# Livewire or Inertia for a Laravel app > Livewire keeps the UI in Blade. Inertia keeps it in Vue and leaves the routes in Laravel. The starter kit you pick is the decision. - URL: https://laravel-vuejs.space/livewire-vs-inertia - Author: Anass Ez-zouaine (https://laravel-vuejs.space/author/anass-ez-zouaine) - Published: 2026-10-10 - Topics: Laravel, VueJs, Inertia “Livewire vs Inertia” is a team question wearing a package question. Both ship as official Laravel starter kits, both use Laravel routes, and they do not split a single screen cleanly. Here is how to pick one for the product UI. > **TL;DR** > > - **Livewire**: UI in Blade and PHP classes. Pick it when the team is PHP-first. > - **Inertia + Vue**: UI in Vue components, routes in Laravel. Pick it when the interface is a Vue interface. > - Neither is a public HTTP API. Policies stay the same either way. > - The starter kit you pick is the decision; don’t install both for one screen. > > **What you'll learn** > > - What Livewire and Inertia each are > - How the same jobs map to different files > - Why you should not mix them on one screen > > **Who it's for:** Teams choosing a Laravel front-end approach > > **Applies to:** Laravel 13 · Livewire 4 starter kit · Vue starter kit (Inertia 3) Laravel’s current AI docs talk about Livewire 2, 3, and 4, so a new Livewire starter kit is the Livewire 4 line. This page does not pin a kit build number. The Vue side of the same choice, including a separate SPA and Nuxt, is [Inertia, a SPA, or Nuxt](https://laravel-vuejs.space/laravel-vue-in-2026). ## What each one is ### Livewire Livewire renders Blade and updates the parts of the page that changed. You write PHP classes and HTML. JavaScript shows up when a screen needs it, not as the structure of the app. Choose the Livewire starter kit when the people building the product are comfortable in Laravel and do not want a Vue codebase. ### Inertia with Vue Inertia renders Vue pages. Controllers return `Inertia::render`. The browser app is Vue 3, with the kit’s TypeScript and Vite. Routes stay in `routes/web.php`. There is no Vue Router on those screens. Choose the Vue starter kit when the interface is a Vue interface, or when the people building it already work in components. > **Heads up: neither one is your API** > > A separate HTTP API, for a mobile app or a second front end, is a third path. Inertia is not that API. Livewire is not that API either. [Sanctum](https://laravel-vuejs.space/laravel-sanctum-vue-spa) is the cookie layer if the other front end is Vue. ## The same jobs, different files | Job | Livewire starter kit | Vue and Inertia | | --- | --- | --- | | First page | A Livewire component | [Application setup](https://laravel-vuejs.space/application-setup) | | Create and edit | Component properties and actions | [CRUD](https://laravel-vuejs.space/laravel-inertia-vue-crud) | | Login | The kit’s auth screens | The kit’s auth screens, or [Fortify](https://laravel-vuejs.space/laravel-fortify-vue) for a SPA | | Who may edit | A policy, called from the component | A [policy](https://laravel-vuejs.space/laravel-vue-policies), called from the controller | | Public HTML | Blade is already HTML | [SSR](https://laravel-vuejs.space/inertia-ssr), and only if you need it | > **Tip: authorization doesn't move** > > The policy is the same class either way. Do not rewrite authorization because the template language changed. ## Do not install both for one screen A Livewire component inside a Vue page, or a Vue island inside a Livewire screen, is two systems owning one URL. Validation, redirects, and loading state will not agree. If a single widget has to be interactive and the rest of the app is Livewire, Livewire can host that widget. If the product is Vue, build the widget as a component and talk to Laravel through Inertia. You can still change your mind before the first feature. You cannot cheaply change your mind after a year of pages. The starter kit is the migration. Running `composer require livewire/livewire` inside the Vue kit, or the reverse, is how the two clients end up in one repo without a plan. > **Decide in one minute** > > Answer these about the people who will build the screens: > > 1. Do they write Vue components today? **Inertia.** > 2. Do they live in Blade and PHP and want to stay there? **Livewire.** > 3. Is there a second client (mobile app, partner) that needs JSON? Add an API with **Sanctum**, whichever you picked. ## Where this stops Requirements that apply to both, including PHP 8.3 and Node when you are on the Vue kit, are [what you need](https://laravel-vuejs.space/requirements). Deploying the Vue build is [deploy](https://laravel-vuejs.space/deploy-laravel-vue). The Livewire starter kit also runs Vite, so `npm run dev` writes `public/hot` there too. Do not deploy that file from either kit. ## Recap - Livewire = Blade + PHP; Inertia = Vue pages + Laravel routes. - Choose by who writes the screens, not by benchmarks. - Policies, routes and Vite stay; only the template layer differs. - One UI system per screen. ## FAQ **Q: Is Livewire or Inertia better for Laravel?** Neither in general. Livewire suits PHP-first teams working in Blade; Inertia suits teams that build the UI in Vue components. **Q: Can I use Livewire and Vue on the same page?** Avoid it. Two systems owning one URL disagree on validation, redirects and loading state. Pick one per screen, ideally one per app. **Q: Does Inertia give me an API for a mobile app?** No. Inertia serves your own pages. A mobile app needs a separate JSON API, usually with Sanctum tokens. ## Next steps - [Laravel and Vue in 2026: Inertia, a SPA, or Nuxt](https://laravel-vuejs.space/laravel-vue-in-2026) - [Set up a Laravel 13 + Vue 3 app](https://laravel-vuejs.space/application-setup) - [Laravel policies on a Vue page](https://laravel-vuejs.space/laravel-vue-policies): the part that doesn’t change. - [Laravel docs: Starter kits](https://laravel.com/docs/13.x/starter-kits) ## Sources - [Laravel 13: Starter kits](https://laravel.com/docs/13.x/starter-kits) - [Livewire documentation](https://livewire.laravel.com/docs) - [Inertia v3 documentation](https://inertiajs.com/docs/v3/getting-started)