Laravel provides the numeric validation rule for checking whether a value is numeric. However, there is an important difference between numeric and numeric:strict.

# The numeric Rule

The standard numeric rule accepts values that PHP considers numeric. This means both integers and numeric strings can pass validation.

$request->validate([
    'age' => 'numeric'
]);
# these values can pass:
# 123
# '123'
# '12.5'

This is useful when your request data comes from sources such as HTML forms, where numbers are commonly received as strings.

# The numeric:strict Rule

numeric:strict is stricter about the value’s type. It requires the value to actually be an integer or a float rather than a numeric string.

$request->validate([
    'age' => 'numeric:strict',
]);
# For example:
# 123        passes
# 12.5       passes
# '123'      fails
# '12.5'     fails

# Which One Should You Use?

Use numeric when numeric strings are acceptable, which is common with form and request input.

Use numeric:strict when you need the value to already be an actual integer or float and don’t want numeric strings to pass validation.

The key difference is simple: numeric checks whether the value is numeric, while numeric:strict also requires it to have a numeric PHP type.