Filament 5, Livewire 4 and Laravel 12 let you build a complete admin panel without a separate frontend — one technology, one repository, no second team to maintain. A panel like this costs roughly 5,000–40,000 PLN net + VAT depending on the number of modules, roles and reports. This article compares Livewire with Vue and React, puts Filament next to Nova and Backpack, explains when you need a custom frontend — and what a Laravel admin panel really costs in 2026.
What are Livewire and Filament?
Livewire is a library that brings server-side interactivity to Laravel. You write components in PHP, and Livewire handles the communication with the browser — no separate JavaScript application. Filament is an admin panel framework built on Livewire, with ready-made components: tables, forms, filters, charts and a permissions system.
Together with Tailwind CSS and Alpine.js they form the TALL stack — Tailwind, Alpine, Laravel, Livewire. It is currently the fastest route to a professional back-office in the PHP ecosystem.
Which versions are current in 2026?
Filament 5 shipped in January 2026 and is primarily a compatibility release for Livewire 4 — functionally it matches Filament 4, and the upgrade is performed by an official script, without manual rewrites. The requirements are clear:
| Component | Version required by Filament 5 |
|---|---|
| PHP | 8.2 or newer |
| Laravel | 11.28+ (including Laravel 12) |
| Livewire | 4 |
| Tailwind CSS | 4 |
New projects start directly on Filament 5. If you run a panel on Filament 3, plan the upgrade — the steps and pitfalls are described in Filament 5 — what's new and how to plan the migration (Polish).
Livewire or Vue and React? A comparison
This question comes up in every project that needs an interface. The answer depends on who will use it and how.
| Criterion | Livewire | Vue / React |
|---|---|---|
| Language | PHP | JavaScript / TypeScript |
| Learning curve | Low for a PHP team | Requires frontend skills |
| Repository | One (backend + UI) | Two worlds to maintain |
| Complex interactions | Good for typical panels | Better for highly dynamic UI |
| SEO and SSR | Natural via Blade | Requires extra configuration |
| Maintenance cost | Lower — one stack | Higher — two ecosystems |
In practice Livewire fits 80% of business applications — anywhere the interface is tables, forms, filters and charts. Vue or React win in products with very complex interactivity — editors, real-time apps or portals with a heavy SPA.
Tip: Don't choose technology by fashion, choose it by team. If you maintain a PHP application without a dedicated frontend team, Livewire can cut maintenance costs in half — one stack instead of two.
If you're weighing Livewire against Inertia.js with React, break the decision down into concrete criteria — see Laravel frontend — how to choose and Inertia.js vs Livewire (Polish).
What does Filament 5 give you?
Filament 5 is a complete framework for building admin panels. Key capabilities
- CRUD in minutes — resources generate a list, form, filters and actions for any Eloquent model.
- Roles and permissions — integration with Laravel Policies and Spatie Permission, access control at resource and field level.
- Widgets and dashboards — KPIs, charts, near real-time stats, custom views.
- Forms and validation — dozens of field types, dependent fields, file and relation handling.
- Exports and imports — CSV/Excel reports for business data.
- Multi-tenancy — built-in support for applications serving multiple organisations.
- Multiple panels — separate panels for administration, partners and the sales team.
- Plugin ecosystem — over a thousand extensions in the directory, most of them free, plus solid documentation and a large community.
For companies this is a concrete saving — a panel that used to require two applications (Laravel API plus a separate frontend) now ships in one project and one language.
Filament vs Nova vs Backpack
Filament is not the only admin panel framework for Laravel. Three mature tools compete for the same problem, and they differ mainly in philosophy:
| Criterion | Filament 5 | Laravel Nova 5 | Backpack 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | MIT — free, also commercially | paid: from 99 USD/project (annual renewal) or 299 USD unlimited | MIT core, features in paid PRO |
| Frontend | Livewire 4 + Alpine.js + Tailwind | Vue 3 + Inertia.js | Blade + Bootstrap |
| UI defined in | PHP | PHP (custom fields in Vue) | PHP (Blade views) |
| Best for | internal panels, CRM, back-office in pure PHP | teams with Vue and ready-made metrics | classic CRUD with full template control |
| Ecosystem | the largest — thousands of plugins | smaller, paid add-ons | several dozen PRO extensions |
The full comparison — licence prices, version requirements, limitations and what you only discover after a year of maintenance — is in a separate article: Filament vs Nova vs Backpack (Polish).
When is Filament the best choice?
- Back-office and internal panels — orders, customers, products, invoices, tickets.
- CRM and ERP systems — this very site runs on its own Filament panel: we manage articles, categories and marketing data from a back-office built on this stack.
- MVPs with a panel — fast delivery with a full admin back-end from day one.
- Applications with many roles — sales, support, accounting, external partners.
- Spreadsheet replacements — when a process lives in Excel and needs permissions, history and reports.
When do you need a custom frontend?
- Customer portal — end-user interfaces usually need their own design and experience. Our OneCRMApp — a CRM for insurance agents — was built exactly that way: Laravel plus React with Inertia.js, because the end-user interface required its own UX (see the CRM case study, Polish).
- SaaS product with advanced UI — editors, kanban boards, drag-and-drop, real-time work.
- Mobile apps — an API plus a dedicated application (like FamilyTimelineApp with an Android app).
- Public websites — marketing, stores, content — Blade with Tailwind or a separate frontend works best here.
In such cases the natural choice is Laravel as an API plus Vue or React with Inertia.js. You can read more about projects like this on the Laravel Development service page.
What does a Laravel admin panel cost?
The cost depends on the number of modules, roles and reports. Rough ranges for panels built in Filament, net + VAT
| Panel scope | Rough cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Simple CRUD (2–3 models, basic roles) | 5,000 – 15,000 PLN | 1–2 weeks |
| Business panel (5–10 modules, reports, exports) | 15,000 – 40,000 PLN | 3–6 weeks |
| Panel with workflow logic and many roles | from 40,000 PLN | 6+ weeks |
Key takeaway: A Filament admin panel costs roughly 5,000–40,000 PLN net + VAT depending on scope. In new projects it is usually included in the hourly rate — Laravel plus Livewire remove the need to build a separate frontend for the back-office.
On top of that there is no licence cost — Filament is free under the MIT licence, including commercial projects. Only selected plugins from the extension directory are paid, usually a one-off few dozen to few hundred PLN; that is a different situation from Nova, where the licence is paid per project and renewed yearly.
At an hourly rate of 90–160 PLN, a business panel is usually 100–250 hours of work — the exact quote depends on scope. How to prepare requirements so the estimate is precise is described in web app cost guide (Polish).
Admin panel security
The panel is the most sensitive part of an application — it gives access to all data. The ground rules we apply in every delivery:
- two-factor authentication (2FA) for every admin account,
- permissions at resource and field level — not every admin sees everything,
- audit log of changes — who changed what and when,
- login attempt limiting and account lockouts,
- a separate panel path that makes automated scans harder.
A broader security checklist is in Laravel application security — OWASP Top 10.
Livewire performance in practice
Livewire runs server-side operations, so it needs conscious optimisation — lazy loading of components, pagination, caching and limiting database queries. A well-built Livewire panel handles dozens of concurrent users without noticeable delays. The concrete techniques — from N+1 queries in tables to widget caching — are collected in Livewire performance — panel optimisation (Polish), and the general rules in the Laravel performance optimisation guide.
Frequently asked questions
Filament or a custom panel — which to choose?
Choose Filament for internal panels, back-office, CRM and role-based systems — building it is several times faster than starting from scratch. A custom frontend makes sense for end-customer portals and products with very complex interactivity, where a unique user experience matters.
How much does a Laravel admin panel cost?
A simple CRUD panel costs 5,000–15,000 PLN net + VAT, a business panel with reports 15,000–40,000 PLN, and an advanced panel with workflow from 40,000 PLN. In new projects the panel is usually built within the hourly rate of 90–160 PLN.
Is Filament free?
Yes — Filament is released under the MIT licence and can be used free of charge in commercial projects, with no per-project fees and no annual renewals. Selected plugins in the extension directory are paid, but the core framework and its official components cost nothing. For comparison, Nova is a paid licence from about 99 USD per project, and Backpack keeps some features in its paid PRO add-on.
Filament vs Nova vs Backpack — which to choose?
- Filament by default: free (MIT), the largest plugin ecosystem, the whole panel written in PHP on Livewire, and updates that follow Laravel. Nova makes sense when your team knows Vue and wants ready-made metrics from day one. Backpack suits classic CRUD on Blade and Bootstrap when you want full control over templates. The detailed comparison with prices and limitations is in the Filament vs Nova vs Backpack article (Polish).
Is Livewire fast enough?
- Yes — with good practices: pagination, lazy loading, caching, query limiting. Livewire handles typical business panels very well. Problems appear with highly dynamic interfaces, where a custom frontend is the better fit.
Filament 5 or Filament 4?
New projects should start on Filament 5 — it requires PHP 8.2+, Laravel 11.28+ and Livewire 4. It is a compatibility release: functionally it matches Filament 4, and the upgrade from v4 is performed by an official script. From Filament 3, migrate in two steps — first to 4, then to 5; planning upgrades like this is described in the Laravel upgrade guide (Polish).
👉 Need an admin panel for your Laravel app? Check the Laravel Development service or the Laravel admin panels offering — the estimate is free.
📖 See also: Laravel performance optimisation guide, Laravel application security — OWASP Top 10 and Inertia.js with Laravel and React.