Render
Unified cloud for static sites, web services, databases, and cron jobs with auto-deploy from Git.
Best for full-stack apps that need hosting + database in one place with simple Git deploys.
Use Cases
Free Tier
Static sites (free), web services (free tier with limits), PostgreSQL (1GB)
How to Maximize the Free Tier
Work around Render's 15-minute idle spin-down by using a cron job (also free on Render) to ping your service every 10 minutes, keeping it warm. The 1GB free PostgreSQL is best paired with static sites — deploy the frontend on Render's free static tier and connect it to the database. Accept that cold starts are the price of free: design your app to handle a 10-30 second initial load gracefully.
Getting Started
Sign up → connect Git repo → choose static site, web service, or cron job → set build command → add PostgreSQL via New + Database → deploy. Free web services sleep after 15 min idle.
Pros
- Full-stack unified: Hosting + PostgreSQL + cron jobs in one platform — no stitching services together
- Free PostgreSQL: 1GB PostgreSQL database free — enough for side projects, prototypes, and MVPs
- Git deploys: Auto-deploy from Git branches with automatic SSL certificate provisioning
Cons
- Cold start hell: Free web services spin down after 15 minutes of inactivity — first request after idle takes 10-30 seconds
- Bandwidth cap: Static sites limited to 100GB bandwidth/month — heavy traffic sites will need the paid plan
- No edge: No edge functions or advanced CDN controls — limited to regional deployment options