A “free and open-source” revolution announced at Laracon India is empowering millions of Laravel developers with the ability to build native mobile applications directly.

Honestly, choosing PHP development is a long-term investment with guaranteed returns. I still genuinely believe PHP is the world’s best language.

The syntax you’ve mastered, the Laravel framework you’re familiar with, and the ecosystem knowledge you’ve accumulated always manage to open doors to new fields when you least expect it. Just a few days ago, this “investment” delivered another super-sized return: writing real native mobile apps with PHP, and the core parts are now completely free.

If you’re a Laravel developer, February 1st might be a day to remember. At Laracon India, the Laravel ecosystem’s annual flagship event, the NativePHP team announced something remarkable: NativePHP for Mobile v3 (codename NativePHP Air) — its core framework and 9 core plugins are now completely free and open-source under the MIT license.

What does this mean? Simply put: You can now use your most familiar PHP and Laravel tech stack to develop genuine native iOS and Android applications at zero cost.

The announcement was met with thunderous applause at the venue, and social media erupted instantly. Developer Daniel Plomp called it a “huge milestone for the Laravel ecosystem,” while renowned tech outlet Heise’s headline was blunt and powerful: “Building Native Apps with PHP, No License Fees Required.”

01 Why Free? A Well-Planned Ecosystem Leap Forward

When the “free” news broke, many people’s first reaction was: Is the project dying? Quite the opposite.

The official blog post, “NativePHP for Mobile is Now Free,” states it plainly: “We always wanted it to be free.” Early license sales served as a “launch accelerator”—the revenue allowed the team to develop the Bifrost cloud build service, plugin system, and Mimi AI tool at a far faster pace than anticipated.

Now, with the v3 architecture’s modular plugin system (keeping the core minimalist), the timing for free open-source is ripe. The team openly states: “Free lowers the adoption barrier.” Wider adoption is expected to drive revenue growth for their value-added services (like Bifrost cloud builds), leading to faster project sustainability.

This is a classic yet clever open-source business model: free core to expand the ecosystem, paid value-added services to close the commercial loop. Developer PoweredbyAI’s comment on X represents the community consensus: “This is a huge win for the community,” not a signal of decline.

02 How “Complete” is Free? Building Full-Featured Apps at Zero Cost

This isn’t a limited trial or a feature-gutted version. It’s the complete, production-ready framework:

  • Core Framework (nativephp/mobile): Fully MIT licensed. Start with composer require nativephp/mobile.
  • 9 Core Plugins: Cover ~80% of daily needs—Camera, File, Network, Share, etc.
  • Jump Dev Tool: A free real-device testing app. Scan a QR code for live preview; changes auto-refresh on your phone.
  • Plugin Marketplace Basics: Free plugin discovery and installation.

With these, you can build a fully-featured native app at zero cost. App sizes typically range from 30-50MB, with performance close to a native experience.

03 Where are the Value-Added Services? A Transparent Business Model

Of course, the team needs sustainable revenue to continue development. Their business model is clear and non-coercive:

  • Premium Plugins: One-time purchase for advanced features like Biometrics, Geolocation, Push Notifications.
  • Bifrost Cloud Build Service: Starting at $12/month, handles packaging, store submissions, OTA updates, and other complex workflows.
  • Plugin Marketplace Revenue Share: Third-party developers can sell plugins, with a share going to the team.
  • Enterprise Support & Customization: Professional services for larger clients.

This model caters to developers with different needs: personal projects, internal tools, MVP validation can be completely free. Those needing advanced features or team collaboration can pay as they go.

04 Real-World Power: Developing Native Apps with Laravel Mindset

NativePHP isn’t another compromise of a cross-platform framework. It’s a new development paradigm:

// Using pure PHP to access the native camera
use Native\Mobile\Facades\Camera;

$photo = Camera::getPhoto();

// Showing a system-native dialog
use Native\Mobile\Facades\Dialog;

Dialog::toast('Operation completed!');

The revolution in developer experience might be the most attractive part. Running php artisan native:jump generates a QR code. Scanning it with your phone gives you a live preview of the app on your actual device. Save your code, and the app on your phone refreshes automatically—a level of development fluidity unimaginable in traditional mobile development.

Suitable for a wide range of scenarios:

  • Quickly extending an existing Laravel SaaS project with a mobile frontend.
  • Building internal enterprise tools (mobile inventory management, CRM, etc.).
  • Individual developers rapidly validating product ideas.
  • Educational, content-based, and utility apps.

05 Easy Start: Begin Mobile Dev with Three Commands

If you’re already a Laravel developer, getting started with NativePHP requires almost no learning curve:

laravel new my-app
cd my-app
composer require nativephp/mobile
php artisan native:jump

Scan the generated QR code, and your first “native app” is on your phone. This low barrier empowers countless Laravel developers to start their mobile development journey immediately.

06 Ecosystem Impact: PHP’s “Mobile Renaissance”

This move to free open-source might mark a significant turning point for the PHP ecosystem. For a long time, PHP has been confined to its image as a server-side web development language. The maturation and liberation of NativePHP are breaking that mold.

As more developers join, the plugin ecosystem will rapidly enrich, best practices will emerge, and a new ecosystem for mobile development based on PHP is taking shape.

For PHP developers who have always wanted to try mobile development but were intimidated by the learning curves of Swift, Kotlin, or React Native, now is the perfect time. Familiar syntax, a familiar framework, familiar development flows—the only difference is that your code now runs on users’ phones, not on a distant server.

Free is not the end; it’s the beginning. The beginning of more PHP developers entering the mobile space, the beginning of the Laravel ecosystem expanding into new territory, and the beginning of individual developers validating product ideas at the lowest possible cost.

What will you build with your first NativePHP app?