Render

Run web services, static sites and scheduled jobs from a single dashboard.

web servicescronstatic

Websiterender.com

CategoryHosting & deploy

PricingFreemium

Card requiredNo

← ← Back to directory Go to Render ↗ ↗

ABOUT

What is Render?

Render is a modern Heroku alternative for deploying web services, static sites, cron jobs, background workers and PostgreSQL databases from a straightforward dashboard. The free tier provides 750 instance hours per month for dynamic services and free static sites with generous delivery. Free web services spin down after 15 minutes without traffic, so the first request after inactivity can experience a noticeable cold start.

BEFORE YOU SIGN UP

What you should know

✓

Free static sites with generous deliveryStatic sites are free to host and suited to portfolios, documentation, landing pages and frontend applications.

✓

Full-stack services in one platformDeploy web services, cron jobs, workers and PostgreSQL databases from the same dashboard.

△

750 instance hours per monthOne always-running free service can use most of the monthly allowance; multiple services share the same capacity.

Free services spin down after 15 minutesThe next visitor may wait roughly one minute while the service wakes up.

Limited performance on free instancesFree machines are materially slower than paid instances, making them a poor fit for latency-sensitive production APIs.

COMMUNITY

From the forums

Reddit users often recommend Render for simple full-stack demos and side projects because deployment is easy and paid services are reliable. The dominant complaint is the free tier: services can take 30 to 50 seconds to wake after inactivity and free instances are much slower than paid machines. For a production API with user-facing latency requirements, the community generally recommends at least the Starter tier.

— Community sentiment · Reddit

⭐GitHub 💬Discuss on Reddit ↗

Alternatives to Render

Appish

Freemium

Publish Docker containers in temporary slots designed for demos.

Bunny.net

Trial only

High-performance edge network with CDN, object storage and serverless compute at competitive prices.

Cloud 66

Freemium

Deploy and manage applications in your cloud without handling all server operations yourself.

ABOUT US

Honest, independent, no fluff.

No paid placements. Just a clear look at what this does, what it costs, and what to know before you commit.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Why does my app on Render take so long to load the first time?＋

Web services on Render's free plan spin down after 15 minutes without traffic. When the next request arrives, the service needs to start up again, which takes about one minute. This behavior disappears on paid plans starting at $7/month.

Is Render free forever?＋

Static sites are free with no time limit. Dynamic web services get 750 free instance hours per month. With a single continuously running service, that covers roughly one full month.

Can Render replace Heroku?＋

Yes, it is one of the most popular Heroku alternatives. Render supports the same use cases (Node, Python, Ruby, Go, Docker) with a modern interface, automatic Git-based deploys and a managed PostgreSQL database on the free tier.

Does Render have a free PostgreSQL database?＋

Yes. Render includes a 1 GB PostgreSQL instance on the free plan. It is sufficient for development and small projects. Free databases expire after 30 days unless you upgrade to a paid plan.

How much does Render cost for production?＋

The Starter plan for a web service begins at $7/month and includes always-on instances with no sleep, plus more CPU and memory. More powerful production instances start at $25/month depending on size.

Does Render support Docker?＋

Yes. Render can deploy directly from a Dockerfile in your repository, making it compatible with any stack you can containerize.