Can I host a vibe-coded app for free?
Free Hosting Options
For static sites (HTML/CSS/JS), services like Netlify, Vercel, GitHub Pages, and Cloudflare Pages offer generous free tiers. They handle deployment automatically from your Git repository and provide SSL certificates at no cost.
If your app needs a backend (e.g., API routes, server-side rendering), Vercel, Netlify, and Render have free tiers for serverless functions or small servers. These usually include limits like 100GB bandwidth per month or 100 hours of runtime.
For databases, free options include Supabase (Postgres), Firebase (NoSQL), and PlanetScale (MySQL, now limited). They offer small storage and limited connections, but enough for prototyping.
- Netlify: Free for static sites and serverless functions (100GB bandwidth/month).
- Vercel: Free for personal projects with serverless functions (100GB bandwidth/month).
- GitHub Pages: Free static hosting, no backend.
- Render: Free tier for web services (spins down after inactivity).
- Supabase: Free Postgres database with 500MB storage.
When Free Isn't Enough
Free tiers often have usage limits. If your app gets significant traffic or needs more compute, you'll hit those limits and may need to upgrade to a paid plan. For example, Vercel's free tier includes 100GB bandwidth; beyond that, you pay per GB.
Also, free tiers may have cold starts (serverless functions take time to wake up) or limited performance. For production apps with real users, you'll likely need a paid plan starting around $10-$20 per month.
Common mistakes
- Thinking free hosting means unlimited resources; most free tiers have strict limits on bandwidth and compute.
- Assuming all free tiers include a database; many only host static files or serverless functions, so you'll need a separate database service.
- Forgetting that free tiers may sleep after inactivity, causing slow first loads for users.
