Hosting and cloud platforms compared
Picking where to host a website or app comes down to three questions: how much of the server you want to manage, what the free tier really allows, and what the bill looks like when traffic grows.
This page compares seven platforms we checked against their official pricing and documentation, from frontend clouds like Vercel and Netlify to VPS and traditional hosting.
Compare 7 options Visit Vercel
Prices and limits checked on October 12, 2026. They change often, so confirm on each official site before you buy.
Comparison at a glance
| Provider | Starting price | Free tier / key terms | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vercel | Free Hobby plan; Pro from $20/month | Hobby includes 1M CDN requests, 100 GB fast data transfer and 1M function invocations per month, for personal non-commercial use. | Next.js and frontend teams | Visit |
| Netlify | Free plan; Personal $9/month; Pro $20/month | Free plan includes 300 credits per month, unlimited deploy previews, custom domains with SSL and a global CDN. | Static sites and JAMstack projects | Visit |
| Cloudflare Pages | Free plan available | Free plan allows 500 builds per month, 1 concurrent build, 100 projects, 20,000 files per site and 100 custom domains per project. | Static sites and Workers-based apps | Visit |
| Hostinger | Premium from $2.99/month on a 48-month term | No free plan. Premium is $2.99/month on a 48-month term ($143.52 upfront) and renews at $10.99/month. | WordPress and small business sites | Visit |
| DigitalOcean | Droplets from $4/month; managed databases from $15/month | App Platform lets you build and deploy 3 static sites for free. Droplets are billed per second with a 60-second minimum. | Developers who want a VPS or full control | Visit |
| Render | Free instances available | Free web services get 750 instance hours per month and spin down after 15 minutes of inactivity; static sites are free to deploy. | Prototypes, APIs and small web services | Visit |
| Railway | Hobby $5/month; Pro $20/month per workspace | Free trial gives a one-time $5 credit valid for 30 days without a card; the Free plan includes $1 of usage per month. | Full-stack apps and databases billed by usage | Visit |
Each option in detail
Vercel
Editor pickFrontend cloud built around Next.js, with preview deployments and a global CDN.
- Starting price
- Free Hobby plan; Pro from $20/month
- Free tier / key terms
- Hobby includes 1M CDN requests, 100 GB fast data transfer and 1M function invocations per month, for personal non-commercial use.
- Best for
- Next.js and frontend teams
Platform highlights
- Git-based deployments with preview URLs
- Serverless and edge functions
- Image optimization and analytics
- Pro plan includes a $20 usage credit
Pros and cons2 advantages · 2 trade-offs
- Smooth workflow for Next.js and other frontend frameworks
- Generous free allowance for side projects
- Hobby plan is non-commercial only and usage is capped
- Pro usage beyond the credit is pay-as-you-go, so bills can vary
Netlify
Git-based hosting with deploy previews, functions and a credit-based pricing model.
- Starting price
- Free plan; Personal $9/month; Pro $20/month
- Free tier / key terms
- Free plan includes 300 credits per month, unlimited deploy previews, custom domains with SSL and a global CDN.
- Best for
- Static sites and JAMstack projects
Platform highlights
- Deploy previews on every branch
- Functions and blob storage
- Custom domains with SSL on the free plan
- Pro plan has unlimited team members
Pros and cons2 advantages · 2 trade-offs
- Simple setup from Git or a drag-and-drop folder
- Free plan covers custom domains and SSL
- Credit-based billing takes a moment to understand: a production deploy costs 15 credits and bandwidth costs 20 credits per GB
- Free credits can run out on busy sites
Cloudflare Pages
Editor pickFree static and full-stack hosting on Cloudflare’s global network.
- Starting price
- Free plan available
- Free tier / key terms
- Free plan allows 500 builds per month, 1 concurrent build, 100 projects, 20,000 files per site and 100 custom domains per project.
- Best for
- Static sites and Workers-based apps
Platform highlights
- Git-based builds and preview deployments
- Custom domains per project
- Works alongside Workers, KV and R2
- Runs on Cloudflare’s network
Pros and cons2 advantages · 2 trade-offs
- Clear, published free-plan limits
- Pairs naturally with Cloudflare DNS and registrar
- Builds are limited to one at a time on the free plan
- Individual assets are capped at 25 MiB
Hostinger
Editor pickLow-cost shared and cloud hosting with a free domain for the first year.
- Starting price
- Premium from $2.99/month on a 48-month term
- Free tier / key terms
- No free plan. Premium is $2.99/month on a 48-month term ($143.52 upfront) and renews at $10.99/month.
- Best for
- WordPress and small business sites
Platform highlights
- Free domain for 1 year on listed plans
- 20 GB SSD on Premium, 50 GB NVMe on the next tier
- Free SSL, CDN and weekly backups on Premium
- 24/7 support
Pros and cons2 advantages · 2 trade-offs
- Very low headline monthly price
- Includes a domain and email mailboxes in the first year
- Lowest price needs a 48-month prepayment
- Renewal prices are several times higher than the introductory rate
DigitalOcean
Virtual servers (Droplets), App Platform and managed databases with monthly caps.
- Starting price
- Droplets from $4/month; managed databases from $15/month
- Free tier / key terms
- App Platform lets you build and deploy 3 static sites for free. Droplets are billed per second with a 60-second minimum.
- Best for
- Developers who want a VPS or full control
Platform highlights
- Droplets billed per second, capped monthly
- App Platform for managed deployments
- Managed databases
- Backups priced as a share of Droplet cost
Pros and cons2 advantages · 2 trade-offs
- Straightforward VPS pricing with monthly caps
- Good fit when you need root access
- You manage the server yourself on Droplets
- Managed services add cost on top of compute
Render
Managed hosting for web services, static sites and databases with a free tier.
- Starting price
- Free instances available
- Free tier / key terms
- Free web services get 750 instance hours per month and spin down after 15 minutes of inactivity; static sites are free to deploy.
- Best for
- Prototypes, APIs and small web services
Platform highlights
- Free web services with custom domains and managed TLS
- Free static sites
- Free Postgres and Key Value instances
- Preview environments and rollbacks
Pros and cons2 advantages · 2 trade-offs
- One platform for static sites, APIs and databases
- Free tier includes custom domains and TLS
- Free services spin down and take about a minute to wake
- No persistent disks or scaling on free instances
Railway
Usage-based app hosting with a trial credit and per-second billing.
- Starting price
- Hobby $5/month; Pro $20/month per workspace
- Free tier / key terms
- Free trial gives a one-time $5 credit valid for 30 days without a card; the Free plan includes $1 of usage per month.
- Best for
- Full-stack apps and databases billed by usage
Platform highlights
- Per-second billing for CPU, memory and volumes
- Hobby plan includes $5 of usage
- Pro plan with unlimited seats
- Object storage with free egress
Pros and cons2 advantages · 2 trade-offs
- Pay only for what runs
- Quick to deploy a service plus a database
- Usage-based bills are harder to predict
- Free plan allowance is small
How to choose a host
Start with the kind of site you are building, then choose how much server setup and maintenance you want to own.
Frontend and static sites
Cloudflare Pages, Netlify and Vercel deploy from Git and provide preview URLs for each change.
Apps, APIs and databases
Render, Railway and DigitalOcean App Platform run long-lived services alongside your database.
Full server control
A DigitalOcean Droplet gives you root access, with per-second billing capped at a monthly price.
WordPress and small businesses
Shared hosting such as Hostinger bundles a domain, email and one-click WordPress setup.
Hosting questions, answered
Get clear on free plans, server types and renewal costs before choosing a provider.
5 things worth knowing01What is the difference between static hosting and a VPS?
Static and frontend platforms such as Vercel, Netlify and Cloudflare Pages build your site from a Git repository and serve it from a CDN, so you do not manage a server. A VPS such as a DigitalOcean Droplet gives you a full server to configure yourself, which is more flexible but needs more maintenance.
02Can I use a free hosting plan for a business site?
It depends on the provider. Vercel states that its Hobby plan is for personal, non-commercial use, so a business site needs the Pro plan. Always read the terms of the plan you pick.
03Why do some hosts have very low prices that increase later?
Shared hosts often advertise a low monthly price tied to a long prepaid term. Hostinger, for example, lists Premium at $2.99/month on a 48-month term and a higher renewal price afterwards. Compare the renewal price, not only the first-term price.
04Which option is best for a WordPress site?
Traditional shared or cloud hosting such as Hostinger is built for WordPress. Frontend platforms like Vercel and Netlify are aimed at sites built with JavaScript frameworks or static site generators.
05Do I need to buy my domain from my hosting provider?
No. You can register a domain with any registrar and point its DNS to your host. See our domain registrar comparison for options.