unanimous.
Voyager is the best panel administration for quick and simple websites.
The CRUD generator is awesome and allow you to build fast and code free database migrations but… if you need a tool more robust and organized Laravel Nova is the answer.
With Laravel Nova it’s possible create new functions, new components and custom fields.
Based on my experience if I had to choose between one option and other (although both good) I would choose Laravel Nova because it seems a better solution in the long run. The robustness of the platform and the very active community seem to me to be quite important points in the long run.
Do you have a different opinion? Leave it! 😃
Cheers
