Render free tier and limits
Hosting for long-running web services (Node, Python, Rails and more), static sites, Postgres and Redis-compatible Key Value. Useful when your app has a real backend server, not just a front-end.
What the free plan gives you
- Free web services: 750 free instance hours per workspace per month
- Free static sites (count against included bandwidth and build minutes)
- One free Postgres database (1 GB) and one free Key Value instance per workspace
Best for
Trying out a backend API or full-stack server app.
Watch out
Free web services spin down after 15 minutes without traffic and take about a minute to wake up. Free Postgres databases expire 30 days after creation and are deleted after a 14-day grace period unless upgraded, and Render itself says not to use free instances for production.
Fix guides that use Render
Other hosting options
Vercel
Git-connected hosting with a global CDN, serverless functions and preview deployments for every push. The default target for Next.js and v0 projects, and it also deploys Vite apps exported from Bolt or Lovable.
Free Hobby plan: $0/month, 1 developer seat
Netlify
Static and serverless hosting with deploy previews, functions, forms and a CDN. Popular for Vite/React SPAs exported from AI builders.
Free Free plan: $0 forever with a 300-credit monthly limit
Cloudflare Pages
Static site hosting on Cloudflare's network with Git integration, unlimited preview deployments and optional Functions (which run on Workers).
Free 500 builds/month, 1 build at a time