Hosting and deploy · ranked 05
Render
Web services, static sites, cron, and databases on one platform.
Best for Web services and cron without AWS
Render hosts web services, static sites, background workers, cron jobs, and managed datastores. Use it as a simpler alternative to assembling AWS, especially for a service that must stay running. A free tier has existed for some service types. Current limits: check site.
Best use cases
- A Node or Python web service
- Background workers and scheduled jobs
- Static sites next to an API
Pros
- + One product covers services, jobs, and data
- + Easier to reason about than a hyperscaler console
- + A free tier has been part of the offer for some workloads
Cons
- − Cold starts and spin-down on free instances have been part of the trade
- − Current plan limits: check site
Pricing
Free instances for some service types, plus paid plans. Current prices: check site.
Alternatives
Hosting and deploy
7.4
Railway
Deploy a service from a repo without writing a platform file first.
Best for A long-running service without becoming a platform engineer
Hosting and deploy
8.2
Vercel
Push a frontend or Next.js app and get a URL.
Best for Deploying a Next.js app with preview URLs
Hosting and deploy
7.2
Netlify
Git-based hosting for web apps, with functions and forms.
Best for Git-push hosting that is not Vercel