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Comparison

Flock vs ServBay

ServBay wants to be the environment for every language, from PHP and Node to Java and .NET. Flock does one thing: PHP and Laravel, done well. If PHP is your daily work, you get an unlimited, open source tool instead of a five-site free tier and a yearly plan.

Download Flock Switching from ServBay

Side by side

Row by row, no fine print.

Flock
ServBay
Price
Yes: Free, open source, no account
$ Paid: Free for 5 sites, Pro from $59/yr
Platforms
Yes: macOS, Windows and Linux, native apps
Partly: macOS and Windows
Runs natively
Yes: Native processes, no VM or containers
Yes: Native packages
PHP versions
Yes: 8.1 to 8.5 side by side
Yes: 5.6 to 8.5
PHP per project
Yes: Pinned in .flockrc or isolated per site
Yes: Pinned per project
.test domains
Yes: Built-in DNS, subdomains included
Yes: Built-in DNS, any TLD
Trusted HTTPS
Yes: Root limited to .test, no warnings
Yes: Private certificate authority
Databases
Yes: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB
Yes: MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB
Cache, search, storage
Yes: Valkey, Meilisearch, Typesense, RustFS
$ Paid: Redis free, search and storage in Pro
Database UI
No: Use your own client
Yes: phpMyAdmin and Adminer
Mail catcher
Yes: An inbox per app, HTML preview
$ Paid: Mail server in Pro
Dumps and logs
Yes: Per-request timeline and Laravel log
No: Log files only
Xdebug
Yes: Turns on when you set a breakpoint
Yes: Toggle in PHP extensions
Node.js
Yes: Per project from .nvmrc
Yes: 12 to 24
Other languages
No: PHP and Node.js only
Yes: Python, Go, Java, .NET, Ruby, Rust
FrankenPHP and Octane
Yes: Per site, with Octane worker mode
No: Not listed
Public preview link
Yes: Cloudflare tunnel, one command
$ Paid: Tunnels in Pro
AI agentic development
Yes: Built-in MCP server
Yes: Free MCP server
Built in Partly or by hand $ Paid tier Not available

Compared in October 2026 from each tool's own website. Something out of date? Tell us on GitHub.

Which one fits

Pick the tool, not the hype.

Choose Flock if…

  • You work on more than five PHP sites.
  • You want caught mail, dumps and share links without paying.
  • You want an open source tool you can read and improve.
  • You want Valkey, Meilisearch, Typesense or S3-compatible storage locally.

Choose ServBay if…

  • You switch between PHP, Python, Go and Java every week.
  • You maintain sites on PHP 5.6 or 7.0.
  • You want a full mail server with POP3 and SMTP relay, not only a catcher.

FAQ

Flock and ServBay, answered.

Partly. The free tier allows 5 websites and 5 DNS records. Pro removes the limits and adds the mail server, from $59 a year. Flock has no limits and no paid tier.

No. Flock focuses on PHP and Node.js for now. Other languages are on the roadmap.

Both are installed fine, but only one can serve sites on ports 80 and 443 at a time. Stop ServBay's web server before starting Flock.

More comparisons

Flock vs Laravel Herd Flock vs Laragon Flock vs XAMPP Flock vs AppServ Flock vs FlyEnv Flock vs Local Flock vs Docker (Laravel Sail) Flock vs Lerd Flock vs Yerd Flock vs EnvKit

Join the flock.

Install Flock, park your code folder and open https://your-app.test.

Download Flock Star on GitHub