Nova is the official Laravel admin panel — polished and well-integrated. But it requires a paid license, is closed-source, and is limited to backend administration. Lara Dashboard offers more for free.
Lara Dashboard
100% free and open-source under MIT license. No per-project fees, no seat limits, no hidden costs. Full source code access.
Laravel Nova
Paid license: $99 for a single project or $299 for unlimited projects, each a one-time purchase with a yearly renewal for continued updates. Closed-source.
Lara Dashboard
Full CMS: page builder, blog, menus, email campaigns, CRM module, forum, documentation system, AI integration, and a module marketplace.
Laravel Nova
Admin panel focused on resource management. Clean CRUD interface with metrics, lenses, and actions. No CMS features, blog, or page builder.
Lara Dashboard
Full source code access. WordPress-style hooks for deep customization. Module system for isolated feature development. Modify anything.
Laravel Nova
Customizable through custom fields, cards, and tools. But closed-source core limits how deep you can modify behavior.
Lara Dashboard
Modern UI with Livewire + Alpine.js. Dark mode, responsive design, Tailwind CSS 4. Growing set of components and dashboard widgets.
Laravel Nova
Very polished, consistent UI. Built by the Laravel team. Vue.js-based with a refined look and feel that sets the standard for Laravel admin panels.
Lara Dashboard
56+ API controllers with Eloquent API Resources. Full REST API for all core features out of the box.
Laravel Nova
No built-in public API. Nova is designed for browser-based admin use, not as an API backend.
Choose Nova if you want a polished, officially-supported admin panel from the Laravel team and don't mind paying for a license (from $99 per project, or $299 for unlimited projects). Choose Lara Dashboard if you want a free, open-source, full CMS with more features, full source code access, and no licensing restrictions.
Pricing and AI/MCP details checked November 2026; other details last verified March 2026. We strive for accuracy — if something has changed, let us know. Verify for yourself: Laravel Nova official site.
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