12 Free Hosting Platforms For Developers In 2024

Coursesity Team -

The best free hosting services for developers. In addition to paid services, there are also many appropriate free hosting services for developers in any project. It can be a small project rather simple by its nature, or on the contrary, more complicated apps. No question that free hosting is highly limited, but it is good enough for testing and development purposes of projects of a smaller size. Let's consider some of the best free hosting platforms you can opt for in 2024:

Top Free Hosting Options for Developers in 2024

1. Heroku

Heroku is a platform as a service (PaaS) whereby it supports numerous languages, and hence, it is deployed to develop and deploy an application very fast.

Features:

  • Supports several languages including Ruby, Java, Node.js, Python, PHP, Scala, and Go.
  • Extensibility through add-ons and plugins.
  • Continuous delivery and GitHub integration.
  • Heroku Postgres for SQL databases and Heroku Redis for caching.

2. Netlify

Netlify is a company that specializes in cloud computing, and hosts web applications and static sites using serverless backend services.

Features:

  • Intuitive Git-based workflow.
  • Pre-built starter templates and plugins for customization.
  • Instant rollbacks to previous versions.
  • Access control via roles.

3. Cloudflare

Cloudflare specializes in providing content delivery networks, DDoS mitigation, internet security, and distributed domain name servers.

Features:

  • Security and performance built-in.
  • Global content delivery network (CDN).
  • DDoS mitigation and firewall protection.
  • SSL/TLS encryption

4. Vercel

Vercel is a frontend developer-first platform that provides the tools to build fast and high-performing websites and web applications.

Features:

  • Automatic scaling based on traffic.
  • More than 30 Jamstack frameworks are supported.
  • Choices over flexible data fetching.
  • Deployments in real-time without any configuration.

5. GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages is the hosting of a service where developers can directly host a static site from the repository on GitHub. Thus, it is very suitable for projects and personal site documentation.

Features:

  • Seamless integration with the GitHub version control system.
  • Issuance of custom domain names.
  • Pages produced from markdown files.
  • Collaboration and version controls.

6. Google Cloud Storage

Google Cloud Storage is one kind of file-storing service online with Google's Cloud Platform infrastructure where stored data, as well as its access, is used.

Features:

  • Object lifecycle management and versioning
  • Customer-managed encryption keys
  • Uniform bucket-level access control
  • Scalable and reliable storage solutions

7. Glitch

Glitch is a free hosting platform that lets the developer create, remix, and host applications that are full-stack. It offers an interactive coding environment directly in the browser. This helps ease the process of building and collaborating on web projects.

Features:

  • Full-Stack Hosting
  • Integrated Editor
  • Generous Usage Limits
  • Community Projects

8. GatsbyJS Cloud

GatsbyJS Cloud is a platform optimized for deploying Gatsby sites, offering a powerful edge network and comprehensive tools for front-end developers.

Features:

  • Optimized edge network for fast deployments.
  • Support for JAMstack frameworks and traditional CMSs.
  • Scalable infrastructure for high-performance websites.
  • Collaboration and deployment tools.

9. Surge.sh

Surge.sh is a static web publishing platform for front-end developers, allowing quick deployment of projects to a production-quality CDN.

Features:

  • Deployment is easy through command-line tools.
  • Custom 404 HTML files and clean URLs.
  • Catch-all 200.html files for SPA applications.
  • Support for collaboration and SSL.

10. DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean is a cloud service for developers to deploy and scale applications running simultaneously on multiple computers.

Features:

  • Droplet plans for virtual machines.
  • 99.99% uptime SLA.
  • Simple control panel to control resources.
  • Powerful API to programmatically access.

11. InfinityFree

InfinityFree offers unlimited disk space and bandwidth for static websites, without advertisements or forced branding.

Features:

  • Easy setup process.
  • No advertisements appear on hosted sites.
  • Ideal for personal projects and small websites.

12. 000WebHost

000WebHost offers free hosting with PHP and MySQL support, and it's great for a beginner looking to learn web development.

Features:

  • Easy control panel.
  • Powered with PHP and MySQL dynamic websites.
  • No cost and no ads on websites hosted.
  • Small projects and learning were fine.

Additional Considerations When Choosing a Free Hosting Platform

  • Custom Domains and SSL Support: Even free plans on such platforms as Netlify and Vercel provide support with custom domains and SSL certificates.
  • Reliability: Free hosting services are probably not reliable for production-level applications because of potential downtime or limited resources.
  • Dynamic Websites: Most free hosting services support dynamic websites but have various restrictions over server-side scripting or database usage.
  • Restrictions: Limited bandwidth, storage, and no customer support are some of the common features.
  • Monetization: Premium upgrades and advertisements on free accounts are the monetary aspects of free hosting services.
  • Customer Support: All over the place; for instance, platforms in GitHub offer community-based support, while others give little to none.

FAQs

Which free hosting platforms support custom domains and SSL certificates?

Each of the free plans on Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages supports custom domains with SSL certificates.

Are free hosting platforms reliable for production-level applications?

Absolutely not; they're not really best suited for use in a production environment as they become flaky and don't have enough resources.

Can I host dynamic websites with free hosting services?

Yes, but it depends on the platform. Some impose restrictions on server-side scripting or database access.

What are the limitations of using free hosting for development projects?

Mainly the limits that one may be experiencing could be limitations in the bandwidth, storage limits, no customer support, and sometimes the service will be subjected to downtime.

How do free hosting platforms make money?

They usually acquire premium upgrades or can display advertisements on a free account.

Which free hosting platforms offer the best customer support?

GitHub Pages: Extraordinary community support; other services may have just little to no assistance.

Is there a difference between free hosting and cloud hosting for developers?

Yes, typically, cloud hosting will offer more resources and scale more than traditional free hosting.

How can I choose the best free hosting platform for my needs?

Ensure that you've reviewed all the requirements of your project about features like storage, bandwidth, ease of use, and level of support ahead of your making any choice.