Startups need an admin panel fast: manage users, content, and data without burning time on custom CRUD. Filament is the Laravel admin panel I reach for first on new projects—and I've used it across client work in Bath, Bristol, and Wiltshire. Here's why, and how it stacks up against building your own admin or using Laravel Nova.
What Is Filament?
Filament is a free, open-source admin panel for Laravel. It's built on the TALL stack (Tailwind, Alpine, Livewire, Laravel) and gives you resource-based CRUD, forms, tables, dashboards, and notifications out of the box. You define Eloquent models and resources; Filament generates the UI. It's Laravel-native, so it fits your existing app without a separate front-end stack.
Why Filament Fits Startups
- Ship admin fast: Define a resource and you get list, create, edit, and (optionally) delete. No custom controllers or Blade views for basic CRUD.
- Less code to maintain: Forms and tables are declared in PHP; styling and behaviour are consistent. That means fewer bugs and faster iteration.
- Laravel-native: Uses your models, validation, policies, and auth. Fits naturally with scaling your Laravel backend and queues when you grow.
- Good for MVPs: Get an internal admin live quickly so you can focus on the product. Aligns with building a minimal MVP—admin is part of the "minimum," and Filament keeps it lean.
Filament vs Custom Admin
Building a custom admin from scratch means controllers, Blade (or Livewire) components, form handling, validation, and table UIs for every entity. It's flexible, but for most startups the payoff doesn't justify the time. You're not selling the admin—you're selling the product. Filament gives you 80% of what you need in a fraction of the time; you customise only where it matters (custom pages, actions, or widgets). Filament can even be the product itself: IdencyTime, a multi-tenant time and attendance system I built, uses Filament as its main interface. So I'd only recommend a fully custom admin when you have very specific workflows that don't map to resources.
Filament vs Laravel Nova
I've used Laravel Nova on client projects and it's a solid, polished admin panel. Nova is paid, with a per-site licence, and it's Vue-based. These days I prefer Filament for new work. Filament is free and open-source, so there's no licence cost or seat limit—important for startups watching spend. It's Livewire-based, so you stay in PHP and Laravel's ecosystem without maintaining a separate Vue build. Filament is also more easily customised: you're extending PHP classes and views rather than working around a closed UI, so custom pages, actions, and theming are straightforward. The resource model is similar to Nova's, so the mental switch is easy. If you're already on Nova and happy, no need to rip it out; for greenfield Laravel projects in Bath, Bristol, Wiltshire, or across the UK, I recommend Filament first.
When to Use It (and When Not)
Filament shines for internal admin: user management, content, settings, and reporting. It's ideal for MVPs and early-stage products where you need a reliable admin fast. It can also be the product UI—IdencyTime is a good example: the whole app is Filament. It's less suitable when you need highly custom, public-facing flows that don't fit the resource model (e.g. consumer apps with bespoke dashboards). For most startups—whether the admin is behind the scenes or the product itself—Filament is worth considering first.
Getting Started
Install Filament via Composer, run the installer, and create your first resource from an Eloquent model. The Filament docs are clear and the resource API is consistent. You can have a basic admin for a core model up in minutes. From there, add more resources, customise forms and tables, and bolt on dashboard widgets as needed.
If you're building a Laravel app in Bath, Bristol, or Wiltshire and want an admin panel that ships fast without the cost of a custom build or a paid panel, get in touch. As a freelance Laravel developer I work with startups across the UK—including choosing and implementing the right admin stack.